Genesee Brewery officials on Thursday showed off their new $28 million can line. That equipment is part of the $50 million investment announced last year.
Piotr Jurjewicz is the CEO of the brewery’s parent company, FIFCO USA, and said the new can line will help Genesee meet demand for its products as well as the beverages it produces for other companies on a contract basis, like Labatt.
“Between our brands and contract manufacturing…the whole brewery will be running very, very close to its capacity in the peak season.” Jurjewicz said.
He said the new equipment boosts the plant’s production capabilities by adding about 15 million cases per year.
“More than capacity, it’s also going to add flexibility, because it can produce multiple pack formats,” Jurjewicz said. It’s helping our efficiency and really making the whole operation run smoother and be more efficient.”
FIFCO said that the new can line directly support 10 of the 57 newly created jobs at the brewery added over the last year.
A number of local, state and federal officials attended a ribbon cutting for the new can line on Friday, including Mayor Malik Evans, who praised Genesee Brewing for continuing to invest in its operations in the city, and he talked about what that means for the local workforce.
“One of the things I always remind people is that so many of the folks that work in this building, guess what? They live in this neighborhood, they don’t have to go too far to come to work,” Evans said. “To have an organization like Genesee Brewery here in the heart of our city, is absolutely a game changer for us.”
Last year New York state announced a $7 million capital grant to support the project, while the city of Rochester provided a $300,000 grant.
On a separate topic, WXXI News asked Jurjewicz about concerns in the beverage and beer industries about the potential effects of stiff tariffs being discussed or implemented by the Trump Administration, which could affect the cost of obtaining steel and aluminum.
Jurjewicz said FIFCO USA is watching developments on that front, but added that “I think there is still some lack of clarity about the tariffs and how it’s affecting us. Our suppliers are working through that,” Jurjewicz said, “so at this point, we have to wait before we run our numbers.”
