Staff report

Sara Lee Coffee and Tea will celebrate the grand opening of its new, high-tech liquid coffee facility in Suffolk on Friday.

The $93 million plan, which officials said would create more than 100 new jobs, is the company’s first liquid coffee facility in the United States.

Among the dignitaries expected to attend the event are U.S. Sen. George Allen, Rep. J. Randy Forbes, Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade Matt Erskine and Suffolk Mayor Bobby Ralph.

Employees at the facility trained at the company’s liquid coffee facility in Joure, the Netherlands. Its new brand of liquid coffee concentrate will serve the international market.

The company had employed more than 200 people at its Wilroy Industrial Park facility producing roast and ground coffee.