Firestone Walker began as the fantasy of two craft-brew fans just like the other American craft breweries established inside the most recent two decades or somewhere in the vicinity. In 1996, two brothers by marriage, Adam Firestone and David Walker, established the brewery in Paso Robles in Central California, close to a percentage of the range's top wineries, where it has proceeded to mostly ferment and age its brews in 60-gallon oak barrels (Eronen 72). Barrel fermentation and maturing was an uncommon practice for American breweries at the time, in spite of the fact that it has since turned into an even more generally utilized generation strategy. Firestone Walker initially centered upon pale malt beverages, however today it offers an expansive accumulation of craft brews running from pilsner to barley wine, and the brewery remains a pioneer in the utilization of barrels (Eronen 102).
In January, the organization opened a 7,000-square-foot office to house every last bit of its barrel-aged lagers blended with various strains of wild yeast, which regularly has an average souring impact on the brew (Benn 41). These beers need to be separated from those matured with conventional yeast strains to abstain from sullying them. The lagers prepared with these wild yeasts are only accessible at the office called Barrelworks. This office is found alongside the Firestone Walker Taproom restaurant in Buellton, Calif. Whatever remains of Firestone Walker's brews are accessible in container however a considerable lot of the discharges are created every year and are accessible for a restricted time—and additionally in bars and gastro pubs throughout the country (Benn 41).
The location of Firestone Breweries plays a great role in the success of the company. The first advantage of the location of the company is that the company is near the raw materials. Despite the fact that the company uses ingredients all over the world, most of its common and essential ingredients are available locally. To be more specific, near the company location. This is important because it helps to cut the production cost. If the raw materials were far away from the company, it will mean that the transportation of these resources would cost the company a fortune. Since the transportation of raw material is cheap, the company is able to maximize profits. The company is also in a position to produce its products cheaper than competing companies are since it can still make profits due to the low production cost.
The fact that the company is situated in a rural place bears several advantages. Focusing on the area covered by the facilities, it provides room for expansion. The area is big enough to facilitate both the processing and the storing of the beers. Most urban areas are densely populated and this indicates that most companies have a fixed space, which hinders any expansion attempts. It is also correct to say that most rural land is cheaper compared to the urban lands, which are on higher demand.
The location of the Firestone Brewery is best since tit is nowhere near any competing firms. This insinuates that there is no competition on the available resources. This is an advantage to any kind of business since competition is one factor that can lead to the business failure. There is also presence of a good transportation network around the company. A good transportation network facilitates smooth delivery and reception of the ingredients. It is also important because consumers tend to buy products that they believe is reliable. Smooth transportation has ensured that there is steady supply of the beer in the local market and globally as well (Yenne & Scott 135).
Businesses do not operate in a vacuum since there are both internal and external factors that affect them. Some of the major factors are government regulation and environmental regulation. According to a research, the government regulation tends to be harsh on the urban companies compared to those outside urban centers. It was a right decision to locate Firestone Brewery at its current location since the regulations are fair. On the issue of environmental regulation, most companies cause pollution. In the current location, there are no a lot of complains and concerns over pollution by the company because there are very few residents in the area (Yenne & Scott 66). This helps to reduce the costs of managing wastes and any reduction in costs automatically results to the increase of revenue.
Incentive is an important factor to consider whenever starting a business. Normally, most companies prefer locating their facilities in the urban areas due to availability of market and labor. As a result, the urban areas are highly populated thus the government attempts to promote the development of rural areas. As a result, the government provides incentives to those companies sited outside the urban areas. Looking at the location of Firestone Brewery, the company must be receiving incentives as it creates opportunities to people around the place. To top up on that, the company also promotes rural development. Incentives can be in form of professional assistance but they all help to reduce costs or to promote the company (Yenne & Scott 115). As a result, Firestone Brewery has been successful in beating competition and improving on the brands of beers produced.
Works cited
Benn, Evan S. "Firestone Walker beers coming to Missouri." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) 23
Sept. 2010: Regional Business News. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Eronen, Jarmo. Location Strategy and Patterns: An Empirical Investigation of the Soviet Pulp and Paper Industry. Helsinki: Helsinki School of Economics, 1984. Print.
Yenne, Bill, and Scott Pearson. Beer: The Ultimate World Tour. , 2014. Print.
The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
