Zagrebačka Pivovara has completed a HRK 64 million investment in a technologically advanced canning and packaging line to enable the Zagreb production plant to fully meet the growing market demands for canned beer, further increase the company’s sustainability and local production’s competitiveness, and offer new can formats and multipacks to the consumers. It is a part of a major investment cycle of Zagrebačka Pivovara, aimed at expanding its production and storage capacities, thus marking the country’s leading beer producer’s anniversary year and 130th birthday.

“As the market leader, we are celebrating our anniversary year not only with numerous gatherings with our loyal consumers, but also with considerable investments that will allow us to increase our production capacities. The introduction of the advanced technology will make it easier for us protect the quality of the finished product, and enable us to increase the competitiveness of Zagrebačka Pivovara on the FMCG market and within our Molson Coors Group. Moreover, with the newly installed canning line, we will fully meet the required filling capacities to meet the increased needs of the market. Congratulations to the team on the execution of this major project, but also on the big 130th anniversary! We will continue to take big leaps forward,” said Miroslav Holjevac, President of the Management Board of Zagrebačka Pivovara.

The total investment of HRK 64 million has been used on the new canning and packaging equipment, as well as the necessary construction works to adapt the production plant in Zagreb’s Ilica 224 for the installation of the new line. Due to the limited space available at the plant, the new canning line has been distributed over as many as four floors, which makes it unique for the plant. With the introduction of the state-of-the-art technology, the new canning line will significantly reduce the company’s energy consumption and carbon footprint, as sustainable development is one of the top priorities at Zagrebačka Pivovara.

“Our investment in the new canning line was realized over the course of last year and the first half of this year. We found our project partner in a long-standing and dependable partner, Germany-based Krones, one of the largest suppliers of packaging equipment in the process industry. In just two months, the teams of Zagrebačka Pivovara and Krones put together the line, making it fully functional. It was quite demanding, but we are extremely proud of the result,” added Dubravko Tome, Supply Chain Director at Zagrebačka Pivovara.

Today’s celebration of Zagrebačka Pivovara’s 130th anniversary and the presentation of the investment was attended by a number of distinguished guests, including Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, Deputy Mayor Danijela Dolenec, Canadian and Czech ambassadors to Croatia, Alan Bowman and Milan Hovorka respectively, and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Mark Fleming.

Mayor Tomislav Tomašević congratulated both the employees and the Board of Zagrebačka Pivovara on their 130th anniversary, commending them for making new investments in these challenging times. “I am confident this investment will not only increase your production, but also secure new jobs, and the City of Zagreb will always be a partner to such investments,” stressed Mayor Tomašević.

Zagrebačka Pivovara has planned out its investment cycle for the next two years. Accordingly, the next sizeable investment will modernize the returnable glass bottle filling line, thus allowing further increase in productivity and diversification of different bottle formats.