Aldaris ENG

Autors: Nezināms

Brief history and strategic directions

The company was founded in 1865 by Bavarian brewer Johan Dauder. The company was analogue to the best breweries in Western Europe. During its 135 years long history the company has not lost its leading position in the local market and has successfully sold its products also to Russia and Western countries.

In 1992 state owned company ALDARIS was privatised. It became a joint stock company with the share capital of USD 13 million. 75% of the capital is owned by Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish joint venture BALTIC BEVERAGES HOLDING. The remaining 25% of the capital are held by individuals.

With the privatisation, qualitative changes in the company took place. More than USD 20 million have been invested in the reconstruction of the company and employee training. As a result, during three years the sales volume has increased by 48%, market share grew up to 58%, profitability has reached 18.6%.

Major part of profit is reinvested. In 1997 alone the investments amounted to USD 4.9 million.

The mission and development model of the company looks as follows:

·         To be the leading, brewery in Latvia, which continues and develops the centuries old national beer brewing traditions;

·         To be a company with high export potential, promoting the distribution of ALDARIS and BALTIC BEVERAGES HOLDING products in the markets of the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and Western Europe;

·         To create and develop a positive attitude in society with its activities, to maintain and develop the image of an economically and financially stable company with high development potential, which is beneficent for the state and society. ALDARIS name should represent quality to its customers.

Products and markets

Currently the company produces 8 kinds of beer. The most popular is "Aldara Zelta" (ALDARIS Gold) beer. It constitutes 48% of the total sales. This beer is bottled by 0.33 and 0.5 l. Restaurants and bars are offered equipment and service for selling draft beer. In the end of 1997 ALDARIS started to bottle beer in 0.5 l metal cans. This packaging is most popular among youth and it is competing with imported beer in similar packaging. "Aldara Zelta" beer has repeatedly received gold medal in Sochi International Fair. Also other sorts of beer have been awarded: "Aldara Tumšais" (ALDARIS Dark) beer received gold medal in Sochi in 1997, "Porteris" (Porter) received bronze medal in Sochi in 1996 and bronze medal in Moscow International Beer Festival in 1997. A special notation must be paid to bronze medal granted to "Aldara Luksus" (ALDARIS de Luxe) beer in the World Beer Cup in 1998 in Rio de Janeiro. A significant market share belongs to traditional "Pilzenes" (37%) and "Latvijas" sorts. In 1997 the company produced more than 42 million litres of beer, including almost 6 million litres of draft beer.

The marketing strategy of ALDARIS envisages to achieve that its products are available in any food shop in Latvia. Currently ALDARIS has 58% of Latvian beer market. At the same time, mineral water "Vichy Classique" has gained 15% of the very saturated Latvian market for mineral water.

Out of all bottled beer output, 58% are sold through wholesalers and 42% - through retail companies. Draft beer accounts for 14% of the total sales and it is offered in more than 350 places. In 1998 ALDARIS started to switch to direct supplies and the significance of wholesalers is gradually decreasing.

Beer export is becoming more significant. However, the current volumes are still rather small (0.9 million litres or 2.2% of output). The exports are gradually increasing. ALDARIS exports beer to 15 countries, including Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain and Austria. The main export markets are Lithuania, Russia and Uzbekistan.

In April 1996 the company re-entered the market for soft drinks with mineral water "Vichy Classique". "Vichy" is the first common project of BALTIC BEVERAGES HOLDING breweries. ALDARIS is producing this mineral water also for Lithuanian and Estonian markets. Initially it was offered in 0.33 l glass bottles only. In 1997 the company installed new production line and started bottling in 0.5 and 1.5 l PET bottles, as well as manufacturing of flavoured mineral water. The new packaging and well-developed marketing activities facilitated gaining 15% market share in Latvia.

Production, technology and quality

The technological cycle of production, including preparation of malt, wort boiling, fermentation, storage, filtration and bottling, is carried out using modern equipment. Nevertheless, the production is still based on centuries old brewing traditions. The beer is produced from traditional raw materials: malt, hops, yeast and water. The shelf life of beer has increased thanks to modern technologies, production process.

The company has implemented quality system that conforms to ISO 9001 requirements. In February of 1998 the company received ISO 9001 certificate. All basic production processes and activities are controlled in compliance with the requirements of this system. In 1997 ALDARIS was the first among Baltic enterprises accepted in European Foundation for Quality Management. The company was the first enterprise that received Latvian Quality Award.

Personnel

The company employs 330 people. 38% of them are employed in production, 12% - in service to production, 27% - in sales. Most of employees have worked in ALDARIS for more than five years. The labour turnover is low (less than 5% per year). Most of technologists and other professionals have higher (32%) or specialised secondary (28%) education. The company is managed by its president and eight department managers.

Products:

“Latvijas”

“Porteris”

“Rīga 800”

“Zelta”

“Ice Beer”

“Luxus”

“Pilsenes”

“SWH”

“Tumšais”

“Vichy” mineralwother

Main performance indicators

Indicator	1996	1997
Net turnover	22,062	26,428
Export volume	240	834
Net profit	4,105	3,947
Number of employees	273	290

(in thous USD)