For Iron City, another round
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Edwin Lozano, president and CEO of the new Iron City beer operations, inside his office at the former Iron City Brewery in Lawrenceville.
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The New York private equity fund that is the new owner of the Iron City beer brands said it was committed to reviving the historic brews and growing the business by developing new products.
Uni-World Capital L.P. acquired the Iron City and IC Light labels as well as other brands last week from the brewery's owners, an investment group that acquired it at a 2007 bankruptcy auction.
Uni-World named Edwin Lozano, 43, whose resume includes stints at PepsiCo, Miller Brewing and Coca-Cola, president and CEO of the company.
In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Lozano declined to disclose the purchase price or provide current production figures. He said no debt was used to make the purchase. Uni-World also acquired transportation equipment used to deliver the beer to wholesalers. The private equity concern also assumed contracts with wholesalers and City Brewing, the La Crosse, Wis., brewer that makes Iron City's beers in the former Rolling Rock brewery in Latrobe.
For the time being, Iron City's new management team of 16 will work out of the historic brewery's former offices on Liberty Avenue in Lawrenceville, Mr. Lozano said. He expects the company to employ more than 20 by year end.
Uni-World managing partner Christopher P. Fuller said the new owners "intend to reinvest future cash flows back into the business."
Uni-World takes on a 150-year-old beer that has suffered from a succession of new owners since 1995, when the brewery was sold for $31 million at a bankruptcy auction. That ownership group sought bankruptcy protection in 2005 after the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority threatened to terminate service over unpaid bills. The brewery was sold in 2007 at another court-supervised sale to an investment group led by waste industry executive John Milne, who was later convicted on securities fraud charges.
The brewery's decision to end brewing in Lawrenceville in 2009 and move production to Latrobe, as well as its continuing disputes over water and sewer bills, further diminished the popularity of the hometown beer.
First Published April 6, 2011 12:00 am
