Westrock Coffee Company announced Thursday plans to expand its operations and beverage capabilities with the purchase of a new facility in Conway, which upon completion, will be the largest facility of its type in the United States. Conway will be an addition to the company’s already established presence in Arkansas which has corporate offices in Little Rock and a manufacturing facility in North Little Rock.
“We are expanding our finished product offerings, adding end beverage packaging solutions, and expanding our geographic reach to meet our growing customer demand,” said Scott Ford, CEO and co-founder of Westrock Coffee. “Our growth benefits everyone at Westrock Coffee — from our global customers and farmer partners to our current and future employees and the communities where they live. These facility expansion announcements provide further evidence that we are well on our way to accomplishing our mission of building and efficiently operating the preeminent integrated coffee, tea, and extract supply chain in the world, to enhance the lives of our farmer partners and fuel the success of the customers that we serve.”
Westrock finalized the purchase of a 524,000- SF facility in Conway that will provide the company ample space for the development, production and distribution of its beverage products. The new location will also incorporate a premiere product development lab, enabling Westrock Coffee to create, test and produce new beverage solutions.
“Westrock Coffee Company provides the drink that fuels many Arkansans in the workplace, and others all around the world,” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said. “The expansion into Conway by repurposing this facility and providing new jobs reflects the growth of Westrock and the fact that Arkansas is a dynamic and welcoming place to do business.”
The new Conway location will require a variety of skilled jobs to support the company’s growth. Initially, up to 50 new jobs will be created following phase one of the build out, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023, then growing to approximately 250 positions over time. Many of the jobs needed to operate the facility will require a significantly advanced and skilled workforce, commanding higher salaries, ranging up to over $100,000 per year.
The company also announced plans to expand its extracts manufacturing capacity in Concord, North Carolina, and launch new operations in Malaysia that will serve its rapidly growing customer demand across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.
Work is already complete on the 90,000- SF, two-building facility in Malaysia announced earlier this year, with finished good production set to begin in the first quarter of 2022. The new facility is just 30 minutes from the international hub of Singapore and will be Westrock’s first roasting, manufacturing and packaging facility outside of the U.S. With offices in 10 countries, the company sources coffee and tea from 35 origin countries and provides service under both the Westrock Coffee and S&D Coffee & Tea brands.
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