Jamaica: Heineken invests €16 million in a new production line at its factory in Kingston

Heineken has invested €16 million in a new production line at its factory in Kingston, used to brew the Jamaican lager Red Stripe, FoodBev.com reported on August 9.

The Dutch company said that the new line would double the plant’s capacity to around 1 million hectoliters – or ten million cases – and would be dedicated to producing beer for the export market.

“With that new capacity, the intention is for the export market mainly so that we will keep our current line completely focused on the domestic market,” Red Stripe Jamaica managing director Ricardo Nuncio was quoted as saying by the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner. “We expect a big uplift in our volumes in exports and so we feel that we will be using about 50% capacity; but that should be ramped up going forward, say the next three years.”

Heineken acquired Red Stripe from Diageo last year as part of a deal for brand owner Desnoes & Geddes.

At the time, Heineken CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer said the deal would allow it to ensure that it was “optimally structured to support our strategic agenda”.

“Having greater commercial control in the important regions of South-East Asia and the Caribbean will allow us to maximize the strong potential of our brands in these growth markets”, he said.

07 August, 2016