Czech Republic: Velke Popovice brewery confirms its No. 3 position in the Czech Republic

As of April 25 Velke Popovice brewery reached a historic level of production of 1.5 million hl over the period of past 12 months, SAMMiller reported. Currently it is the only major brewery to increase its output by two-digit figures, at the same time becoming the biggest brewery in the area of Prague and Central Bohemia. Over the past three years it has shown a production increase representing 38%.

The rich and long tradition of Velke Popovice brewery is a great motivation for further effort and development: this year, we even managed to reach a historic record. The amount of produced beer has been rising on long-term basis; in 2005 the growth was already as much as 17%. Now we have exceeded the annual production level of 1.5 million hl, which makes the brewery ranked third in the Czech Republic after another Plzensky Prazdroj’s breweries in Pilsen and Nošovice,“ said Pavel Semik, plant manager. Plzensky Prazdroj, the Czech subsidiary of SABMiller, the second largest brewing force world-wide, has invested significantly into the brewery development. The recent example is installation of state-of-the-art bottle inspector at the packaging line.

"I believe the successful new product launch also contributed to this development. Last summer the brewery introduced its 11 degree beer, a special sort of lager, Velkopopovický Kozel Medium,“ added Martin Kudela, Brand Manager. “Popularity of Velkopopovický Kozel is also rising abroad, where the sales went up by 45% last year, rising by 400,000 hl compared to last year. Apart from export also licence production (in Slovakia, Russia and recently also in Hungary) plays an important role in the current development. In Russia, for instance, Velkopopovický Kozel is the most popular and most successful Czech beer,” said Kudela. Velkopopovicky Kozel became a truly international brand successfully placed in some European markets where SABMiller operates breweries.
The brewery also invests into regional activities and community relations: “We invest into environmental as well as cultural projects, e.g. within the framework of activities of the community association. To give an example, last Saturday a new nature trail was opened called “Through the brewery landscape”, introducing the highlights of the Velké Popovice region,“ said Pavel Semik, plant manager.

Velkopopovický Kozel is a distinguished brand within the portfolio of Plzensky Prazdroj. It belongs to the most dynamic brands both on the Czech market and abroad. Moreover Velkopopovicky Kozel Dark is the leader of the dark beer market in the CR. Established in 1874, the Velke Popovice brewery belongs to traditional Czech enterprises. Since 2000 it is a part of Plzensky Prazdroj, Czech subsidiary of SABMiller.

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