Heineken invests $470m in Mexican brewery

Heineken has announced plans to invest US$470 million in building a new brewery in Mexico – its seventh in the country.

The plant in Meoqui, in Chihuahua state, will have an initial production capacity of five million hectolitres, with the potential to expand to 10m, and will employ 500 people on a permanent basis.

Heineken entered Mexico in 2010, buying the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma beer business of beverage and retail company Femsa. It well-known Mexican beer brands include Tecate, Sol and Dos Equis.

Meanwhile rival brewer AB InBev’s Mexican arm, Grupo Modelo, said in January that it plans to invest $150 million in building a brewery in the Yucatán Peninsula, its eighth in the country.

Mexican beer is consumed in more than 180 countries, with annual exports of close to $1.6 billion, mostly to the US. and Canada.

Heineken’s new brewery is expected to go into operation in the fourth quarter of 2017.