Miller Brewing Company

Miller Brewing Company
Industry Alcoholic beverage
Founded 1855
Headquarters Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Key people
Tom Long (CEO)
Products Beer
Parent SABMiller
Website millercoors.com

The Miller Brewing Company is a beer brewing company owned by SABMiller, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Trenton, Ohio. On 1 July 2008, Miller formed MillerCoors, a joint venture with rival Molson Coors to consolidate the production and distribution of its products in the United States, with each parent company's corporate operations and international operations remaining separate and independent of the joint venture. The stock ticker symbol is SAB.L.

History

Miller Valley contains the Miller Brewing Company in Wisconsin.

Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller when he purchased the small Plank Road Brewery. The brewery's location in the Miller Valley in Milwaukee provided easy access to raw materials produced on nearby farms. The company remained in the family until 1966.

In 1966, the conglomerate W. R. Grace and Company bought Miller from Mrs. Lorraine John Mulberger (Frederick Miller's granddaughter, who objected to alcohol) and her family. In 1969, Philip Morris (now Altria) bought Miller from W.R. Grace for $130 million, outbidding PepsiCo. In 2002, South African Breweries bought Miller from Philip Morris for $3.6 billion worth of stock and $2 billion in debt to form SABMiller, with Philip Morris retaining a 36% ownership share and 24.99% voting rights.

In 2006, Miller Brewing purchased Sparks and Steel Reserve brands from McKenzie River Corporation for $215 million cash.[1] Miller had been producing both brands prior to this purchase.[2]

In 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors combined their U.S. operations in a joint venture called MillerCoors. SABMiller owns 58% of the unit, which operates in the United States but not in Canada, where Molson Coors is strongest. Molson Coors owns the rest of the joint venture, but the companies have equal voting power.[3][4]

Current brands

Miller family

Miller Genuine Draft

Retired brands

Hamm's Family

The Miller Brewery complex in Milwaukee, WI

Miller bought the rights to the Hamm's Brewery brands.

Plank Road Brewery Family

This division is named for the 19th-century name for west State Street in Milwaukee (formerly known for its full length outside of Milwaukee as the Watertown Plank Road), where the main Miller brewery has been located since its founding.

Sponsorships

Miller has been a motorsport sponsor since the 1980s. In the CART World Series, the company has sponsored drivers such as Al Unser (1984), Danny Sullivan (1985-1989, 1991), Roberto Guerrero (1990), Bobby Rahal (1992-1998) and Kenny Bräck (2003). It also sponsored the Miller 200 race at Mid-Ohio.

In NASCAR Cup Series, Miller has sponsored Bobby Allison from 1983 to 1988, Rusty Wallace from 1990 to 2005, Kurt Busch from 2006 to 2010, and Brad Keselowski since 2011. Allison won the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and Keselowski won the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Also, the company has sponsored the Miller High Life 500, Miller 500, Miller High Life 400, Miller 400, Miller 300, Miller 200 and Miller 150 races.

In NHRA, Miller sponsored Larry Dixon for 11 years, ending their relationship in 2007.[16]

References

  1. Fredrix, Emily (4 July 2006). "Miller dives into caffeinated drinks with $215 million deal". Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  2. "SABMiller Acquires 2 Brands". Los Angeles Times. Bloomberg News. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  3. "Coors, Miller in U.S. Venture". TheStreet.com. 9 October 2007.
  4. "Molson Coors and SABMiller merge U.S. operations". Financial Post date=9 October 2007 (Postmedia News). Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  5. Frohlich, Thomas C.; Sauter, Michael B. (10 December 2013). "Nine beers many Americans no longer drink". USA Today. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Beer Nutrition Facts and Codes". MillerCoors. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  7. Edwards, Jim (27 March 2012). "BEFORE AND AFTER: Miller Genuine Draft 64 Has A New Logo—And A New Name". Business Insider.
  8. "MGD 64...As Light As It Gets" (Press release). Miller Brewing Company. 29 February 2008.
  9. Connor, John M.; Ward, Ronald W., eds. (6–7 November 1980). Advertising and the Food System. College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. p. 309.
  10. "CSA Super Markets" 50. Lebhar-Friedman. 1974: 68.
  11. Stevenson, Seth (10 October 2005). "Aiming High". Slate. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  12. Daykin, Tom (18 February 2009). "Miller Chill makeover squeezes in more lime flavor". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  13. Daykin, Tom (12 November 2014). "At pilot brewery, MillerCoors learns what new beers will fly". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  14. Engel, Jeff (12 November 2013). "MillerCoors ending Miller Chill brand". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  15. "Award Winners: 1996; 1998". World Beer Cup. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  16. "Miller Time ends for Prudhomme’s Top Fuel dragster team". Autoweek. 11 June 2006. Retrieved 2016-02-04.

External links

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