MONTGOMERY— Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded an $820,000 grant to provide infrastructure necessary for a Coffee County industry to expand and create 82 new jobs.
Ben E. Keith Co., a food and beverage distribution company, is building a second plant in Coffee County. Community Development Block Grant funds will be used to supply water and sewer services to the 450,000-square-foot facility in New Brockton. The facility is being designed with the capacity to more than double in size in the future.
Gov. Ivey, who attended the facility’s groundbreaking in June 2019, said she appreciated the company’s continued investment and the jobs it will mean for southeast Alabama. Ben E. Keith also has another facility in nearby Elba and currently employs 184 people.
“I welcome this expansion and the jobs and opportunities it will bring to Coffee County,” Gov. Ivey said. “Ben E. Keith has been a wonderful industrial addition to southeast Alabama since coming here in 2016. I am pleased to award this grant to support further expansion and job opportunities for Alabamians.”
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Certainly no one is more focused on jobs and Alabama’s economy than Gov. Ivey, and she realizes what an asset Ben E. Keith is to Coffee County and the Wiregrass region,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to join with Gov. Ivey, Ben E. Keith Co. and the Coffee County Commission in this project that will have a tremendous impact on the area.”
Gov. Ivey notified Dean Smith, chairman of the Coffee County Commission, that the grant had been approved. The County Commission has pledged $164,050 for the infrastructure project.
ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.
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