In December 2020 Heineken announced to build a new 5 million hl brewery in the city of Pedro Leopoldo, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (inside.beer, 18.12.2020)
However, in October last year, Heineken gave up the investment in Pedro Leopoldo after public resistance became too great and an embargo against Heineken's products was called for. As it became known, the planned location was close to the caves of Lapa Vermelha, an area where the oldest human fossil in the Americas was found.
Another selection process was opened to choose a new location for the brewing plant. Heineken received the registration of about 300 municipalities. Three cities were selected as “finalists”: Passos, Uberaba and Uberlândia. After a final analysis of all three options, the company finally chose to settle in Passos due to water availability, socioeconomic development and logistical ease for supplying the state of Minas Gerais and the Southeast region.
Today, Heineken Brazil CEO Maurício Giamellaro officially announced the decision at a ceremony attended by Romeu Zema, Governor of Minas Gerais.
The new brewery with an annual production capacity of more than 5 million hectoliters will cost around BRL 1.8 billion (USD 358m) and will generate 350 direct jobs and 11 thousand indirect jobs.
The start of operations is scheduled for 2025, with the production of the pure malt brands Heineken and Amstel. The factory will be the company's most sustainable unit in the country, being 100% powered by renewable energy sources.
Heineken already has 14 factories and 25 distribution centers in the country, creating more than 13,000 direct jobs. The company manufactures and sells the brands Heineken, Sol, Kaiser, Bavária, Lagonitas, Bavaria Premium, Bavária 0.0%, Xingu, Amstel, Kirin Ichiban, Schin, No Grau, Devassa, Baden Baden, Eisenbahn, Cintra and Glacial.
