Milo's Tea Company, a 76-year-old Alabama-based national beverage company, announced it will invest more than $130 million initially to build a new manufacturing and distribution facility in Spartanburg County, S.C. The investment is a direct response to the growth of the Milo's brand and aims to bring more than 100 jobs to the area. Milo's expects to break ground by mid-March 2023 and start production in fall 2024.
After a multi-year site selection process, the company chose the 48-acre campus at the corner of U.S. Highway 290 and U.S. Highway 221 in Moore, S.C. The 110,000-sq-ft facility will be the fourth production plant for the company. Milo's other manufacturing facilities are located in the Tulsa, Okla., area and Bessemer and Homewood, Ala. Milo's also plans on adding additional lines of production over the coming years. The company says it ensured the water quality of the region could match its consistent taste and quality by sending multiple tanker trucks of water to its Bessemer plant to validate flavor consistency.
"South Carolina was the optimal location to efficiently serve our customers up and down the east coast. Like our selection journey for our Oklahoma facility, we immediately felt at home in the Spartanburg area as we received a warm welcome from state and local community partners," CEO Tricia Wallwork says. "South Carolina and Spartanburg County in particular proved to be the right ecosystem to help us advance our People First culture by offering an excellent standard of living for our associates and robust workforce development resources to drive economic prosperity not only for our people but also for the region."