Arizona Iced Tea’s Arnold Palmer’s Lite Half and Half will be produced in Latrobe, the golfer’s hometown, allowing City Brewing Company to recall workers there.
Arizona Iced Tea has sold the signature half lemonade, half iced tea beverage since 2002, and demand has stayed strong. Hence the decision of Wisconsin-based City Brewing, now running the former Latrobe Brewery, to produce the drink and five other products in the former Rolling Rock brewery. Former union workers have been called back to start 24/7 production May 24.
“We’ve added shifts and rehired 48 full-time bottlers and 35 brewers,” says City Brewing’s Zach Mazzoni. That will allow the brewery to make 150,000 cases per month in May, June and July.
City Brewing closed its Iron City Brewing in Pittsburgh last year. Since moving to a more modern plant in Latrobe, City Brewing has installed a canning line last year to increase production. When it lost a contract with Boston Brewing company for Sam Adams beer, the plant laid off 70 workers who have now been rehired.
Source: Zach Mazzoni, City Brewing
Writer: Chris O’Toole