Jura, the maker of high-end fully automated coffee machines, will open its new $42 million hospitality and service center Sept. 1.
The 94,000 square-foot facility at 1475 East Main Street, Mount Joy features a showroom to showcase Jura’s selection of automated bean-to-cup coffee machines, and a state-of-the art service facility. It is the only Jura-certified service center in the US.
Emanuel Probst, CEO Jura Elektroapparate AG, said the new paperless facility features drive-thru service. “The potential is huge. People can drive up, their coffee machine will be unloaded and the service begins. They can wait while the machine is serviced or we will send it to them,” he explained at an Aug. 10 event at the facility.
In addition to the showroom, the new hospitality and service center, features a training area, conference rooms and a large repair area with service desks, conveyor belts, a parts area and a place for packaging. Turn-around time for service is 24-hours, and the last step before a coffee machine is packaged or returned to it owner is cleaning to ensure the coffee not only produces the best cup of coffee, but also looks good.
Probst said the brand has built trust through its reliability and its excellent service support. Jura focuses solely on coffee machines, which are designed in Switzerland and manufactured in Switzerland and Spain. Jura’s coffee machines are available in 50 countries. The company entered the U.S. market in 1999, and the company said the U.S. accounts for 15% of the company’s global sales; recently pulling ahead of its largest German market for the first time in the company’s 95 year history. “Our retail partners in Germany call us the Mercedes Benz of coffee makers,” Probst said.
Tom McMahon, president of Jura Inc., Jura’s U.S. operations, said the facility is modeled after Jura’s campus at its headquarters in Niederbuchsiten, Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. McMahon said the new Rapho Township facility was constructed with sustainability in mind. Geothermal energy powers the heating and cooling system. Ceiling-mounted radiant panels provide efficient climate control. A roof-mounted solar energy system generates approximately 1,800 kilowatts per day; supplying the center’s needs and returning excess power to the grid.
Jura’s current service center is located about two miles away at 134 Shellyland Road, Manheim in the Rapho Business Park. It will relocate to the new facility Sept. 1. The day-to-day operations are managed by Bates Enterprises. Jeff Bates, owners of Bates Enterprises, said the partnership began 33 years ago. He said the new building reflects Jura’s philosophy of repairing rather than replacing whenever possible.
The 35,000 square-foot Shellyland Road facility, which Bates said services about 24,000 Jura coffee machines annually, currently employs 28 people. Bates said the new facility could accommodate nearly double the number of employees. Probst said the new hospitality and service center was constructed to meet current needs as well as projected needs 20 years down the road. Probst described the new hospitality and service center as the “backbone of our future growth in America”.
For Probst, it also means continuing the partnership with Bates. “At Jura, we’re all about trust and long-term relationships including the partnership with the Bates family,” he said adding that the relationship with Bates Enterprises was one of the key factors in keeping the hospitality and service center in the area.
Groundbreaking for the new hospitality and service center was held Feb. 2024. When plans were first unveiled in 2022, it was initially expected to cost $17 million. McMahon said a decision to increase the size of the building increased the cost.
The project was awarded $16.25 million in state grants, which Probst said was a sign of confidence in the company’s plans for growth in the U.S. He said he expects the U.S. to become Jura’s largest market within five to 10 years.