The Arkansas-based coffee roaster will open the largest ready-to-drink packing facility in the US at Conway, Arkansas, expand existing capacity in Concord, North Carolina, and launch new operations in Malaysia to serve the ‘rapidly growing’ Asia-Pacific and MENA regions
.jpg.aspx?lang=en-GB&width=700&height=393)
Westrock's 524,000sq ft facility in Conway, Akansas will be the largest coffee roasting and ready-to-drink (RTD) packaging facility in the US upon completion in the first quarter of 2023 | Photo credit: Westrock Coffee
Westrock Coffee is significantly upgrading its roasting, ready-to-drink (RTD) and tea production capacity to meet increased demand in the US and globally.
As part of the plans, Westrock has finalised the purchase of a new 524,000sq ft facility in Conway, Akansas, that will increase the company’s capacity to develop, produce and distribute coffee, tea, RTD products and single serve coffee cups.
Westrock says the new plant will be the largest facility of its kind in the US and anticipates it will create up to 250 jobs after the build-out is completed in the first quarter of 2023.
The US coffee roaster is also expanding its Commercial Park location in Concord, North Carolina, to support ‘unprecedented growth’ in consumer demand for its extract, tea, and herbal products. The upgrade, which will increase the facility’s production capacity by 50%, is expected to be complete by end of 2022.
Westrock has also completed the construction of a 90,000sq ft facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, its first manufacturing and packaging facility outside of the US. Strategically located 30 minutes from the international trading hub of Singapore, the facility will accommodate increases in manufacturing, packaging and warehousing of coffee and extract products across the APAC and MENA regions when operations begin in the first quarter of 2022.
“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,” said Scott Ford, CEO and Co-founder, Westrock Coffee.
Arkansas-based Westrock is one of the largest commercial coffee roasters in the US. In February 2020, Westrock Coffee Company
acquired S&D Coffee & Tea for $405m. The agreement gave the two US coffee roasters a combined capacity to package nearly 100,000 tons of coffee annually.