AriZona iced tea is launching Wonka-esque factory tour in NJ

My father would have absolutely loved this. He loved machines, and the more automated the process, the better. He could get lost in watching industrial films and found assembly lines fascinating. Having lived in Rahway most of his life, Woodbridge wouldn’t have been far.

What Dad would have loved is a new tour they’re starting at AriZona iced tea. Their manufacturing plant in the Keasbey section of Woodbridge will launch tours in mid-October.

They’re calling it AriZonaLand, and there will be no charge for the 30-minute tour. What’s cool about this is that it will be packed with vibrant colors and terrific photo ops for a factory setting. For example, there’s an enormous chandelier made from a bottling filler. Or how about antique cars suspended 25 feet in the air and decorated with green tea leaves? In other words, everywhere you turn, you’ll find an Instagrammable opportunity.

“We are going to have young people coming in from an educational point of view, too, to see how things are produced,” said founder Don Vultaggio. “I think they’ll walk away with a view that manufacturing doesn’t have to be boring.”

He is a $4 billion-a-year company that sells 23-ounce cans for only 99 cents. He told mycentraljersey.com, “I’ve been in factories all over the world, and I get excited when I see my product running in a factory. I thought if a guy like me gets excited about cans and bottles being filled, it would be interesting for consumers to see the same.”

This opens in mid-October, and you’ll find it at - 1 AriZona Way in Keasbey. Here’s their site for information.

Oh man, yes, Dad would have loved this.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

Report a correction 👈