AL International, formed after the merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences and Javalution Coffee, has signed a new 10 year lease agreement to expand the production and distribution facilities of its wholly owned subsidiary CLR Roasters from 25,000 to 40,000ft².
The agreement includes a first right of refusal for an additional 7,000ft².
An additional 3,500ft² office space will be added to house CLR Roasters' direct store distribution division, which is focused on gaining retail shelf space for the company's Café La Rica and Josie's Java House brands.
CLR has bought a JB Burns 88 commercial grade coffee grinder and an additional 12oz packaging machine from OPEM to support its growing private label business.
To streamline brick pack capabilities, the company has roped in OPEM to build an espresso brick pack system with plans to install it later in 2013.
The company has also purchased art printers to improve product traceability processes.
AL International commercial operations CFO and president Dave Briskie said: "We are investing just over $500,000 in new equipment and plant improvements at CLR Roasters. We expect this investment to support future growth and profitability within our roasting operations."
