STEVENS POINT, WI. January 7, 2015 – Following another year of solid growth in 2014, in 2015 the Steven’s Point Brewery will create more new jobs and invest $1.5 million in brewery renovations and upgrades to improve quality and help production keep up with consumer demand.
The improvements include a new can filler, new brewing and quality control equipment such as a 300-barrel bright beer tank used for conditioning beer, and renovations to the brewery’s popular gift shop. The brewery also plans to hire two more salespeople and another quality control technician, according to Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Operating Partner.
“We enjoyed another successful year in 2014 as our production volume was up double digits, with particularly strong sales of our Ciderboys hard ciders,” Martino reported. “Investing in our people and infrastructure to ensure our production capacity keeps up with consumer demand is a key ingredient in our recipe for continued growth. We are looking forward to another exciting year for our brewery”
Work on the gift shop renovation as well as improvements in other areas of the brewery will begin in January. The projects will conclude in May with the installation and startup of the new can filler just in time for summer, the beer industry’s peak season for sales. The can filler will greatly expand Point’s can-packaging capabilities, especially for 16-ounce cans, which represent one of the hottest packaging trends in the craft beer market. The brewery’s current 16-ounce can packages include Point Special Lager’s popular “Big Charlie” 16-ounce can and the summer seasonal, Nude Beach 16-ounce can.
“We expect more and more craft beer lovers to embrace can packages and we want to be able to offer the widest possible range of packaging choices for our loyal fans,” Martino said. “The new can filler is the right piece of new equipment at the right time.”
This year marks the sixth consecutive year of major expansions at the Point Brewery. Between 2010 and 2014 the brewery invested more than $7 million, including $1.5 million last year for electrical and cooling systems upgrades, bottle filler upgrades and more new unitanks for fermenting and aging beer. And 2015 is the second year in a row the brewery has created jobs: last year it added 10 new positions, including six in its busy packaging department.
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