Champion
Breweries Plc was incorporated as
a Private Limited Liability Company
on the 31st of July, 1974 with the
same South East Breweries Limited.
The Company’s name was changed
from South East Breweries Limited
to Cross River Breweries Limited and
thereafter to Champion Breweries Limited.
The latter name, Champion Breweries
Limited was changed to Champion Breweries
Plc on the 1st of September, 1992.
On the
24th of November 1974, the then South
Eastern State of Nigeria signed an
Agreement with Messrs. Haase Brauerie
GMBH of Humbury (“Technical
Partners”) for the supply and
construction of a turnkey Brewery
in Uyo with a capacity of 150,000
hectoliters. The foundation stone
of the Brewery was laid on the 19th
of March, 1975. on the 11th of December
1976, the Brewery was officially commissioned
and its products, Champion Lager Beer
launched into the market with success
with initial capacity of 150,000 hectoliters
per annum.
The
second expansion, which incorporated
more sophisticated machinery, was
completed and put on trial run in
September 1979. The second production
line was officially commissioned on
the 11th of December 1979 with enhanced
capacity of 500,000 hectoliters per
annum. The same year the Company’s
products, “Champion Lager Beer”
and “Champ Malta” won
Silver Medal for quality at the 16th
World Selection for Beers and Non-Alcoholic
Beverages in Luxemburg.
Consequent
upon pressure of demand for its products,
the Company took a decision to double
its capacity to one million hectoliters.
This third expansion, which gulped
substantial resources, could not be
realized. The non-completion of the
expansion programme coupled with lack
of working capital and inadequate
maintenance of the Plants forced the
Company to close its doors for business
between 1990 and 1991. All subsequent
reactivation attempts did not yield
the desired results.
With
the advent of democracy in Nigeria
in May 1999; the Government of Akwa
Ibom State made the reactivation of
the brewery a cardinal activity. Consequently,
the Akwa Ibom State Investment and
Industrial Promotion Council (AKIIPOC)
was charged with the responsibility
to reactivate the Company.
Pursuant
of this mandate, AKIIPOC, in conjunction
with the Board of Directors of the
Company, went to the market to solicit
for Core Investors/Technical Managers.
In the process, Messrs Montgomery
Ventures Incorporated of Panama (with
Offices in Geneva, Switzerland) was
identified and brought into the Company
as Core Investors/Technical Managers
after a Memorandum of Understanding
was signed.
Based
on the Memorandum, a Reactivation
Committee was set up by the Board
of the Company to work with the Core
Investors/technical Managers for the
revamping of the Company. The reactivation
process, which commenced in February,
2000 lasted about nineteen months.
Now, the Plant has been revamped and
restructured to use one hundred percent
locally sourced raw materials. The
Brewery is now fully operational and
the capacity is 500,000 hectoliters
per annum.
The
reactivated Brewery was officially
commissioned on the 23rd of October,
2001. Champion Lager Beer is now in
the market and is doing well. Other
products of the company including
Champ Malta will follow soon. Already
the Company has successfully held
an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting
of the Shareholders during which approval
was given for the authorized Share
Capital of the Company to be increased
from N26 Million to N450 Million and
subsequently in the year 2003, it
has been increased to N2 Billion.
The second phase of reactivation programme
has begun already. The aim is to diversify
the Company’s product base and
bring the capacity to 1,000,000 hectoliters
per annum.
The
Company also emerged the winner of
prestigious PEARL AWARD in the category
of “Highest Share Price Appreciation”
in the year 2003.
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