E-Malt.com News article: Bulgaria: InBev's subsidiary in Bulgaria to streamline brewing production

InBev S.A. announced on October 21 that its Bulgarian subsidiary will cease brewing operations in the Pleven brewery, one of its three Bulgarian breweries, on October 21, 2005, and transfer production to the remaining two breweries.

After an extensive review of its Bulgarian operations, which took over a year to conduct, InBev has decided to optimize its production activities by the end of 2005. The decision to transfer brewing and packaging operations to the two other sites is based on excess capacity, and on the disadvantages which this creates. The Pleven site will continue its production of malt; sales and distribution activities, as well as logistics operations, will also continue.

Ninety eight employees will be affected by the closure, and will be provided fair severance packages as well as support services.

As a result of the Pleven Brewery restructuring, new investments will be made, and new jobs will be created in both the Plovdiv and Haskovo breweries.

All necessary steps will be taken to ensure that the Pleven brewery production is transitioned to the rest of the Distribution centers network before the transfer of production assets takes place. The normal supply of stock to the market will also be secured.

InBev expects a total one-off cost of 0.4 million euro, related to the production optimization, which has a capacity of 0.46 million hectoliters. The total capital expenditure (CAPEX) needed for the relocation of production will be approximately 1.6 million euro.

InBev is a publicly traded company based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume. InBev's strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted acquisitions, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, BRAHMA®, Beck's®, Skol®-the third-largest selling beer brand in the world-Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Staropramen® and Bass®. InBev employs some 77,000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2004, InBev realized a net turnover of 8.57 billion euro (including four months of AmBev). For further information visit www.inbev.com.


25 October, 2005