Press Release:
(Muncie, IN) – Verallia North America was recently named the exclusive national beer bottle supplier for Lagunitas Brewing Company as a result of the craft brewery’s $25 million expansion. The nation’s sixth largest craft brewery is building a new 300,000 square-foot brew house in Chicago, which will nearly quadruple its annual production capacity. Long-time supplier, Verallia North America, is prepared to produce, stock and supply the fast-growing brewery with enough 12 ounce Heritage and 22 ounce Bomber glass beer bottles to meet demand.
According to the Brewers Association, Lagunitas Brewing Company is the nation’s sixth-largest craft brewery and 13th-largest American Brewery based on 2012 sales volume and is growing at more than 70 percent in the first quarter of 2013. The craft brewery was originally founded in 1993 by Chicago native Tony Magee in Lagunitas, California. The company currently operates a 160,000 square-foot brewery in Petaluma, Calif., producing more than 400,000 barrels a year, employs 260 people and exclusively uses glass to bottle its beer. After the $25 million Chicago plant is complete toward the end of 2013, Lagunitas Brewing Company will employ 350 workers and will initially have capacity to produce 600,000 barrels annually. Verallia North America has been directly supplying Lagunitas with glass beer bottles since 2007.
“Lagunitas Brewing Company couldn’t have reached this pivotal point without the strength and support of Verallia, in particular,” stated Tony Magee, founder and chief executive officer of Lagunitas Brewing Company. “The company took a big risk on us, years ago, when we first started buying our glass beer bottles direct – well before OEMs were even talking to brewers of our size. Together, we’ve made tectonic change in the perceptions, practices and supplier relationships within the craft brewing industry.
“Our close working relationship with Verallia has been the single most significant contributing factor to Lagunitas’ ability to accommodate its historic sales growth, basic operational efficiency and ultimately its profitability. We’re on a lightning-fast growth trajectory and we give a lot of credit to Verallia. We are confident in our expansion plans because we have a strong proponent in Verallia to help ensure consistency, quality and accountability across the organization, production and product line.”
Lagunitas is well known for its inventive beer styles, award-winning package designs, dedication to sustainable packaging and tongue-in-cheek marketing campaigns. The craft brewery is building a new $25 million 300,000 square-foot brewing plant in Chicago ultimately capable of producing more than 1,700,000 barrels a year (52.7 million gallons). As the brewery grows, it plans to leverage Verallia North America’s flexible production runs and order sizes to quickly introduce new products and respond to market demand. With an annual average of more than 5 billion glass beer bottles produced from its 13 US plants, Verallia North America is well positioned to meet Lagunitas’ growing needs.