Westrock Coffee plans major roasting and RTD packaging plant expansions

Westrock Coffee Co. LLC said it is planning to expand its operations and beverage capabilities with the purchase of a new facility in Conway, AR, that will be the largest facility of its type in the United States.

Westrock Coffee will also expand its extracts manufacturing capacity in Concord, NC, and open new operations in Malaysia that will serve its growing customer demand across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.

“We are expanding our finished product offerings, adding end beverage packaging solutions, and expanding our geographic reach to meet our growing customer demand,” said Westrock Coffee cofounder and chief executive Scott Ford.

Ford added that the facility expansion announcements are evidence that Westrock Coffee is on its way to accomplishing its mission of building and operating the "preeminent integrated coffee, tea and extract supply chain in the world" to enhance the lives of farmer partners.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson observed, “Westrock Coffee Co.provides the drink that fuels many Arkansans in the workplace, and others all around the world. 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.”

New facility in Conway

The company finalized the purchase of a 524,000-sq.ft. facility in Conway, AK, that will provide ample space for the development, production and distribution of its coffee, tea and ready-to-drink (RTD) products.

The location will use state-of-the-art equipment, including advanced robotics, specifically designed to efficiently manufacture and package a wide range of beverages, such as canned or bottled cold brew coffees, lattes, assorted teas and juice-based products, as well as single serve coffee cups. 

Upgrades in Concord

The expansion of Westrock Coffee's Commercial Park location in Concord, NC, now a leading extract manufacturing facility will allow the company to respond to "unprecedented growth due to burgeoning customer demand" for its extract, tea and herbal products.

The expansion will add two fully automated production lines, which will increase overall capacity of extracts processing at this facility by over fifty percent. It will also include modernizing its current manufacturing and packaging process for bottled products. Upgrades to the Concord facility should be complete by the end of 2022.

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Westrock Coffee said work is already complete on the 90,000-sq.ft. two-building facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, which was announced earlier this year. Production is set to begin in the first quarter of 2022.

The new facility, which is just 30 minutes from the international hub of Singapore, will enhance Westrock Coffee’s roasting capacity to accommodate for increases in manufacturing, packaging and warehousing of coffee and extract solutions across the APAC and MENA regions. While Westrock Coffee has a history in international coffee trade and export, this will be its first roasting, manufacturing and packaging facility outside of the U.S.