Ursus won't close any more plants
Gary Whitlie, chairman of Ursus Breweries, the biggest player in
the Romanian beer industry, says in the next few weeks the company
will open a mini-brewery on the former location of the plant that
the company closed last year and is not planning to shut down any
of the remaining three operational plants.
"Production of the Ursus brand has largely been moved to Bra[ov and
Timi[oara. In Cluj we will produce enough to supply the area,"
Whitlie told ZF.
In November 2010, the producer closed the Cluj plant, whose
operating costs were high. However, Ursus volumes in the Cluj area
went up between January and March 2011. The new production facility
in Cluj requires EUR1.1 million in investments. Previously, the
group had also closed the Azuga production facility.
Asked if he was considering selling the Azuga assets, Whitlie
answered such a decision was being contemplated. At the beginning
of the year, Violeta Moraru said she was interested in buying the
assets of the former plant, which she and her husband Valerii
Moraru sold to Ursus. The transaction was concluded in 2009 and
amounted to EUR10 million. At present, the Moraru family is
developing the Azuga Waters business, which owns the Perla Covasnei
brand and others.
Ursus Breweries, which has brands such as Timi[oreana, Ciuca[,
Stejar, Azuga, Redd's, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch, Miller and
Pilsner Urquell, recorded an 8% decline in volumes sold between
April 2010 and March 2011, according to the report published by the
company.