From the mid-1980s to the turn of the century, the brewing industry transformed dramatically from a local to a highly international or global industry. The official merger group of Artois and Piedboeuf, renamed Interbrew, would play a leading role in this transformation. From its historical position in Western Europe, the group spread its tentacles to Central and Eastern Europe, acquiring brewery after brewery. This chapter recalls the history of the Interbrew group in its rise to a world leader. A first major milestone in this route towards global dominance was an acquisition across the Atlantic of Canada’s largest brewer, Labatt’s, in 1995. In some fifteen years, Interbrew completed a total of no less than forty acquisitions. Meanwhile, the company revamped on all levels. Besides a dance of CEOs in the 1990s, modern management techniques came to the front and the board and shareholders’ structures were professionalized. Decentralization and localism remained at the centre of the group’s corporate strategy, effectively becoming the world’s local brewer.
History of the Brewing Industry and the Brewery Workers' Organization. Hermann Schlüter