Heineken is planning a new city-centre brewery for its Eichhof brand in Lucerne as part of a wider redevelopment of its Swiss site.
In a statement yesterday (26 August), Heineken Switzerland said it will invest a “double-digit million euro” sum in a new Eichhof brewery and the modernisation of its headquarters in Lucerne.
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It added that “commissioning” of the new site is expected to take place in from 2030.
The brewery will produce and bottle the full Eichhof range, while also being used for making seasonal and limited products and “innovations”.
Under the new production set-up, part of the higher-volume production will be moved to Heineken’s second Swiss brewery in Chur.
Heineken’s Swiss business has also signed a joint declaration of intent with the cities of Lucerne and Kriens, plus municipal association LuzernPlus, to gradually redevelop the roughly 38,000-square-metre Eichhof site into a mixed residential and living district.
Marc Moser, Heineken Switzerland country manager, said: “Eichhof belongs to Lucerne, and that’s how it should stay in the future. That’s why we’re investing in a new, fully-fledged brewery and our headquarters in Lucerne.”
The Swiss investment comes as Heineken reshapes its manufacturing footprint more broadly.
In February, the brewer said it would cut up to 6,000 jobs over two years as part of a plan to create a “simpler” and “leaner” operating model and deliver annual savings of €400m-€500m.
Since then, the company has made changes to production in a number of markets.
In March, Heineken said it would phase down large-scale brewing in Singapore by the end of 2027 in favour of imports from Malaysia and Vietnam.
The following month, it sold its Bralima business in DR Congo as part of a push towards a more asset-light model in selected markets.
In its first-half results this month Heineken saw net revenue rise 4.7% to €14.84bn ($17.30bn), which amounted to organic growth of 2.7%, while organic EBIT increased 6.7% to €2.17bn, helped by productivity measures including job cuts.
However, the brewer said consumer sentiment in the Americas “remained subdued”, with regional volumes down 3.4%, while Europe was described by CFO Harold van den Broek as “stabilising”.
