Mexico & USA: Grupo Modelo plans $520 mln new brewery on US border
Mexico's largest beer maker, Grupo Modelo, said Thursday it plans to invest about $520 million in a new brewery in northern Mexico as demand for its beer grows at home and abroad, according to Houston Chronicle publication November 30th.
"The growth we have seen in the national and international markets makes us believe we will need additional capacity by 2010," Chief Executive Carlos Fernandez said at a news conference.
The new brewery will be located in the border city of Piedras Negras, in the state of Coahuila, across the Rio Grande from Texas, the release said. The company said the location, quality of water and infrastructure were considerations in choosing the site.
Modelo is the brewer of top U.S. import brand Corona. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. has a stake of about 50 percent in the company.
Modelo will finance the construction of the brewery with its own resources, Fernandez said.
According to executives, most of the capacity at the new brewery will go to the export market, especially North America and Europe. The new brewery will add 260 million gallons to its annual capacity by the end of 2010, the company said.
Grupo Modelo completed this month its $470 million, 211 million gallons expansion at a brewery in the southern state of Oaxaca, which brought capacity at the plant to 420 million gallons and Modelo's overall capacity to 1.6 billion gallons.
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