Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, announced a $30 million investment in its Jacksonville, Fla.-based brewery and can plant. The investment will go toward upgrading brewing and packaging equipment to fuel increased production of Michelob ULTRA.

This latest $30 million investment in its Jacksonville facilities is part of Anheuser-Busch’s ongoing Brewing Futures initiative, through which the company invested more than $300 million in its U.S. facilities in the past year to create and sustain U.S. manufacturing jobs. Building on more than 165 years of continuous investment in its people, breweries and communities, Anheuser-Busch’s Brewing Futures initiative supports American manufacturing through three key pillars:  

•    Creating and sustaining manufacturing jobs  

•    Advancing technical skills training 

•    Strengthening manufacturing career opportunities for veterans 

Brendan Whitworth, CEO, Anheuser-Busch stated: “Investing in our Jacksonville facilities enables us to brew more of the highest-quality American beers that consumers love, including Michelob ULTRA, the No. 1 top-selling and fastest-growing beer in America. Investments like these are incredibly important because they help us to enhance our operations while also sustaining jobs and driving local economic growth in the communities where we operate.”

This investment will expand the Jacksonville Brewery’s capacity to produce fast-growing beers like Michelob ULTRA, including upgrades to bottling lines and brewing tanks. According to Chicago-based Circana, Michelob ULTRA is the No. 1 top-selling beer nationwide and the state of Florida. Nielsen also confirms the brand is No. 1 in bars and restaurants across the state.

U.S. Representative Aaron Bean (R-FL) said: “Anheuser-Busch’s announcement of a new $30 million investment to expand production at its Jacksonville facilities is excellent news for Northeast Florida. This kind of bold, forward-looking investment will create new jobs, provide more opportunities, boost our state's economy, and further solidify our region as a cornerstone of American manufacturing. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, pro-growth investments like this are becoming more possible, empowering businesses to grow, workers to succeed, and communities to prosper.”

Florida Speaker Pro Tempore, Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville) said: “By upgrading brewing and packaging capabilities with a $30 million investment, Anheuser‑Busch is helping position Jacksonville to grow its manufacturing sector and strengthen our workforce development in this area. We look forward to working together to turn this investment into a sustained opportunity for the hard-working people of Jacksonville.”

Anheuser-Busch opened its Jacksonville Brewery in 1969 and its Metal Container Corporation (MCC) facility in 2016. The company has invested more than $100 million in its Jacksonville facilities since 2021, part of the nearly $2 billion it has invested in its 100 U.S. facilities over the past five years, it says.