Westrock Coffee Co. announced Thursday it plans to double the size of its facilities in Central Arkansas as part of a more than $100 million investment in a multiyear project that also will increase production in North Carolina and Malaysia.

The company has purchased a 524,000-square-foot plant in Conway that will be expanded over time and include about 250 employees, which would increase the company's Arkansas employee base to about 600.

Once fully operational, the coffee and tea producer will have 920,000 square feet of office, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution space in North Little Rock and Conway. Company officials said the Conway plant will be the largest of its kind in the United States and will begin producing extracts, or concentrated liquids, in 2023.

"We are expanding our finished product offerings, adding end beverage packaging solutions, and expanding our geographic reach to meet our growing customer demand," Scott Ford, Westrock chief executive officer and co-founder, said in a statement announcing the expansion.

Westrock also will continue to operate its coffee distribution, production and roasting facilities in North Little Rock.

Company officials were joined Thursday by Commerce Secretary Mike Preston along with regional and local economic development officials at the Conway plant, the former site of a Kimberly Clark manufacturing facility at 480 Exchange Ave.

"Westrock Coffee Company provides the drink that fuels many Arkansans in the workplace, and others all around the world," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in the company's news release. "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."

Equipment installation and renovations in Conway will begin next year to support Westrock's global product development, manufacturing and packaging operations. Initially, up to 50 new jobs will be created by the first quarter of 2023, then growing to about 250 positions over the next few years.

"This is basically a three- to four-year buildout largely driven by the growth we have in our customer base," Ford said in an interview.

Extract is the foundation for producing many ready-to-drink coffee products that are sold by retailers and convenience stores and packaged primarily in bottles or cans.

"The fastest growing part of the coffee business is the extract and cold-based drinks," Ford said. "Conway will allow us to expand our scale, expand our labs, expand our research and product development and then also expand the finished-packaging offerings we can serve."

That sector of the coffee industry has grown about 20% over the past few years, Ford said, adding that customers are demanding even more products for their shelves.

"That's the super high-end of the industry space," he said. "It's the product that our customers can't get enough of."

Westrock, Ford said, is one of the world's largest extract producers -- competing with global giants like Finlay and Nestle Foods -- and has products it developed in about 80,000 individual outlets across the nation. "We have the greatest share of customers in the restaurant and retail world," Ford said. "It is a big business that has been growing leaps and bounds over the past three or four years."

Customer demand also is creating the opportunity to expand a plant in Concord, N.C., that produces extract, tea and herbal products. The expansion will add two automated production lines, increasing overall capacity of extracts processing at the site by more than 50%.

The expansion will include modernizing Westrock's current manufacturing and packaging process for bottled products. Upgrades to the Concord facility should be complete by the end of 2022.

"We have seen strong product demand and customer growth over the past year and our expansion puts us at the forefront of providing beverage solutions for any type of business in any form of finished packaging," Ford said in the company's news release. "This progress is a testament to every person who plays a role in our day-to-day operations."

The company operates three plants in North Carolina.

Westrock also said production will begin in the first quarter of next year at the recently completed 90,000-square-foot, two-building facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, which is just 30 minutes outside of Singapore. That operation will enhance Westrock's roasting capacity to accommodate for increases in manufacturing, packaging and warehousing of coffee and extract products across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa regions.

The Malaysian plant is the company's first roasting, manufacturing and packaging facility outside of the U.S.

In Arkansas, the 44-acre Conway facility provides room to grow and has a trained workforce that the company can readily tap into, according to Will Ford, group president of operations for Westrock. "Conway has been a manufacturing hub and there is truly a great group of people and we've built a network of people who want to come work here," he said.

Westrock's expansion bolsters economic development efforts in Conway, which lost about 350 jobs when Kimberly Clark shuttered its plant to consolidate operations in its home base of Wisconsin.

"Westrock Coffee and Conway will be an exceptional partnership," Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry said. "The city is fortunate to have Westrock Coffee bring its global presence, outlook, and commitment to investing in the lives of their partners throughout the world."

The company's growth ultimately will benefit growers who pick and supply coffee beans, Scott Ford said. Westrock shares profits with its growers and farmers in 35 countries.

"The reason we got into business -- the thing that drives us -- is the more volume we drive through our supply chain, the more coffee we have to buy off the ground, the fairer we make the market on the ground for the people who are trying to feed their kids," Scott Ford said.

Arkansas is offering expansion incentives that grant Westrock sales and use tax refunds for purchasing building materials and equipment; cash payments tied to annual payroll for seven years; and $750,000 from the governor's quick action closing fund.

Conway is a homecoming of sorts for the founders of Westrock, Scott and his father, Joe T. Ford, who grew up in Conway, spent his business career in the state and was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2000. "This is really special for Joe to be able to come back and do this in Conway," Scott Ford said.

Print Headline: Westrock Coffee plans to add Conway plant

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