Jim Brickman
From The Waterloo Way Wiki
Jim Brickman is one of the Waterloo area's most revered entrepreneurs well-known for founding the Brick Brewing Company Limited, one of the province™s first microbreweries, revolutionizing Ontarians perception of quality beer brewing.
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Vision and Leadership
Brickman is said to be fond of saying that he founded the Brick Brewery because of his ˜'drinking problem'™; he had a problem finding a beer in Ontario that he could truly enjoy. In a province that was only drinking increasingly homogenous beer from two of the nation's largest breweries, Brickman'™s vision was to create beers that were different from what was being offered. It was this vision that sparked Brickman's 1979 journey through 29 different countries with stops at 68 breweries in an effort to learn the secrets of the trade. From the journey he took an increased knowledge of different brewing processes as well as a bottle of nearly every beer he tasted, all of which can still be seen on the walls of the hospitality room of the Waterloo brewery.
Over the years at the helm of the Brick Brewing Company Brickman was pressured to mass produce his beer by altering the all-natural ingredients to help shorten the brewing process. However, Brickman never wanted to compromise the quality of his beer because it was not congruent with his vision of sharing a diversified taste experience with his customers. Brickman would even give up profits as long as it would ensure people truly enjoy drinking his brew. This was not just Brickman's philosophy; it was his way of life as evidenced by his 2004 resignation as CEO reportedly due to intensifying pressures for the brewery to turn large profits.
As a leader, employees of the Brick Brewing Company said that it was rare to see Jim Brickman without a smile on his face. The impression is that he is a genuinely nice guy with an always positive demeanor who was always ecstatic when talking of beer and his brewery. Brickman is a confident man who is sincerely proud of products and is very grateful to have made a living out of his passion. 'I started back in 1984 simply because I love beer,' said Brickman. Encouraging people to try and experiment with a variety of unique beers is still something Brickman enjoys. Brick employees believed that working for Brickman was enjoyable because he is a great motivator and had instilled his values throughout all aspects of the company. These values include teamwork, the pursuit of excellence, integrity, and the advancement of a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
Innovation and Achievement
As the Ontario beer market was becoming more homogenous with two major breweries pushing light-tasting lagers Brickman looked to fill in a niche. From his journey, Brickman noticed that there were far fewer small craft breweries in Canada than existed outside of the border. In 1984 Jim Brickman, along with a team of 10 employees, converted a 145 year-old furniture factory on King Street in Waterloo, Ontario into a brewery. The first bottle of beer was produced that same year which saw 35,000 cases of beer shipped. Early on specializing in lagers brewed with natural spring water from Formosa, the original Brick brand was his flagship Premium Lager. This was followed in subsequent years by their Anniversary Bock, a full-bodied seasonal beer that is still brewed for the winter; Red Baron, a lighter lager designed for a commercial appeal; and a Vienna lager Amber Dry.
These innovations saw Brickman receive accolades as the 'pioneer of a new beer renaissance' in Ontario. The Brick Brewing Company currently has the capacity to produce 3 million cases of beer annually and in 2005 sold over 30 million liters of beer. His beers have been recognized worldwide as Brickman has amassed more International Monde Selection for Quality beer awards than any other small brewer in all of North America as can be seen in the Waterloo brewery.
Growth & Development Strategy
Jim Brickman'™s '˜little brewery that could'™ began with a single location on King Street in Waterloo but now also operates a brewery in the town of Formosa. Brickman had to overcome several hurdles in opening his brewery as bankers were skeptical of the concept and the government itself was not experienced in granting brewing licenses because the big national brands had been the only brewers for some time. The development strategy has always focused on offering a diversified variety of beers all brewed with natural ingredients for the highest quality imaginable. The brewery that rolled out its first bottle of beer on December 18, 1984 currently produces 17 brands of beer under the Red Baron, Red Cap, Waterloo Dark, Formosa, and Laker. The brewery recently introduced the J.R. Brickman Founder'™s Series line of beers with carefully brewed amber, red and pilsners. Radio advertisements for this special line of beer can heard by following this link: http://www.brickbeer.com/html/radio.html
Publicly traded on the TSX under the symbol BRB, Brick began an aggressive growth strategy in 1996 largely driven by acquisitions. The Brick Brewing Company has the brewing rights to a number of international beers including Germany'™s Henniger Kaiser Pils and the American brew Samuel Adams Light. In 1997 the brewery acquired the rights to the Laker brand from Molson and the Belgian beer Celis White, which was the first wheat beer in Ontario. Throughout the entire growth Brickman'™s goal was to maintain the consistency and uniqueness of his beer to ensure that the customer was enjoying his beer, thereby laying the foundation for a company slogan, 'œWe Listen. We Brew.' Following Brickman'™s resignation as CEO in 2004 he took on the position of Executive Chairman. Since, the company'™s marketing communications have emphasized its unique Canadian status as it is now the largest Canadian owned public brewery.
Community Involvement
Jim Brickman'™s brewery approaches all sponsorship opportunities as long lasting partnerships, which has been evident since the company'™s inception. Since 1984 the brewery has proudly supported thousands of cultural and charitable organizations throughout the Kitchener-Waterloo (KW) community. One of the most notable community partnerships that Brickman has crafted is his involvement in the KW Oktoberfest as a beer co-sponsor dating back to 1985. His tireless contributions to the annual cultural festival has helped vault the KW Oktoberfest to the 2nd largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world. Jim Brickman entices members of the community to experience his brewery first hand by welcoming them on his famous Brick Brewery Tour. See Jim Brickman himself take a local television personality through his brewery and enjoy a sample tasting of some of his favourite beers: [1]. The Brick Brewing Company continues to be heavily involved with the community it serves by sponsoring amateur athletes, local sports teams, and a host of community events.
Sources: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
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