© Jasper Juinen/Heineken
Heineken is planning to invest BRS865million ($183 million) to expand its brewery in Ponta Grossa, Brazil, according to a report from Reuters.
The investment will reportedly be made later this year, and Heineken claims that production capacity at the site will increase 75% following the investment, though the company did not provide any further detail on the specific nature of the expansion project.
According to Heineken’s most recent annual results, Brazil is now the largest global market for the Heineken brand, and this expansion effort comes as Heineken seeks to consolidate the presence of its Amstel and namesake beer brands in the market.
“We are bringing forward by one year all the investments of our strategic plan. Brazil is a key market for us,” Heineken Brazil CEO Mauricio Giamellaro told Reuters in an interview.
“Basically, we are building a new brewery”, he continued.
Heineken’s namesake lager brand posted 8.3% volume growth last year, its best performance in a decade. The brand recorded double-digit growth in over 40 markets, including Brazil, Mexico, and the UK.
The Dutch brewer saw its revenue increase by 5.6% organically in 2019 to €23.89 billion, while it registered profits of €4.02 billion for the year.
This followed the news that its CEO, Jean-François van Boxmeer, is stepping down from his position in June 2020 after 15 years at the helm. he will be replaced by Dolf van den Brink, the current head of the company’s Asia Pacific business unit.
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