USA: Miller Brewing Co. to upgrade Milwaukee brewery

Miller Brewing Co. plans to spend $46 million to $79 million over the next five years to upgrade its Milwaukee brewery, the company's oldest such facility, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted July 27.

Miller's plans to make that investment came as Governor Jim Doyle announced that the company will receive $1.25 million in state tax credits and a $255,000 job training grant.

Doyle said the state aid will "ensure people have the skills to make Miller the most efficient and most productive brewer in the world." He spoke in a Miller warehouse, surrounded by brewery workers and walls of empty Miller Lite cans stacked some 20 feet high.

Miller will receive enterprise development zone tax credits for improving the Milwaukee brewery, storage facilities and utilities to increase their efficiency.

The job training grant will be combined with $5.7 million that Miller plans to spend on worker training.

The company has around 650 union employees at the brewery, in addition to non-union supervisory positions.

"Significant investments in our employees and upgrades to our historic Milwaukee brewery will result in a more efficient facility and a highly skilled workforce ready to take on the challenges and opportunities that the future brings," said Norman Adami, Miller's president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "The governor's support of this initiative will help ensure the long-term success of Miller Brewing Company and all of its employees, keeping the rich tradition of brewing alive in Milwaukee."

After the announcement, Mayor Tom Barrett said, "Miller's commitment to preserving these jobs is great for the city."

Miller officials couldn't be reached for comment on details of what specific improvements the company plans to make.

The announcement came as a surprise to Harry Shayhorn, president of Brewery Workers Local 9, which represents most of the union employees at Miller. The company's plans to upgrade the Milwaukee facility, portions of which date back to the 19th century, will ease concerns about the brewery's future, Shayhorn said.

Miller's other breweries are in Trenton, Ohio; Eden, N.C.; Albany, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Irwindale, Calif. The Fort Worth brewery was purchased by Miller from another brewer in 1966. The remaining breweries were built in the 1970s as part of a large expansion after Miller was sold to cigarette maker Philip Morris Cos.

Miller is now owned by SABMiller Plc, a London-based brewing conglomerate that bought Miller in 2002.

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