Brau Union Romania restructuring, only just beginning?

The closedown of the Reghin-based brewery might be just the beginning of a more dramatic restructuring programme aimed at the operations developed by Austrian group Brau Union in Romania.

Managers of Brau Union Romania, leader of the local beer market, are planning to close down another beer plant of the six that will continue to operate in the wake of the shutdown in Reghin, according to sources close to the company.

Brau Union officials say this is little likely to happen this year, but are not denying that restructuring may be pushed further.

“We cannot guarantee the permanent operation of these breweries. Our task is to create competitive structures and make the necessary investment at the right time, so as to secure the company’s efficiency and innovation capacity,” Werner Schneidhofer, chairman of Brau Union Romania, told Ziarul Financiar.

The reason behind this measure is the fact that, despite closing down a brewery with an annual production capacity of 500,000 hectolitres, Brau Union Romania can still produce another 4.5 million hectolitres of beer per year, that is 10% more than this year’s sales forecasts.

Moreover, following the acquisition of Brau Union by Dutch group Heineken at an international level, the Austrians’ brand portfolio in Romania (Gosser, Kaiser, Silva, Ciuc, Golden Brau, Bucegi, Gambrinus) may be modified so as to include Heineken and Amstel. This may lead to an initial drop in sales.

Following the closedown of the Reghin-based beer plant, in September, the group will be left with breweries in Bucharest, Craiova, Constanta, Arad, Miercucea-Ciuc and Hateg.

“The shutdown at Reghin is scheduled for this year. Our future strategy depends on the efficiency of costs and structures we’ve created, as well as on market evolution and competition,” states Schneidhofer.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro