Consumer goods giant Unilever North America is set to invest $96.2m to expand and upgrade its Lipton Tea manufacturing plant in Suffolk, Virginia.
The funds will be used to upgrade the tea processing facility and buy new production machinery to expand production.
Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance to secure the project for Virginia.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said, "This expansion and machinery upgrade ensures the continued success of the Lipton plant for years to come, and is a major win for Virginia and Suffolk."
McDonnell has also approved a $1m grant for the company from the Virginia Investment Partnership program.
Virginia Commerce and Trade Secretary Jim Cheng said, "The Suffolk plant's proximity to the Port of Virginia influenced the location decision for this investment, as the company imports loose tea through the port from various countries."
Unilever North America president Kees Kruythoff said, "Unilever is investing more than $96 million to upgrade the plant with modern equipment and state-of-the-art technology to continue producing the high quality tea for our millions of tea-loving consumers."
Lipton is a tea-based drinks brand of Unilever that offers leaf teas, infusions and ready-to-drink iced teas.
