USA: Two more Anheuser-Busch Breweries join hurricane Katrina relief efforts

Anheuser-Busch announced on September 7 that its breweries in Fort Collins, Colo., and Jacksonville, Fla., are joining the company’s ongoing effort to package and deliver millions of cans of safe drinking water for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Both breweries will devote a portion of their capacity to canning drinking water this week, following earlier production runs at the Cartersville, Ga. and Houston breweries. The water is being delivered to victims and relief workers throughout the Gulf Coast region. In some cases, teams of drivers are working together to keep over-the-road trucks rolling non-stop to the stricken area.

“I am extremely proud of the exceptional planning and execution by our employees that has gone into our water relief efforts,” says Patrick Stokes, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch Companies. “Anheuser-Busch has now contributed more than 4 million cans of water since Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.”

Meanwhile, the company’s SeaWorld Adventure Park in San Antonio will provide free admission for hurricane victims from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, from Sept. 10 through Nov. 27, 2005.

Anheuser-Busch began producing canned drinking water before the hurricane struck, to have supplies on hand the minute the storm passed. Deliveries to the affected areas began as soon as passable roads could be found.

“Safe drinking water is a critical need for victims and relief workers,” says Stokes. “We are producing 2 million cans a week and we will continue providing the water as long as it is needed.”

The water from Anheuser-Busch is shipped to independent wholesalers in the Gulf Coast region and distributed by the Red Cross, The Salvation Army and other relief agencies. Anheuser-Busch also is donating aluminum cans and lids manufactured at its facilities in Windsor, Colo., Rome, Ga., and Gainesville, Fla.

The Anheuser-Busch Foundation is also donating $1 million to the Red Cross to help ongoing relief efforts along the Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, the company is matching contributions made by its employees to the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and is matching up to an additional $1 million from its independent wholesalers nationwide.

Helping communities cope with natural disasters has been an Anheuser-Busch tradition since 1906 when Adolphus Busch made a donation to victims of the San Francisco earthquake. Today, in addition to providing monetary support, Anheuser-Busch breweries package fresh drinking water and donate it to emergency relief organizations for distribution to those in need. In the past five years, Anheuser-Busch has donated more than 46 million cans of water to victims of natural disasters. The Hurricane Katrina relief brings the total to more than 50 million.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer holding 50 percent of the U.S. beer market. The company is American-owned and brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also holds a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in Tsingtao, the No. 1 brewer in China. Anheuser-Busch ranked first in the U.S. beverage industry in FORTUNE magazine’s 2005 “America’s Most Admired Companies” and in the top 30 on FORTUNE’s 2005 “Global Most Admired Companies” list. The company is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is the world’s largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

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