USA: Procermex Inc., the U.S. arm of Grupo Modelo, shuts corporate headquarters in San Antonio and merges with Chicago-based Constellation Brands, Gambrinus Co. out of picture

The decision by Mexican beer company Grupo Modelo to cut out some of the middlemen between its breweries and Corona-thirsty Americans means a loss of jobs at two San Antonio companies, San Antonio Express posted August 21.

Procermex Inc., the U.S. arm of Grupo Modelo, is shuttering its corporate headquarters in San Antonio and merging into a Chicago company. That will cost San Antonio 30 to 40 jobs, according to industry observers, who say most of those workers will be relocated.

And The Gambrinus Co., longtime Corona importer for the Eastern United States, also will have to lay off workers when its contract with the brewing giant ends December 31.

The moves come as part of Grupo Modelo's new importing alliance with Constellation Brands, owner of Barton Beers. Procermex — which oversaw the sales of Grupo Modelo's best-selling import Corona, as well as Modelo Especiale, Negra Modelo and Pacifico — and Chicago-based Constellation are forming an alliance to import the brews.

That cuts San Antonio's Gambrinus out of the picture. The company started by Carlos Alvarez in the mid-1980s has been credited as being largely responsible for turning Corona into the best-selling imported beer in the United States.

But four years ago, Procermex executives told Alvarez he would lose the account when the contract expires at the end of 2006. A federal lawsuit in San Antonio against Procermex and Grupo Modelo was ultimately resolved in favor of the Mexican brewing giant in March.

That cleared the way for Grupo Modelo to work with a single U.S. importer and take an ownership stake in the process.

Amsterdam's Heineken Holding N.V., the owner of the second-most-popular import beer in the United States, set up its own U.S. importing company more than a decade ago.

Gambrinus built its business on Corona sales, and much of its work force is engaged in marketing Corona and its sister beers. Alvarez said he regretted losing good people, but that other Gambrinus lines of business were not big enough yet to shift those employees to other parts of the company.

Gambrinus also imports Canadian brew Moosehead lager and owns the Shiner brands made at the Spoetzl Brewery; BridgePort Brewing Co. in Portland, Oregon, and Pete's Wicked beer brands. The company also imports Italian lager Tappeto Volante and co-owns a California brewery to make a U.S. version of Austrian beer Trumer Pils.

But the company is getting some additional money out of Corona in the last few months of its contract. Gambrinus recently raised the price of Corona to distributors by 6 percent, or $1.25 a case, because a bottle shortage in Mexico is straining the Corona supply, he said.

But a spokesman for Barton, which will be hiring about 100 people nationally as part of its expansion to cover the entire United States for Modelo brands, said the company welcomes resumes from experienced beer business people.

"The new joint venture will create a variety of sales, marketing and product supply positions to fill, and these have been shared with the current Procermex employees so that they can determine their interest in applying for the openings," Barton spokesman Bill Ligas said in a statement. "The new company will need to add expertise in order to import the entire Modelo portfolio across the U.S. beginning January 2, 2007."

This is the second San Antonio-based beer company to leave San Antonio for Chicago this year.

Pabst Brewing Co., owner of such brands as Lone Star, Pearl, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Schlitz, moved its headquarters to Illinois to be nearer its biggest markets and the home of the new CEO.

Pabst, which moved its headquarters from Milwaukee nearly a decade ago, still employs about 50 people in San Antonio in the finance, accounting and legal departments.

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