HOUSTON — Riviana Foods is investing $15 million to upgrade production and expand instant rice capacity at its facility in Memphis, Tenn.

The investment will be used to renovate and update the plant’s existing processing lines, controls and the rice transfer system. In addition, Riviana will replace one of the lines dedicated to the production of instant brown rice with new and improved equipment. The renovations and new installations are expected to increase reliability, volume output, productivity and efficiency, Riviana said. The company’s production process also will be made more sustainable, Riviana added.

It is the sixth expansion project to take place at the facility since it opened in 2006. Most recently, in November 2019 Riviana invested $27 million to double the production capacity for its Minute brand microwavable rice products at the plant.

Completion of the project is expected in the third quarter.

“This is an exciting time for Riviana and our employees as we continue to improve our operations to meet or exceed customer needs in the years to come,” said Enrique Zaragoza, president and chief executive officer of Riviana. “In addition, we look forward to many more years of successful partnership between Riviana and the community.”

Riviana Foods Inc. is North America’s largest processor, marketer and distributor of branded and private label rice products through its family of brands, including Minute, Mahatma, Success, Carolina, Comet, Adolphus, Blue Ribbon, RiceSelect, Gourmet House and Tilda. Riviana also processes, markets and distributes fresh and premium dry pasta through the brands Olivieri and Garofalo. Riviana is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ebro Foods, SA.