From Lawrenceville To Latrobe: Iron City Gets New Address

Iron City Brewing Co. is getting a new address. Company President Tim Hickman said Iron City will move production about 40 miles away from Pittsburgh to Latrobe.

After 148 years in business in its Liberty Avenue building, the brewery will bottle its last beers in two weeks.

“This brewery is old and has a lot of infrastructure problems,” said Hickman.

He said relocating to Latrobe will cost $20,000 to $30,000, as opposed to fixing the original building, which would cost up to $15 million.

The brewmaster will remain with Iron City in Latrobe, but it remains to be seen what will happen with the brewery’s other 51 employees.

“We’ve been working through the union leadership,” Hickman said. “Of course … they’re not happy.”

He contends that the move is best for the brewery, though. He said at the Latrobe facility, workers will be able to bottle in one hour what took a full eight-hour day to bottle at their current location.

The brewery's union workers took a pay cut in 2007 to stave off a bankruptcy filing by the company. Iron City has been beset by financial problems and ownership changes for several years.

Iron City Brewing Co.'s brands are iconic in the Western Pennsylvania region, and its core products -- Iron City Beer, IC Light and Augustiner Amber Lager -- are sold throughout the country.

Iron City Brewing Co. is owned by a team of investors led by Unified Growth Partners, a private equity firm that brings together operating experience and growth capital.

Leave your comments below about Iron City Brewing Co.'s decision to move to Latrobe.