INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
öër
Shareholder excursion
to Visitor Centre
5
5
6
Heineken acquires majority in Hungarian brewery
Contents
The first step has been taken in Central Europe. Heineken
recently acquired a 50.3% majority holding in the Hun
garian brewery Komaromi Sörgyar RT.
for Bu^fc|eiCOmmerciai
dmeetiD«
Number 34
October ggj
Pag
International personnel magazine. Published six times a year in Dutch, English, Spanish and Italian by: Corporate Public Relations, Heineken N.V. P.O. Box 28, 1000 AA Amsterdam, tel. 020-5239229
First step in Central Europe
Expon e«endét|He'ne,ten
heinekenas
SW,ng'«S spo„sor
Mr Van Schaik gave a speech at the press conference held to announce the
participation in the Hungarian brewery. Standing to his left is Géza Porganyi,
chairman of the brewery's supervisory board. On Mr Van Schaik's right is Mr
A. Ypma, Heineken's Business Development Director who conducted the
negotiations with Komaromi. Pictured extreme right: Andras Szentirmay,
general manager of the brewery.
Within the not too distant future
Amstel beer will be brewed in the
kettles of the brewery, which is lo
cated on Lake Balaton, eighty kilo
metres west of Budapest. Imported
Heineken beer has already been on
sale for years in Hungary and will
provisionally continue to be availa
ble there.
With an output of 350,000 hec
tolitres and a market share of 4%,
Komaromi is a small brewery. The
brewery specialises in the production
of quality beers (Talléros, Aranytal-
-ler, Matróz, Fregatt and Kapsreiter),
has a good location and infrastruc
ture and a young and enthusiastic
management whose policy visions fit
in well with those of Heineken.
The brewery, now in its third year
of operation, is in good technical
condition. Expansion investments
will be needed for the introduction of
Amstel.
Conviction
The decision to play an active role
on the Hungarian market with both
Heineken beer and Amstel is based
on the conviction that segmentation
of the Hungarian beer market will
occur in future. Market research has
shown that both Heineken and
Amstel have good prospects. Amstel
will be positioned in Hungary as a
premium beer, whilst work will be
done to build up a more exclusive
image for Heineken via imports.
The management of the brewery
will remain in Hungarian hands but
will be complemented by M. Greeve
who, as commercial manager, will be
primarily responsible for the corpo
rate brands and the expansion pro
gramme. In addition financial and
technical assistance will be provided
by Heineken where necessary.
Major step
With this participation in Hungary
Heineken has taken a first major step
in Central Europe. The region com
prises attractive beer markets which
will (in due course) offer possibili
ties for international brands. As a
leading international brewery, Hei
neken intends to be an active player
in developments in Central Europe.
The strategy to be pursued will de
pend on market conditions and on
the possibility of building up a posi
tion in those countries.
Shortly after the contract had been signed with the Komaromi brewery, the
management of the Hungarian brewery paid a visit to Heineken in the
Netherlands to familiarise themselves in more detail with our business. The
guests listened to presentations and visited the breweries. Talks were also
held at Heineken head office in Amsterdam and the visitors were welcomed by
several members of the Board of Directors. Pictured, from left, Messrs. G. van
Schaik, F. Moger (Marketing Manager), A. Ypma, G. Szirmai (Technical
Manager), Z. Zulkov (Financial Manager), K. Vuursteen, A. Szentirmay
General Manager) and interpreter L. Fülöp.
Every year the visitors at the
annual general meeting of share
holders of Heineken N.V. are given
an opportunity to take a 'peek in the
kitchen' at Heineken. In recent years
visits were arranged to the breweries
in Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch and
the distillery in Zoetermeer. The ob
vious choice for this year's excursion
was the brand-new Heineken Visitor
Centre in Amsterdam. Some 270
shareholders were present in the
Visitor Centre to take a closer look at
The World of Heineken (see photo).
