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| Type | Public (LSE: BAG) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1875 |
| Founder(s) | Robert Barr |
| Headquarters | Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Key people | Robin Barr, Chairman Roger White, Chief Executive |
| Industry | Beverages |
| Products | Irn-Bru Tizer Red Kola Barr Cola D'n'B American Cream Soda Cherryade St Clements Lemonade Ginger beer Limeade Lipton Iced Tea Orangina Shandy |
| Revenue | £148.4 million GBP (2008) |
| Operating income | £19.9 million GBP (2008) |
| Net income | £16.8 million GBP (2008) |
| Employees | 898 (2008) |
| Website | www.agbarr.co.uk |
A.G. Barr plc (LSE: BAG) is a Scottish soft drinks manufacturer, based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is particularly notable for the manufacture of the popular Scottish drink, Irn-Bru. A.G. Barr is the largest manufacturer of soft drinks in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
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History
The company was founded in 1875 by Robert Barr in the town of Falkirk.[1] In 1887 his son, Robert Fulton Barr, set up a division of the original company in Glasgow, which had a much larger population.[1] Then in 1892 the Glasgow branch passed to Andrew Grieg Barr, a brother of the founder of that branch.[1] Irn-Bru was first launched in 1901.[1] The Falkirk and Glasgow divisions merged in 1959.[1] The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1965.[1]
In 1972, the Tizer brand was purchased.[1] The year 1980 saw the introduction of Low Calorie Irn-Bru: this changed its name in 1991 to Diet Irn-Bru. In 2001 the company acquired Findlays Mineral Water which is sourced in the Lammermuir Hills.[2]
In 2002 Roger White joined A G Barr as managing director and in 2004 became Barr's first ever non family chief executive.[3]
The Company acquired Forfar based Strathmore Mineral Water in May 2006.[4] The Irn-Bru 32 energy drink variant was launched in 2006.[1] In 2008 the company purchased the Taut sports drink range.[5]
Operations
A.G. Barr produces a whole variety of soft drinks for the UK market including American Cream Soda, Barr Cola, D'n'B, Irn-Bru, Red Kola (One of the few cola drinks still made using actual Kola nuts), St Clements Lemonade and Limeade and Tizer. It has manufacturing plants in Cumbernauld and Mansfield.[6] Irn-Bru is currently manufactured in five factories in Russia, and is also manufactured under licence in Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Bru and various other Barr products are exported to The United States, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Greece, and Cyprus, as well as parts of Africa and Asia. It is available sporadically in Ireland.
In the UK, the company also has a partnership with Unilever to market Lipton Iced Tea and a manufacturing franchise with Cadbury Plc for the Orangina soft drink range.
They also acquired Rubicon in 2008.
The firm announced in November 2009 that they plan to end operations at their Mansfield bottling and distribution centre and transfer work to Cumbernauld.
Competition with Coca-Cola
In Scotland there is fierce competition between Irn-Bru and Coca-Cola. Irn-Bru has long been the most popular soft drink in Scotland, but recent times have seen the two brands sales at roughly equal levels.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "History". A.G. Barr. http://www.agbarr.co.uk/agbarr/newsite/ces_general.nsf/wpg/history!OpenDocument.
- ^ A.G. Barr buys up Findlays The Scotsman, 27 December 2002
- ^ The Big Profile: Roger White Insider Magazine, 25 November 2008
- ^ William Lyons (2006-05-28). "Barr hopes water deal will help it fizz again". The Scotsman. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=639&id=787302006.
- ^ Jeremy Lemer (2008-01-25). "AG Barr grows in sports drinks". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b5facc66-cae6-11dc-a960-000077b07658.html.
- ^ Advertising Barr's Irn-Bru
- ^ Sharon Ward (2003-09-30). "Coke takes sparkle off Irn-Bru". The Scotsman. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=639&id=1081882003.
External links
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