Yuengling Announces Purchase of Tampa Brewery

Richard L. Yuengling, Jr., President and fifth generation owner of D.G. Yuengling and Sons, Inc., America's Oldest Brewery, has officially announced his company's purchase of the former Stroh plant in Tampa, Florida.

Founded in 1829 by David G. Yuengling, a young immigrant from Wurtenburg, Germany, the brewery first operated on Pottsville's North Centre Street, where City Hall is now located. Two years later, the brewery was rebuilt at Fifth and Mahantongo Street, after a fire destroyed the original structure. The company, currently celebrating its 170th Anniversary still produces beer today from this facility. Last year, Yuengling produced 637,000 barrels of beer. Demand for Yuengling has skyrocketed with sales growing over 400 percent since the early part of the 90's.

In May of 1998, Dick announced plans to construct a 272,000 square foot brewery. Located a short distance from his current facility, it will be capable of producing 1 million barrels annually. Currently under construction, the project is expected to be complete by the fall of 2000.

The decision to purchase another plant arose from Yuengling's inability to meet growing consumer demand in their existing markets over the past several years. "I can't get through another summer without another facility somewhere, and that's why the Tampa plant came into play," stated Yuengling. "It's important that breweries remain part of a community. They have a lot to contribute to the local economy," he adds.

Last year when Yuengling revealed its plans to build a new facility, many questioned the logic with so much excess capacity available throughout the industry. Less than a year later, their decision to build appears to be strategically correct with the sale of Stroh significantly reducing much of this excess capacity.

"Although we looked at several options over the past few years, our underlying goal has always been to control our own destiny," comments David A. Casinelli, Executive Vice President. "Even though our industry is dominated by very large breweries, we still feel that there is a place in the market for a small family run company to be competitive," says David.

The Tampa facility will add 1.6 million barrels to Yuengling's current capacity. They hope to staff this plant and begin producing beer within a couple of months. When asked about the risks associated with such as significant move, Dick responded, "There's confidence that our brands can be a factor on the East Coast. We'd also like the opportunity to become Tampa's hometown beer." However, Yuengling's immediate priorities will be to satisfy the growing demands in their current markets.

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