SAB Miller continues Romanian investment

16/02/06 URSUS Breweries, a subsidiary of SABMiller plc, has announced that it continues to invest in the expansion and modernisation of its Buzau Brewery by means of an investment plan exceeding US$ 30 million. URSUS Breweries is planning to increase the weekly production capacity of the Buzau Brewery by 75%.

This year’s investment project consists of the installation of a new brew house and the expansion of beer filtration and storage capacities in Buzau. The current bottling line will be replaced with a new line, with a capacity rate of 45,000 bottles/h. The construction work and installation of the new equipment requires the demolition of some old buildings, while others will be refurbished.
 
„Besides the expansion of the production capacity, this important investment project will facilitate future expansions and competitive costs, which will lead to the alignment of the operations of URSUS Breweries in Buzau to SABMiller's standards”, declared Cristian Matei, the manager of the Buzau brewery. 

The brewery in Buzau was the first acquisition by SABMiller plc in Romania in 1996 and has an annual capacity of 800,000 hl and approximately 300 employees. Up until now, total investments made by URSUS Breweries in the Buzau brewery have been more than US$ 13 million.

Dieter Schulze, the President of URSUS Breweries, declares:  This is the largest investment made by URSUS Breweries since it entered the Romanian market and re-confirms our commitment to the development of Romanian beer brands with heritage. It also benefits our consumers, by having their brands of choice brewed by world class employees in state-of-the-art breweries.”

URSUS Breweries, a subsidiary of SABMiller plc, is the second largest brewer in Romania, with an estimated annual market share of 22%. URSUS Breweries currently holds 4 breweries with a total capacity of 3 million hl and about 1,300 employees. The company has operations in Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Buzău, Braşov and Tunari. The brands owned by URSUS Breweries are: URSUS, Timişoreana, Ciucaş, Stejar, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell.