Iron City to revive dormant brands

By Joe Napsha
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 20, 2007

With an infusion of new money, the new owners of Iron City and IC
Light beers hope to revive dormant brands such as J.J. Wainwright,
Fort Pitt and Olde Frothingslosh as part of their plan to make the
historic Lawrenceville brewery a success.
Iron City Brewing Co. can succeed where previous owners failed because
it has sufficient money to operate the brewery, conduct an aggressive
marketing and advertising campaign and resurrect some of its dormant
brands within the next 12 to 18 months, President Timothy Hickman said
Wednesday.

"What is very important is that we bring liquidity to the business. We
have operating capital, and I think that really is the key. We have
cash available to pay the bills," Hickman said yesterday, the first
full day of business for the new owners.

Iron City Brewing completed the purchase of bankrupt Pittsburgh
Brewing Co. on Tuesday by settling with creditors under terms of a
reorganization plan approved on June 5. Neither former President
Joseph R. Piccirilli, who led an investment group that paid $29.4
million for the brewery in 1995, nor any other investor was paid for
their past ownership.

Iron City Brewing was formed by the investment firm Unified Growth
Partners of Greenwich, Conn. A group of partners, led by Connecticut
equity fund manager John N. Milne, invested $3 million into the
business, Hickman said.
The first order of business over the next 90 days will be to focus on
meeting all the beer orders, Hickman said. Production resumed
yesterday, and Hickman anticipates there will be between 70 and 75
bottlers and brewers producing beer, plus 27 employees in various
administrative positions, including sales.

"We have a backlog of orders," said Hickman, 50, an East Liverpool,
Ohio, resident who previously worked with Milne.

The brewery's lack of cash hampered operations in recent months.
Suppliers demanded cash on delivery, which resulted in delays in
producing beer and failure to fulfill orders, according to testimony
in bankruptcy court.

Iron City Brewing anticipates producing 327,000 barrels of beer in
2008, a 30 percent increase over 2006 production levels, Hickman said.
That projection is based on the orders Iron City's distributors would
have made in 2006 if the brewery had the capability to meet demand,
Hickman said.

In 2008, the company will turn its attention to modernizing the plant,
installing a new boiler and kegging system, he said.

Also on tap for next year is an aggressive marketing and advertising
campaign, Hickman said. The company's core markets are within a 90-
mile radius of Pittsburgh, covering Western Pennsylvania, northern
West Virginia and eastern Ohio.

Although the brewery is known for Iron City, IC Light and Augustiner,
Iron City Brewing has 36 labels it can use to appeal to a variety of
beer tastes. The new ownership wants to "get aggressive in the craft
(beer) market," which is growing, Hickman said.

Hickman was confident that Iron City Brewing can put the brewery's
financial failures behind -- it has been in bankruptcy twice in the
past 12 years -- and make it work.

"We've got an iconic brand and loyal consumers. There's nothing but
upside to that," he added.

On Sep 20, 9:19 am, tomkanpa > wrote:
> Iron City to revive dormant brands
>
> By Joe Napsha
> TRIBUNE-REVIEW
> Thursday, September 20, 2007
>
> With an infusion of new money, the new owners of Iron City and IC
> Light beers hope to revive dormant brands such as J.J. Wainwright,
> Fort Pitt and Olde Frothingslosh as part of their plan to make the
> historic Lawrenceville brewery a success.
> upside to that," he added.

It is more like the "illusion" of new money. Everyone who buys the
brewery has a hidden agenda that does not include brewing beer.

Tom

Any word on Wiedemann?