Brazil: Heineken to build new brewery for USD 353 million

Heineken plans to build a new brewery in the city of Pedro Leopoldo, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte. The brewery will be the company's first in the state of Minas Gerais and the twelfth in the country. The announcement was made today after a meeting with representatives of the state of Minas Gerais.

According to the announcement, the company plans an investment of BRL 1.8 billion (USD 353 m) which will generate 300 direct jobs on site. The brewery will be focused on the production of premium beers.

"The location is strategic for the company, since the Southeast region is extremely important for the growth of the premium and mainstream categories", said Maurício Giamellaro, the president of Heineken Brasil. Heineken currently operates units in Alagoinhas (BA), Alexânia (GO), Araraquara (SP), Benevides (PA), Caxias (MA), Igarassu (PE), Igrejinha (RS), Itu (SP), Jacareí (SP) , Pacatuba (CE), Ponta Grossa (PR) and Recife, in addition to having two microbreweries in Campos do Jordão (SP) and Blumenau (SC) and a soft drink concentrate unit in Manaus (AM).

Heineken started last year with a huge investment program to upgrade its plants in Araraquara (SP), Itu (SP), Jacareí (SP), Algoinhas (BA) and Ponta Grossa (PR). Mr. Giamellaro said at that time that he wanted to double Heineken’s capacity in Brazil by June 2020. (inside,beer,25.10.2019) The investment became necessary after Heineken was able to get the ailing former Schincariol breweries back on track which were bought in 2017 from Kirin Holdings Co. (inside.beer, 1.6.2017)

Heineken’s decision to invest in new capacity and equipment in Brazil follows a line of other investments in the brewing industry in South America’s largest country in the last time.

It’s less than three month ago, that Ambev SA, ABInBev’s subsidiary in Brazil reported to have opened its first own can factory in Brazil in Sete Lagoas (MG), 75 km north-west of Belo Horizonte with a production capacity of 1.5 billion cans per year. (inside.beer, 30.09.2020)

Last month, Ambev also announced an investment of BRL 255 million (USD 50m) in the Itapissuma (PE) unit for pure malt beer and starting a new bottling line to supply the North and Northeast regions. with the objective of expanding its production capacity

Grupo Petrópolis, Brazil’s largest privately owned brewing group which in August opened a new brewery in Uberaba (MG) with an investment of BRL 1.2 billion (USD 240m) (inside.beer, 26.3.2019), also announced earlier this month an additional investment of BRL 135 million to install a new canning line for beer production line at the Uberaba plant.

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