Super Bock Group

About

The Super Bock Group, SGPS, SA is a brewing company, headquartered in Leça do Bailio (Matosinhos), in the metropolitan area of Porto, Portugal. The company was founded in 1890 as the CUFP, being restructured and renamed Unicer in 1977. In November 2017, the name of the company was changed to the present one, reflecting its most famous output, the Super Bock beer. Its activity is set up on the business of beers and bottled water. It is the largest Portuguese beverage company and is also present in the areas of soft drinks, ciders and wines, in the production and sale of malt, and in the tourism business.

The Super Bock Group is a company with decision center in Portugal, owned in 56% by Viacer (Carlsberg and Violas) and 44% by the Carlsberg Group. The Holding Viacer congregates two groups – Violas (71.5%) and Carlsberg Group (28.5%).

It is the largest Portuguese exporter of beer – an operation that has already reached more than 50 countries, mainly through Super Bock, which is the best-selling Portuguese beer in the world.

The company follows a multi-brand and multi-business strategy, focused on beer and bottled water but extends to the segments of soft drinks, cider and wine. Super Bock Group is also associated with the activity of malt production and sale and holds assets in the tourism sector, Vidago and Pedras Salgadas thermal parks, both in Trás-os-Montes region (North of Portugal).

The origin of the company date back to the beginnings of the beverage sector industrialization, during the second half of the nineteenth century, when, on 7 March 1890, CUFP (Companhia União Fabril Portuense das Fábricas de Cerveja e Bebidas Refrigerantes) was formed. This conglomerate can be considered the mother of the current beverage company, with the initial capital of 125,000 escudos (former Portuguese currency), which is roughly €623. Of the seven factories that have joined this project, some were already several decades old.

Nationalisation and creation of Unicer (1975–1980)

In the Portuguese revolutionary period (that came after the Carnations Revolution ), CUFP was nationalised on 30 August 1975. In December 1977, the State restructured the sector, combining the five nationalized companies into two, Centralcer, and Unicer – União Cervejeira (gathering CUFP, Imperial and Copeja).

In 1988, by the Decree-Law No. 353/88, Unicer was transformed into "Public Limited Liability Company with a majority public capital" with the designation Unicer – União Cervejeira, SA. Productivity has more than trebled between 1979 and 1989, and by the end of the decade, Unicer beer sales exceeded the 300 million liters. It was also during this period that Unicer started a consistent focus on exporting exceeding, in 1983, a million liters of beer exported, and over 4 million liters in 1988.

Unicer's economic and financial indicators during the 1980s justified that it had been chosen by the government to begin the process of privatizations. Thus, on 26 April 1989, in a public session held in the Oporto Stock Exchange, the privatisation of 49% of capital took place. In 1990, the year the company celebrated its centenary, the privatization was completed, with the sale of the 51% stake that was still held by the State.

Over the 1990s, Unicer continued to invest in technological modernisation in all its sectors, in productivity expansion, in rationalization and expansion of the distribution network and in rejuvenation of brands and corporate image. After 1995, the beer market was growing again, and Unicer strengthened its leadership in the sector.

Super Bock expanded its popularity, participating in major events such as the most emblematic Portuguese summer festival Super Bock Super Rock, whose first edition took place in 1995; EXPO'98 or the campaign "Super Bock / Official Beer of the Year 2000" launched in 1999.

In 1992, Unicer started to produce and market the Danish brand Carlsberg in Portugal.

In 2000, the core of Unicer shareholders, along with Viacer holding company, launches a public takeover bid, and gets to hold the totality of the capital, except for the shares of the company in itself.

By the end of 2000, it was formalized the change of name from Unicer – União Cervejeira, SA, to Unicer – Bebidas de Portugal, SA. A year later, the company changed its legal status, becoming a holding company and rearranging and empowering the various business units.

In 2000, Unicer entered the coffee sector, with the acquisition of the shares of the company A Caféeira, S.A., and strengthened its position in the wine sector, with the purchase of Quinta do Minho and Vimompor – Winery Society of Monção. In 2002, the purchase of VMPS – Vidago, Melgaço and Pedras Salgadas and their integration into Unicer, including six industrial facilities, natural parks and thermal and hotel units, and six water marks, projected the company for new challenges in the bottled water sector, as well as the entry in the Tourism sector.

In June 2006, there is a change in Unicer governance, and the operational leadership started to be performed by the chief executive officer, a position entrusted to António Magalhães Pires de Lima.

Years later, concerning the beer business, a core business, there was a concentration of all of the production in Leça do Balio, where, in 2012, began the construction of a new factory with a capacity of 450 million liters, designed according to the foresight of the company's activity for the next twenty years. This emphasis on centralization and development of this production center represents an investment amounting to €100 million.

In July 2013, António Pires de Lima leaves the position of chairman of the Executive Committee of Unicer, to accept the office of Minister of Economy. He was replaced by João Abecasis.

Unicer celebrated its 125th birthday on 7 March 2015, in a ceremony presided over by President of the Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The celebration coincided with the inauguration of the new industrial complex at Leça do Balio, part of the new warehouse, the headquarters building and the Beer Production Centre, in an investment of €100 million.

The Beer Production Centre stands out by combining new equipment, technologically superior, and a greater production capacity. The new warehouse is a fully automated infrastructure with an electric car circuit with direct connection to the factory and where you can store 40,000 pallets and move 12,000 pallets daily. Also the new headquarters, inaugurated in September 2014, includes an outer plate (System Thermal Insulation and Acoustic) which reduces about 30% of energy consumption.