Apatin Brewery ( sr-Latn, Apatinska pivara), a member of the Molson Coors Europe, is a Serbian

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

based in

Apatin Apatin ( sr-cyrl, Апатин, hu, Apatin, hr, Apatin) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011 census, the population of the town is 17,411, while the municipali ...

. It is majority owned by the American company

Molson Coors The Molson Coors Beverage Company is an American-Canadian multinational drink and brewing company incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law and headquartered in Golden, Colorado and Montreal, Quebec. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 ...

. The brewery's products are exported worldwide. Outside of Serbia, the beer is sold in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Austria, Sweden, Slovenia and Switzerland.

History

It was founded in 1756 as Imperial Brewery owned by the Imperial Chamber. It is one of the oldest breweries in Serbia. The production of 12,000 hectoliters of beer was recorded in the 18th century. The brewery was transferred to private ownership for the first time at the end of the 19th century. Major investments were characteristic of that phase, with a primary goal of modernizing the brewing process and enlarging production capacities. In the period prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the yearly production of beer was 16,000 hectoliters. The brewery went through hard times in 1930s, which ultimately led to the disruption of production in 1935. Nine years later, after the liberation of Belgrade in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and reparation of the old equipment, a new phase of the company began. By 1950, more than 40,000 hectoliters of beer were produced. Continuous investments resulted in the reconstruction and modernization of the production facilities and the application of new technologies in the production process and the increase in the beer production capacities. All this was conducted in the period 1958–1966 and it represented a basis for further development of the brewery and transformation into large company. In the 1970s, the process of automated production lines was introduced, the result of which was production over 630,000 hectoliters of beer in 1977, as well as the introduction of new non-alcoholic beverages tasting of orange, lemon, blueberry and Alpine herbs. The result of the

economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...

in the 1990s was a brief period of decrease in the brewery production, so that 475,000 hectoliters of beer was produced yearly. The company began transferring into the private ownership in 1991, and in 2003 it became a part of the international InterBrew network which merged in 2005 in

InBev InBev () is a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheus ...

corporation. Over three years, InBew invested around 100 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s in technology of the company. In 2008, the company became a part of Anheuser-Busch InBev. In December 2009, Apatin Brewery became a part of the StarBev regional brewery group based in Prague, founded by a leading investment company CVC Capital Partners. Except Serbia, the group operated on the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania and Slovakia. On 3 April 2012,

brewing company has completed its previously announced acquisition of StarBev for approximately €2.65 billion. This way, Molson Coors took over the regional brewing group ''Starbev'', as part of which Apatin Brewery in Serbia has been operating. Today, it is the leading brewery on the Serbian market.

Brands

Brands produced in Apatin Brewery are: Jelen, Apatinsko, Jelen Cool, Jelen Fresh, Staropramen, Beck's, Stella Artois, Nikšićko pivo and Nikšićko tamno. Jelen is the leading beer brand on the Serbian market, and has its share in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia.

Marketing

Apatin Brewery is known for its slogans for each of its brands: ''Jelen Pivo'' – "Men know why"; ''Jelen Cool'' – "Anytime, anywhere"; ''Nikšićko Pivo'' – "Always among friends"; ''Beck’s'' – "Deliberately different". According to the results of a 2009 study of TNS Medium Gallup, Apatin Brewery ranked third in Serbia in advertising and overall business results. Apatin Brewery is the sponsor of the Guča Trumpet Festival.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.jelenpivo.com/
History of Apatin Brewery

Molson Coors acquired StarBev

Molson Coors Europe Official
Breweries of Serbia 1756 establishments in Europe 2003 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Apatin Food and drink companies established in 1756 D.o.o. companies in Serbia InBev brands Molson Coors Beverage Company Serbian brands Vojvodina under Habsburg rule