Brazilian firm to open $25 million plant at Port of Palm Beach

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. - A Brazilian maker of organic caffeine plans to spend millions to open a plant at the Port of Palm Beach, Gov. Rick Scott said today.

America's Natural Caffeine, a company run by two Sao Paulo businessmen, has leased 45,000 square feet of space at the port and plans to hire 75 workers over three years, at an average salary of $62,000. The company expects to spend $25 million to set up a plant at a port-owned building.

America's Natural Caffeine says it will extract caffeine from guarana, a Brazilian fruit, and sell the compound to makers of drinks, chemicals and drugs.

Scott is on a trade mission to Brazil with nearly 200 business leaders from Florida, including Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, and Manny Almira, executive director of the Port of Palm Beach.

America's Natural Caffeine will collect no tax incentives to set up shop here, Scott said. The company's owners chose to open a facility at the Port of Palm Beach because of the relationships the developed there, Scott said.

"They liked who they dealt with in the port. They liked Kelly Smallridge," Scott said by phone this afternoon. "I think it was an issue that they liked the people they dealt with."