Local

Starbucks Selects Augusta for Plant Location

March 23rd, 2012

The coffee giant that brought you Frappuccinos, ready-to-drink mochas and instant coffee is planning on settling down in Georgia.

Starbucks announced to stakeholders this week that a new $172-million manufacturing plant will be built in Augusta. The company says the move reflects its commitment to invest in local communities.

“The economics of it showed that it would be cheaper to build outside the U.S. but it meant more to us to build in the U.S.,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks Coffee Co. CEO.

But why Augusta?

Zack Hutson, a spokesperson for Starbucks, said the city’s proximity to Savannah’s ports and major roadways factored into company’s decision to put the plant there. Augusta’s high quality of life and abundance of skilled workers were also a draw.

“The process of producing these products is technology-intensive,” Hutson said. “It took Starbucks over 20 years to create VIA Ready Brew.”

Ingredients for VIA Ready Brew beverages, the company’s new instant coffee, will be a part of the plant’s focus. The facility will also make the coffee bases for Frappuccinos and other ready-to-drink choices.

Hutson said output from the Augusta plant will supply all of North America and some parts of Europe. They’ll begin building the 160,000 square-foot space this spring. The project is expected to create 140 jobs directly and other jobs indirectly through construction.

Starbucks has planned to open the plant January 2014 — it would be the company’s fifth manufacturing facility in the United States. Sandy Run, S.C., is the closest neighboring plant.