In 2012, Starbucks Coffee Company already had four coffee-roasting plants in the U.S. But, to meet demand, it needed to build a facility to make their soluble products such as their VIA instant coffee.
They conducted a meticulous evaluation of sites around the country. Starbucks could have gone anywhere. In the end, Georgia Quick Start tipped the balance in favor of Georgia.
From the beginning when the Augusta plant opened in 2013, Quick Start provided Starbucks with customized training such as extraction and evaporator process, spray dry process, and packaging. Quick Start also helped Starbucks with its expansions which included training in green bean handling, roasting, grinding and packaging.
Quick Start and Augusta Tech have been partners with Starbucks for its plant opening and subsequent expansion over eight years.
“They truly took the time to understand our business needs and helped to create and deliver training, work instructions, and resources to our partners [employees],” says Starbucks’ senior operations manager. “One of our values is ‘Delivering our very best in all we do’ and Quick Start has absolutely helped us deliver. We are grateful to partner with Quick Start!”
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From employees to visiting VIPs, a custom made hybrid video/animated piece Quick Start created is used extensively to illustrate the Augusta plant’s process of making soluble coffee.
Starbucks’ Augusta Soluble Coffee Plant produces products including VIA Instant.
Georgia Quick Start worked with Starbucks to create a full process flow of its Augusta facility before it was even completed.
The piece originally came about when Starbucks first announced the $172 million facility, and some thought it was going to be one heck of a coffee shop. The animation helped illustrate what would actually take place at the plant.
Quick Start’s video is a must-see not only for employees, but a wide range of VIPs with an interest in the coffee-making giant.
The Augusta Soluble Coffee Plant is Starbucks’ first company-owned manufacturing facility in the world to produce soluble products such as the VIA Instant, as well as the coffee base for Frappuccino blended beverages and many of Starbucks’ bottled and canned beverages.
Introduced in 2009, Starbucks VIA is a transformational instant coffee made without preservatives.
