The Zlatý Bažant ('Golden Pheasant') brewery, controlled by the Dutch Heineken concern, put out 500,000 hectoliters of beer in the first half of 1999.
This total far outpaced that of Corgoň, another Slovak brewery controlled by Heineken, which produced 280,000 hectoliters of beer. Heineken expects the output of these two breweries to reach 1.3 million hectoliters this year, 15% up on 1998.
Zlatý Bažant exported about 10% of its production, mainly to the Czech Republic, Croatia, the countries of the former USSR, Canada and the United States. The brand Corgoň was sold exclusively on the domestic market.
Heineken Slovakia currently employs 800 people. It owns 66% of the Zlatý Bažant brewery in Hurbanovo, as well as 49% of the Corgoň brewery in Nitra. Combined, these facilities have an annual capacity of 1.6 million hectoliters.
The most successful beer brand still exclusively in Slovak hands, the Topvar brewery, is also doing well. Topolčany-based Topvar reported beer sales of 72,400 hectoliters in July, a record since the brewery's establishment in 1964.
