HEINEKEN INVESTS
IN NEW
GLASS FACTORY
SECOND BREWERY FOR HEINEKEN IN VIETNAM
Exports of Heineken Beer,
brewed in Holland, have
been showing healthy
growth for many years and
that growth is expected
to continue in future as
well. This means sustained
demand for the green
Heineken bottles.
Heineken is to build a
second brewery in Vietnam.
The new brewery, with a
start-up capacity of 600,000
hectolitres, will be located
in the North of the country,
close to the capital Hanoi.
Growing demand for
green export bottle
The rapid growth in exports has even
brought the need to build a glass fac
tory. Recently Heineken decided to
invest in a glass factory which will
be built from scratch by German
glass manufacturer, Heye-Glas. The
factory will be located in the
Netherlands and will produce only
the green Heineken export bottle.
Heineken's interest in the new
venture is 33.5%. The total invest
ment amounts to some 130 million
guilders. Heye-Glas will build and
operate the factory. Scheduled to
come on stream in the first quarter of
1998, the glass-manufacturing plant
will employ around 115 people. Its
initial capacity is 500 million bottles
a year. The factory will be located in
Moerdijk; favourably located
between the Zoeterwoude and 's-
Hertogenbosch breweries.
Heineken opted for cooperation
with Heye-Glas because that compa
ny is an industry leader in the area of
glass-making technology. This will
enable Heineken to work together
with Heye-Glas on improving the
quality of the bottles and also on
cost-reduction measures.
The brewery will be built in the pro
vince of Hatay. Negotiations with the
local authorities lasted more than a
year. Especially for this brewing op
eration the firm of Hatay Brewery
Ltd. will be established: a joint ven
ture between Asia Pacific Breweries
(APB) - in which Heineken has a
42.5% participation - and a local
partner. APB will have a 55% stake in
the new company. The other share
holders are the Hatay Food Company
(36.5%) as well as Vietnam Brewery
Ltd. (8.5%), the existing APB brewing
operation in Ho Chi Minh City in the
south of Vietnam.
The new brewery will be built on
a site some 25 kilometres south of
Hanoi and will become operational
in the first quarter of 1999. Hatay
Brewery will brew and pack
Heineken and Tiger beers in cans,
bottles and kegs. The brewery will
provide direct and indirect employ
ment for about 1,000 people.
Heineken Technical Services will be
responsible for construction of the
brewery.
The total investment amounts to
190 million US dollars. That expendi
ture also includes the construction of
a modern wastewater purification
plant.