Richmond – Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., a company that specializes in coffee and coffeemakers, announced Friday (Oct. 28) that it will establish a production and distribution facility at an intermodal park in Isle of Wight County.
Green Mountain has agreed to purchase a 330,000-square-foot building on a 64 acre parcel of land in Isle of Wight County, where it expects to house coffee roasting, grinding, flavoring, and packaging of its single-serve portion packs for its Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing System. Within five years, it is estimated the new facility will have as many as 800 employees. Company officials said it will invest $180 million over the initial five-years of the facility's operations.
The company will use The Port of Virginia to import and export its products. Officials at the Virginia Port Authority said Green Mountain will provide a significant amount of new business for the port.
"An investment of this proportion is transformational for Isle of Wight County, said Gov. Bob McDonnell. "The region continues to rebound after experiencing devastating job losses, and this project will put 800 Virginians back to work.
"Green Mountain makes a consumer product that is rapidly growing in popularity, and this new Mid-Atlantic location will allow the company to meet increased demand. The Commonwealth's growing food and beverage industry cluster was an important to Green Mountain."
Green Mountain is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and environmentally- and socially-responsible business practices: The company supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in sustainably-grown coffee, and allocates at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects.
"This announcement is confirmation to the citizens of Isle of Wight that our investments in real estate and infrastructure for the Shirley T. Holland Intermodal Park are beginning to pay off as we welcome significant advanced manufacturing projects to our community," said Isle of Wight County Chairman Thomas J. Wright, III. "The rewards will be realized for generations to come."