Ally Coffee Opens Global Specialty HQ in Greenville, SC
Ally Coffee, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, opened a new global specialty headquarters office and education lab in Greenville, South Carolina in January 2018. The new specialty headquarters, with more than 7,000 square feet of space, incorporates purchasing, sales, and education into one location to facilitate teamwork between all sides of the business. This openness is reflected in the design.
The service-ready bar is furnished with two Mahlkonig grinders, a La Marzocco Linea, and a Nuova Simonelli Eagle/ClimaPro combo, all used by students during Ally’s courses offered to the professional community and the public. Stadium seating faces the bar to provide a gathering place for students and spectators at coffee events. “We had a great time hosting the first Southern Preliminary event in September, and we love how this space enables us to host many more community focused events in the future,” says James Tooill, US sales manager.
The roasting room is equipped with an Ikawa electric fluid air roaster and a Probat BRZ for sample roasting and a Diedrich IR-2.5 and Brazilian Atilla 5kg for roasting classes and production. The cupping lab is outfitted per CQI Q-Grader specifications. “We offer a range of classes and customized programs blending online learning with practical classes in green coffee, roasting, brewing, and food safety compliance,” says Ildi Revi, director of education for Ally, adding that Ally is also developing company retreats for roasting and retailing operations that combine specialised sensory learning and business issues.
Ally’s new headquarters is located in the Greenville Trade Park, a revitalised space in the former Steel Heddle Manufacturing property. Greenville was a major textile producer in the early 1900s, and the Steel Heddle manufacturing plant produced cotton processing equipment for mills up and down the Eastern seaboard. Since dozens of Greenville mills closed in the 1980s and 90s, there has been a push to repurpose the deserted buildings into artist studios, community spaces and job-creating businesses. Global director of specialty coffee, Ricardo Pereira, has been a Greenville local for over 17 years and believes in reclaimed spaces. “It is important to use resources that are already in place. Building our new lab in an old mill is in keeping with Ally’s role as a partner in local communities.”
Ally Coffee first opened the specialty division’s quality control lab and offices in a smaller Greenville facility in 2014, but consistent growth and new projects have sparked the buildout of the new space with room to grow and collaborate locally and globally. Ally operates satellite offices throughout the US and Europe, including Atlanta, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Berlin, and Gothenburg, with commercial trading and logistics managed by a team in Plantation, Florida.
Ally Coffee is part of the Montesanto Tavares Group, a family-owned group of integrated coffee agricultural businesses based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
For further information, visit: www.allycoffee.com.