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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Molson Coors Beverage Company Makes Major Expansion at Fort Worth, Texas, Plant

07/16/2020
Molson Coors Beverage Company reported it is making substantial investments in its brewery in Fort Worth, Texas. The expansion will boost capacity and support the production and packaging of its expanding portfolio of hard seltzers.

The multimillion-dollar project, which includes the installation of a new canning line completed earlier this year and a state-of-the-art filtration system expected to be finished later this fall, will more than quintuple Molson Coors’ U.S. capacity to make hard seltzers and other beverages, such as fast-growing Vizzy and soon-to-debut Coors Seltzer.

The improvements are part of a larger, global plan to upgrade facilities and equipment to improve efficiency and prepare the company for the future as it increasingly moves into beverages beyond beer, company officials said.

“As we see our innovations take off, we want to be able to react quickly and take those products in-house when it makes sense from a business perspective,” says Brian Erhardt, chief supply chain officer at Molson Coors. “Vizzy is a good example. Once we saw it take off this year, we made a big bet on an investment in our slim-can capabilities as well as our production lines to better service our customers when it comes to supplying these products.”

Like most other large hard seltzer makers in the U.S., Molson Coors uses a contract manufacturer to produce certain products, including Vizzy, company officials explained. But because the beverages have been on a sizzling run for the past three years, the ability to quickly adjust production to meet booming demand is limited. So after Vizzy shot out of the gates, the company moved to add the capability in-house.

Although the company is moving some production in-house, it still views contract manufacturers as a key part of its strategy.

“You’ll see us continue to react quickly into the future. When we can support a business case to make capital improvements in our facilities, we’ll definitely do it,” Erhardt added.

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