Carlsberg shutters Swiss plant

Picturesque Feldschlösschen: anchor plant remains open

Support brewery Friborg to close in June 2011

Carlsberg Group is continuing its cull of Western European support plants in its production network, announcing today the closure of Feldschlösschen’s Fribourg brewery in Switzerland.

Fribourg, a city centre site, is due to close in June 2011. According to Carlsberg, all 75 affected employees will be offered employment with Feldschlösschen or will retire.

Production from Fribourg is being shifted across the French frontier to Brasserie Kronenbourg’s Obernai plant. Obernai became part of the Carlsberg production network following Carlsberg’s 2008 acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle. Swiss production is being concentrated at the historic – and marketing sensitive, given the picturesque brewery’s presence on various brands – Feldschlösschen brewery in Rheinfelden, near Basel.
 
Despite production overcapacity, according to Carlsberg’s interim financial results the financial performance of wholly owned Feldschlösschen has been bullish, with it cited for “particularly strong organic profit growth.”

A Feldschlösschen microbrewery, Valasianne in Sion, will remain in operation. The future of Fribourg brewery site is to be the subject of discussions between Feldschlösschen and the city council.

Elsewhere in Western Europe, the British support plant in Leeds, the Tetley brewery, is also scheduled to close in 2011, leaving just Carlsberg UK’s anchor plant in Northampton. In Finland the Pori brewery ceased production in 2009, with Sinebrychoff’s Kerava anchor plant remaining in operation.