Westrock Coffee: Brewing Up Success in Arkansas
The name “Ford” is synonymous with “business” in the United States. In Detroit, it conjures up images of automobile manufacturing and assembly lines – dating back to Henry Ford and the Model T Ford.
In Arkansas, though, the name “Ford” stands for another pioneering family. Joe Ford is an iconic Arkansas businessman who served as the president and CEO of Alltel Corporation, leading the company during a period of significant change in the telecommunications industry. His son, Scott Ford, later became president and CEO of Alltel from 2002 to 2009. Both Joe and Scott Ford have become synonymous with business success in Arkansas.
Leading a Fortune 500 telecommunications giant would be a career capstone for anyone – but for the Ford family, it was just the start of a bigger entrepreneurial journey.
Following his retirement as CEO of Alltel, Scott Ford decided to take a year off to spend time in Rwanda and help develop the country’s economy. The primary cash crop in Rwanda is coffee, and at the time, there were only two coffee mills in the country.
“And so maybe not the greatest business decision I ever made, certainly for a long time it didn’t look like it, but really out of anger and out of, just a sense of this just can’t stand, I called my wife and I said, ‘Let’s build a coffee mill.’ And she said, ‘Fine. What are you doing?’ And I said, ‘I’ll fill you in when I get home.’ That’s where it started,” said Scott Ford. “And from that – just build a mill so that people can get a fair price, we then figured out that the best way to grow that model around the world was to have a business that people gave us their demand. So, if we can go in, in the developed world, we get a greater book of business to go place orders for coffee around the developing world, and that way we can expand that model to impact millions of people. And that’s where Westrock Coffee kind of came from, and it’s the reason we’ve done everything since, in the last 14 years.”
Scott Ford became the CEO and co-founder of Westrock Coffee with Joe Ford serving as co-founder.
A major milestone for Westrock Coffee was its acquisition of S&D Coffee & Tea in 2020, which was the largest coffee and tea manufacturer in the U.S., as well as supplier to restaurants and convenience stores, for $405 million.
A veteran of multiple mergers and acquisitions, Scott Ford saw the value in acquiring S&D to quickly expand Westrock Coffee’s offerings. “Everybody said, ‘But they’re three times our size,’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve done this before. I’ve seen this movie, it will work out, you just have to work it every day,’” said Ford.
Following this acquisition, things quickly started percolating for Westrock Coffee.
In 2021, Westrock announced that the company had purchased a 524,000-square-foot building in Conway, Ark. with the intent of establishing a new development, production, packaging, and distribution facility. This facility would be the largest roasting to ready-to-drink facility of its kind in the United States.
“We could not be more excited to headquarter our state-of-the-art extracts and ready-to-drink facility in Conway and Central Arkansas,” said Scott Ford. “This decision represents our unwavering commitment to our employees, the community, and our customers. By expanding our jobs and packaging facility, we are strengthening our foundation for growth and reinforcing our dedication to delivering quality beverage solutions. We are grateful for the support of the governor’s office, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the community of Conway for its continued support.”
This announcement was only the start of the company’s investment in its Arkansas operations. Westrock Coffee continued to scale its operations, and in 2023, the company announced that it would be investing $300 million in Arkansas and creating 600 new jobs at the Conway facility.
Using state-of-the-art equipment, the Westrock Coffee employees in Conway will manufacture and package a range of products, including canned or bottled cold brew coffees, lattes, assorted teas, and juice-based products as well as single-serve coffee cups. This facility also includes an industry-leading product development lab and FDA-certified pilot plant, enabling Westrock to create, test, and produce new beverage solutions.
Westrock Coffee held a grand opening for its Conway facility in June 2024 – ahead of schedule. For Scott Ford, this facility’s opening represents the start of what he hopes Westrock Coffee will accomplish.
“My ambitions for this team are well-placed and embarrassingly high,” said Ford. “I think we’ll be the leader in this industry at least across North America, and probably over two if not three continents within the next 10 years.”
Today, Westrock Coffee is headquartered in Arkansas and manufactures products that go all over the country. Co-founded by a father and son who have both made their mark on business in Arkansas, Westrock Coffee is a family affair – the company also employs other members of the Ford family – that is brewing up success in the Natural State.
“This is the greatest place to be an entrepreneur, to be an investor, to be a capital deployer in commercial for-profit businesses in the world,” Scott Ford said. “I travel for a living, I always have. And people say, ‘You still live in Arkansas. Why?” And I said, ‘I hope that before your days are finish, you’ll come to realize you could’ve lived in Arkansas all these years too.’”
