Mexico: Constellation Brands plans to enlarge its Obregon brewery by 2.5m hl

Constellation Brands is planning to expand its beer production at the site in Obregon, Sonora, from 8.5 million hectoliters to 11 million as became known during a visit of Sonora’s Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño at the plant last Wednesday.

The USD 1.5 bn investment is part of Constellation’s 3-year investment plan of USD 5.5bn in Mexico.

Constellation Brands needs additional production capacity for its Corona, Modelo and Pacifico beers which are sold in the U.S. market, after its nearly finished USD 1.4-billion brewery in Mexicali was not allowed to open by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2020. (inside.beer, 24.3.2020)

The Obregon plant which at that time had a capacity of 4m hectoliters was bought in 2016 from Mexican brewer Modelo (inside.beer, 1.11.2016), only three years after AB InBev sold Grupo Modelo’s U.S. distribution rights for Corona and other Mexican beer brands in a USD 5.3 billion deal to Constellation Brands to gain U.S. antitrust approval of its USD 20.1 billion merger with Grupo Modelo. The enlargement of the Obregon brewery to 8.5m hl was initiated in 2017 and opened in 2018. The now planned investment will bring the plant to a cpacity of 11m hl.

To meet growing demand for its Mexican beers in the United States, Constellation plans to further expand its Obregon brewery to 17 million hectolitres as Francisco Acuña Méndez, head of Sonora's Sustainable Development Council indicated.

In order to replace its plans for a new brewery in Mexicali, Constellation plans in addition to build a brand new USD 1.3 billion brewery in the south of the state of Veracruz, in southeastern Mexico asDaniel Baima, President of Constellation Brands in Mexico confirmed. (inside.beer, 8.12.2021)

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