Vermont Business Magazine Keurig Green Mountain, Inc, the single-cup beverage company based in Waterbury, Vermont, announced today that it will open a manufacturing facility in Douglas County, Georgia. The new Douglas County manufacturing center is the first Keurig facility dedicated to the production of pods for the company’s new Keurig Cold platform. The Keurig Cold in-home beverage system will give consumers a convenient way to quickly produce their favorite cold beverage brands with the same one-touch system typical of the Keurig brand. Keurig is in the development process and plans to introduce the cold system to consumers in fiscal year 2015 (which begins this fall). A Keurig spokesperson said in an email statement that, "We will be continuing to grow our manufacturing capacity in Vermont. The Douglas County site will complement the company’s new Early Production Center in Williston, Vermont, which will serve as a hub for Keurig Cold™ start-up and early production work."
The cold beverage system is being developed in conjunction with Coca-Cola, which earlier this year bought 16 percent of the company. Keurig's market cap as of today is $17.79 billion. Coke is looking to get into the home beverage market, which currently is dominated by SodaStream. The Coca-Cola company is based in Atlanta, GA.
Keurig conducts research and development activities in facilities in Burlington, Reading, and Wakefield, Massachusetts; and in Waterbury, Vermont. Keurig employs over 6,000 system-wide and about 2,200 in Vermont. It reported revenues of $4.4 billion last year. Also earlier this year, the company changed its name from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to Keurig Green Mountain to better reflect the company's focus on its single-cup systems, which accounts for the vast bulk of its sales.
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In a statement, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said today Keurig had closed on the purchase of a 585,000-square-foot building for renovation in Douglasville and anticipates creating 550 new jobs and investing $337 million into the facility over the next five years.
“Keurig’s new facility is a great addition to Georgia’s already diverse manufacturing industry and will provide many good jobs for our citizens,” Deal said. “The fact that the company has chosen to manufacture it new product line in Georgia is a testament to our skilled workforce and logistics infrastructure.”
Keurig’s innovative Keurig Hot Brewing System delivers convenience, variety, and consistent great taste at the touch of a button, through a premium brewer portfolio and an expanding family of more than 50 quality brands and 290 beverages. The new Douglas County manufacturing center will support the production of pods for the company’s new Keurig Cold platform, an in-home cold beverage system that will give consumers a convenient way to quickly produce their favorite cold beverage brands with the same one-touch simplicity, quality, and variety that consumers enjoy from the Keurig brand.
In February, Keurig and The Coca-Cola Company announced the companies had entered into a long-term, global strategic partnership to collaborate on the development and introduction of The Coca-Cola Company's global brand portfolio for use in the Keurig Cold beverage system and will cooperate to bring the system to consumers around the world.
“Keurig Cold is an exciting new multi-brand platform for our company, and ensuring beverage pod production capacity and efficiency are key to its success,” said Brian Kelley, Keurig’s President and CEO. “The Douglas County region offers a diverse and skilled employee base as well as many geographic and economic benefits, making it a great location for our new facility. We are grateful for the support we have received from local and state representatives to help bring us to the region, and we look forward to becoming an active part of the community.”
In addition to the new Douglas County location, Keurig maintains eight production and distribution facilities in Castroville, California; Knoxville, Tennessee; Windsor, Virginia; Essex, Waterbury, and Williston, Vermont; Sumner, Washington; and Montréal, Québec.
The Douglas County Development Authority and Annie Baxter, director of the logistics, energy, agribusiness and food team at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) assisted the company with this project. Keurig was represented throughout the search process by Lake Forest, IL, based Kupperman Location Solutions. Keurig is also working with Cincinnati-based Hixson Inc. Architecture, Engineering, Interiors on the engineering for the new site.
About Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.
As a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas and other beverages, Keurig Green Mountain (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), is recognized for its award-winning beverages, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. The Company has inspired consumer passion for its products by revolutionizing beverage preparation at home and in the workplace. Keurig supports local and global communities by investing in sustainably-grown coffee and by its active involvement in a variety of social and environmental projects. By helping consumers drink for themselves, we believe we can brew a better world. For more information visit: www.KeurigGreenMountain.com. To purchase Keurig® products visit: www.Keurig.com or www.Keurig.ca.
Source: Keurig Green Mountain, Inc 6.19.2014