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Anheuser-Busch Ships Drinking Water to Gulf Coast
August 30, 2006
Some Hurricane Katrina Victims Still Without Essentials … One Year Later
The scene played out many times in 2005. A Bud Light delivery truck slowly pulled up at a hurricane relief center to the applause of onlookers. The truck’s cargo was not beer, but rather hundreds of cases of drinking water packaged in now-familiar plain white 12-ounce cans.
One year after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on its Gulf Coast rampage, Anheuser-Busch and its local wholesalers continue to provide safe drinking water to towns and villages still struggling to recover. The white cans of drinking water have become a staple at American Red Cross relief centers across the Southeast.
The nation’s largest brewer is partnering with the American Red Cross and other relief agencies that continue to serve devastated areas 12 months after the Aug. 29, 2005 storm.
“Anheuser-Busch is in a unique position to provide water to those in need. Few corporations have the infrastructure to package beverages and distribute them quickly to our local wholesalers,” said Mike Harding, vice president, Operations, Anheuser-Busch. “When a natural disaster strikes, very simply put, we have a responsibility to package and provide water to our neighbors.”
With predictions for yet another active Atlantic hurricane season, Anheuser-Busch pre-staged more than 93,000 cases of canned drinking water this spring -- or approximately 2.2 million cans -- in the southeast United States and in areas along the Gulf Coast, enabling relief agencies to access safe drinking water immediately should a hurricane strike.
In addition, at the request of relief agencies and local churches, Anheuser-Busch donated another 4,300 cases of drinking water -- or 103,200 cans -- to relief agencies in New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Miss., in mid-June.
Yet another call came for aid in mid-July and Anheuser-Busch responded by delivering 4,300 cases of water to residents of Waveland and Pearlington, Miss., with the assistance of local wholesaler Rex Distributing Co.
“Anheuser-Busch is the only brewer with 12 breweries strategically positioned across the country which can switch over and package drinking water on a moment’s notice,” said Harding. “We manufacture the aluminum cans ourselves and fill them with water at a highly efficient rate. Our independent wholesalers then distribute the cans to relief agencies within hours.”
To date, the majority of drinking water has been prepared, packaged and shipped from the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Cartersville, Ga. However, due to the number and geographic impact of the 2005 hurricanes, Anheuser-Busch breweries in Houston, Fort Collins, Colo., and Jacksonville, Fla., also packaged water last year for victims.
“Very simply put, we not only have the ability to provide water to relief victims, we feel we have a responsibility since residents of these communities have supported us for decades,” said Harding. “We’re proud to provide this service to our neighbors.”
Helping communities cope with natural disasters has been an Anheuser-Busch tradition since 1906 when Adolphus Busch made a donation to victims of the San Francisco earthquake.
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.8% share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50% share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27% share in Tsingtao, the No. 1 brewer in China. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2006. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is America’s top recycler of aluminum cans.
August 30, 2006
Some Hurricane Katrina Victims Still Without Essentials … One Year Later
The scene played out many times in 2005. A Bud Light delivery truck slowly pulled up at a hurricane relief center to the applause of onlookers. The truck’s cargo was not beer, but rather hundreds of cases of drinking water packaged in now-familiar plain white 12-ounce cans.
One year after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on its Gulf Coast rampage, Anheuser-Busch and its local wholesalers continue to provide safe drinking water to towns and villages still struggling to recover. The white cans of drinking water have become a staple at American Red Cross relief centers across the Southeast.
The nation’s largest brewer is partnering with the American Red Cross and other relief agencies that continue to serve devastated areas 12 months after the Aug. 29, 2005 storm.
“Anheuser-Busch is in a unique position to provide water to those in need. Few corporations have the infrastructure to package beverages and distribute them quickly to our local wholesalers,” said Mike Harding, vice president, Operations, Anheuser-Busch. “When a natural disaster strikes, very simply put, we have a responsibility to package and provide water to our neighbors.”
With predictions for yet another active Atlantic hurricane season, Anheuser-Busch pre-staged more than 93,000 cases of canned drinking water this spring -- or approximately 2.2 million cans -- in the southeast United States and in areas along the Gulf Coast, enabling relief agencies to access safe drinking water immediately should a hurricane strike.
In addition, at the request of relief agencies and local churches, Anheuser-Busch donated another 4,300 cases of drinking water -- or 103,200 cans -- to relief agencies in New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Miss., in mid-June.
Yet another call came for aid in mid-July and Anheuser-Busch responded by delivering 4,300 cases of water to residents of Waveland and Pearlington, Miss., with the assistance of local wholesaler Rex Distributing Co.
“Anheuser-Busch is the only brewer with 12 breweries strategically positioned across the country which can switch over and package drinking water on a moment’s notice,” said Harding. “We manufacture the aluminum cans ourselves and fill them with water at a highly efficient rate. Our independent wholesalers then distribute the cans to relief agencies within hours.”
To date, the majority of drinking water has been prepared, packaged and shipped from the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Cartersville, Ga. However, due to the number and geographic impact of the 2005 hurricanes, Anheuser-Busch breweries in Houston, Fort Collins, Colo., and Jacksonville, Fla., also packaged water last year for victims.
“Very simply put, we not only have the ability to provide water to relief victims, we feel we have a responsibility since residents of these communities have supported us for decades,” said Harding. “We’re proud to provide this service to our neighbors.”
Helping communities cope with natural disasters has been an Anheuser-Busch tradition since 1906 when Adolphus Busch made a donation to victims of the San Francisco earthquake.
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.8% share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50% share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27% share in Tsingtao, the No. 1 brewer in China. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2006. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is America’s top recycler of aluminum cans.