Anheuser-Busch, the St. Louis-based subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, announced a $70 million to $80 million investment in its Metal Container Corp. (MCC) facility in Arnold, Mo. The investment will increase production and create at least 20 new jobs at the facility, which produces aluminum cans for Anheuser-Busch and soft drink makers, the company said.
Planned for completion in 2013, the expansion will add approximately 100,000 square feet to the Arnold facility’s warehouse and production areas, the company said.
“The expansion of our Arnold MCC facility is one more example of our company’s dedication to the state, contributing to the economic stability of the region,” said Luiz Edmond, president of Anheuser-Busch InBev North America, in a statement. “Through our strong partnerships with state and local leaders, we have been able to bring this valuable investment to our hometown.”
The project is part of an Anheuser-Busch announcement made in October to invest $1 billion in its facilities nationwide during the next three years. In 2010 and 2011, more than $5 million was spent to modernize the Arnold can plant, which improved efficiencies and reduced its environmental impact, the company said.
A subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, MCC supplies more than 45 percent of the brewer’s beer cans and 55 percent of its lids for the U.S. market. The operation also produces cans and lids for U.S. soft drink companies, including PepsiCo and Monster Beverage Corp. MCC also has can plants in Jacksonville, Fla., Mira Loma, Calif., Newburgh, N.Y., and Windsor, Colo. Lid plants are located in Oklahoma City and Riverside, Calif.
The Arnold facility expansion is made possible through a property tax abatement program in collaboration with the city and Jefferson County, Mo., according to the company. The bond program is designed to encourage business recruitment and expansion and provides incentives for a variety of industrial projects. Missouri Quality Jobs, a state’s Department of Economic Development program that helps create and maintain valuable jobs, also contributed incentives to the project, Anheuser-Busch said.
