Breweries

Heineken Hungária Sörgyárak Nyrt.
9400 Sopron, Vándor Sándor u. 1.
9401 Sopron, Pf. 74.
tel.: +36-99/516-100
fax: +36-99/516-111
www.heinekenhungaria.hu
info@heinekenhungaria.hu


History of the Sopron brewery

It may seem surprising that the city of Sopron, which has been the centre of one of Hungary's historical wine growing regions since the Middle Ages, is also the home of a more than hundred-year-old brewery. The Sopron brewery was founded by Gyula Lenck and the Brünn Brewery Co. in 1895 under the name of First Sopron Brewery and Malt Factory. Shortly after the foundation and official registration of the company, the construction of the plant began. The planned capacity of the plant was 25 thousand hectoliters of beer and 500 tons of malt annually, employing 5 clerks, 29 loaders and 6 day-laborers. On December 6, 1895, the opening permit was issued and the brewery started production.

On April 1, 1896 at 7 p.m., the first shipment left the facility on a decorated beer wagon. The opening year was followed by hard times or sometimes even crisis periods. Struggle for survival, struggle for the market, and for making a living. It went on for twenty years. Yet, all in all it was twenty successful years. Then came a major change. From the end of November 1917 the Sopron Brewery was registered under a different name, that is part of the West-Hungarian Brewery and Malt Factory. The company headquarters were in Budapest. As a considerable achievement during the upcoming period until the Nationalisation in 1948, the brewery was able to fully exploit its original capacity. After its nationalisation in 1949, the Sopron plant became an independent company as Sopron National Brewery. January 1, 1959 marked principal changes in the organisation of the Hunugarian brewing industry. The four "independent" companies were merged and the Hungarian National Breweries was formed. This new era between 1955 and 1966 brought major developments in the Sopron plant resulting in a production capacity of 300,000 hectolitres.

January 1, 1971 opened yet another period in the life of the company when the Hungarian Beer Trust was organised. Within this new framework, the Sopron plant received relative independence.

In 1982 the company, selling 500,000 hectolitres of beer per year at that time, turned independent again. Due to the continuous developments between 1987 and 1991, production capacity reached 900,000 hectolitres. On October 14, 1988, the license for the Steffl brand was obtained from the Österreichische Brau AG. One year later, this license agreement was followed by another one for brewing and selling the Zipfer brand. As of 1992 the Sopron Brewery has been transformed into a company limited by shares with BBAG as majority owner. From May 1994, the company's priority shares were introduced on the Budapest Stock Exchange with great success. In 1994 the brewery sells over 1 million hectolitres of beer. Major brands are at that time:Soproni, Steffl, Gösser, Kaiser, Zipfer, Kinizsi, and the alcohol-free Schlossgold.

In 1997 the Sopron Brewery was merged with the First Hungarian Cooperatives Brewery Co. in Martf?.

Today the annual production capacity of the Sopron plant totals 2 million hectolitres with a finished goods warehouse of 7,000 square metres capable of storing as many as 14 million bottles at a time.

History of the Martf? brewery

Brau Unions other plant in Martf? is quite new. The idea of establishing a brewery to resolve the shortage in beer dates back to 1981. As a result, the Martf? plant was jointly formed by 28 farmers cooperatives and state farms in Eastern Hungary. The brewery opened in 1985 near the city of Szolnok. Later the brewery was transformed into a company limited by shares and in 1990 its shares were introduced on the Budapest Stock Exchange. In 1991 the Brau AG group acquired majority of the company's shares. In 1993 license agreements for the Kaiser and Scwechater brands were signed.

In 1997 the Martf? plant was merged with Sopron Brewery retaining the name of the latter.

Today the annual capacity of the Martf? plant reaches 720,000 hectolitres of beer and its 3,500 square metres finished goods warehouse can store up to 7 million bottles at a time.

Social responsibility
Our company is committed to social responsibility, according to this we support healthcare, educational and cultural organizations.

• Concorde Soproni Speciális Keres? és Felderít? Ment?csoport
• Soproni Erzsébet Kórház Alapítvány
• Soproni Polgár?r Egyesület
• Sopron Város Fúvószenekara Alapítvány

As a responsible brewer Heineken Hungária, we follow all rules and guidelines of the Self Regulatory Advertising Body and Association of Hungarian Brewers Ethical Committee.

Quality
Our company assures high quality standards in every field we are operating in.

We operate ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Quality standards,and HACCP.