Red Bull / Rauch / Ball Corp. Break Ground on Beverage Plant in Concord, North Carolina

Red Bull, Ball Corp. and Rauch Fruchtsäfte have broken ground on a new production, manufacturing and distribution facility in Concord, N.C. — a project that was originally announced four years ago but until now had not seen shovels hit the ground.

The facility will span 2.3 million sq. ft., with operations now expected to begin in 2028, ramping up to maximum capacity (3 billion cans annually) by 2031, according to a release from the city of Concord. There was no reports from any of the companies involved on reasons for the four-year delay in getting construction under way.

The project was first announced in July 2021, with Red Bull and Rauch originally promising a $740 million investment; Ball Corp. stepped in later in the month, ponying up an additional $383.8 million to add aluminum can production capabilities on the site, according to news reports at the time. According to current reports citing updated numbers from Red Bull, the capital project will bring a $1.5 billion investment to the area and provide as many as 700 new jobs.

The Concord plant will be the second integrated manufacturing site for Red Bull, Rauch and Ball Corp. in the U.S., with the trio having teamed up on a site in Glendale, Ariz., earlier this decade. The Concord facility will include internal conveyor bridges for intralogistics between operations, connecting the can manufacturing to co-packing, then on to warehousing and direct-to-customer deliveries.

Rauch, which is a European and international juice and beverage manufacturer, has been a close partner with Red Bull since their beginnings in 1987, according to the news release on the groundbreaking.