2007-02-02

Cascioli Could Descend From Saviour To Sellout

By Steve Arnold
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 2, 2007)
For nearly seven years the daughter of a local steelworker and seamstress has been a local darling as the saviour of Hamilton's Lakeport brewery.

Yesterday's announcement that the Burlington Street fixture will be sold to Labatt, however, could wipe the shine off that halo.

Now Teresa Cascioli's status as a legend of Hamilton business hangs on the fate of 200 jobs.

"She could really end up being the villain here if those jobs are lost and $40 million ends up going into her pocket," said Loren Lieberman, head of Creative Arts. "If we lose those jobs she'll be remembered for selling out the brewery."

That would be a switch.

For years it was rare not to see the McMaster graduate's name on any list of business honours. The trophy shelf of her Burlington home is groaning under the weight of honours from the Women's Executive Network, Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, the Italian, Ontario and Hamilton chambers of commerce, Profit Magazine, the Canadian Professional Sales Association and Ernst & Young.

Cascioli's story is a Hamilton classic. Raised on the east Mountain she graduated McMaster University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and then worked for 12 years in the city's finance department. For three years she was one of the public faces of Philip Services Corp. as vice-president for investor relations. When that chapter closed in 1999 she was thinking about law school when she was asked to take over Lakeport.

Over the next six years she grew the company from bankruptcy to the third largest brewer in Ontario.

In the last two years, as Stelco lurched through a tortured bankruptcy protection and a global conglomerate swallowed Dofasco, Lakeport stood out as a local success.

On the day the deal was announced, drinkers were divided on whether a buyout is enough to make them to switch suds.

Christian Ritums, 19, is considering it.

"I'm thinking about it," the construction worker said as he walked into the Dundurn Street beer store last night. "It's a rational attachment you have to your local company."

His brother Jacob, 20, is also bothered by the sale, but plans to keep drinking Lakeport Pilsner.

"I'm bothered by it, but I'm not going to stop because it's the only cheap beer that tastes good," said the Mohawk College student. "The other buck-a-beer beers taste horrible."

Local publicist Laura Babcock says the real story is of a local person who achieved a real business success.

"Teresa is an extremely hard-working woman who took on major challenge in a tough industry," she said. "We're going to see a local business hero move onto something bigger.

"I'm not thrilled about seeing it sold, but I understand why Lakeport's board is considering it," she added.

For Len Falco, president of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Lakeport was a point of pride for the city.

"I'm happy for her and the unitholders, but at the same time there's a real bittersweet quality here," he said. "Lakeport was something we could be proud of, but now it's just another part of a conglomerate.

"She was quite a local hero for growing the company and using some aggressive marketing against the big boys," he added.

For herself, Cascioli said in an interview yesterday the Labatt deal isn't automatically a blow to the city and its economy.

As for her own reputation in her home town: "I'm just a regular human being ... dealing with the challenges of running a business," she said.

Timeline

1946 -- Andrew Peller opens Ontario's first independent brewery in decades, 14 years after the Regal Brewing Company shut its city plant.

1981 -- Amstel Brewery Canada Ltd. buys the Burlington Street brewery.

1991 -- Amstel pulls up stakes and closes after steady losses. Ninety-four jobs are lost.

March 1992 -- Bill Sharpe purchases the defunct brewery from Amstel including rights to Amstel's local brand names such as Hamilton Mountain, Laker and Steeler from Heineken. Company is renamed Lakeport Brewing Co. He owns 30 per cent. Cott Beverages Ltd. owns 70 per cent.

December 1992 -- Loblaw's President's Choice Premium Draft Beer -- made by Lakeport Brewing -- hits Ontario beer stores at $5.95 for a six-pack.

December 1993 -- Lakeport introduces a 7.3 per cent alcohol content version of Around Ontario beer. It sells well in Russia.

November 1996 -- Bill Sharpe and Vincent Lubertino (Lakeport financial vice-president) buys out Cott for $17 million.

November 1998 -- Lakeport seeks bankruptcy court protection, owing secured and unsecured creditors $17 million.

1999 -- Teresa Cascioli is named president of Lakeport after the brewery emerges from bankruptcy protection. She takes control of Lakeport after her company, Alphacorp Holdings, invested $3.1 million in equity and working capital.

January 2005 -- Cascioli purchases 100 per cent of the fast-growing Burlington Street beer plant with money from Toronto-based Vengrowth Capital Partners and the National Bank of Canada.

February 1, 2007 -- Lakeport attracts a $201.4-million takeover bid from market leader Labatt Brewing Co.

sarnold@thespec.com

905-526-3496

With files from Daniel Nolan

Used with permission from The Hamilton Spectator, www.thespec.com Copyright The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.