Wikipedia isn't the best source for research but it can be a good starting point to get some basic facts. The parts in this entry i am most interested are the ones about Tetley's marketing, sponsors and advertising campaigns.
This is another Wikipedia entry but for Carlsberg the company who currently own Tetley's and have decided to close down the brewery along with its brand.
Below is an article about the closing of the brewery, sourced from the link above.
Tetley's Yorkshire brewery set to close
The brewery is the last major industry in an area of prime office and residential development land close to the river Aire
One of Britain's best-known breweries is to close with the loss of 170 jobs as the recession bites into demand and pub closures rise above the rate of five a day.
The Danish giant Carlsberg today announced a two-year rundown of the Tetley site in Leeds, where ales have been made under the sign of the monocled huntsman since 1822.
The GMB union appealed for talks to discuss a change of heart, but the move has been foreshadowed since talks with Leeds city council earlier this year.
The brewery is the last major industry in an area of prime office and residential development land close to the river Aire, following the departure of Yorkshire Chemicals three years ago. Although the land market is currently sluggish, a revival is expected by 2011 and estimates of the land's value top £100m.
Carlsberg will continue to brew Tetley's range of beers which, like rivals brands such as Manchester's Boddington's and Newcastle Brown, are emblematic of the north of England. But production is likely to move down south to Carlsberg's other major English brewery in Northampton, although discussions are planned about other possibilities in Yorkshire or the wider north.
Carlsberg UK's marketing director, Darran Britton, said that the economic downturn was piling "unprecedented pressure" on the company, at a time of strong competition, higher duties and increasing regulatory costs. The firm's supply chain director, Nick Webb, said: "Unfortunately, in this environment, we can no longer justify running two major breweries in the UK."
Carlsberg hopes to manage a careful rundown between now and 2011, but the firm offered no guaranteed alternative work for the 170 Leeds staff. Webb said: "We are announcing the closure proposal more than two years in advance so that our employees are able to prepare for the future.
"But we have to consider difficult decisions to remain competitive in the current environment and we regret the risk to the jobs of our employees. Although the business has remained robust in tough market conditions, this proposed move is vital to ensure Carlsberg UK remains a strong and sustainable business in the future."
Automation at the Leeds brewery has steadily reduced staff, with Carlsberg investing millions of pounds in the plant since acquiring Tetley in 1992. The firm has been a central part of Leeds life but a brewery museum closed after less than five years because of low visitor numbers, and the famous shire horses which ran dray deliveries in the city centre were retired on financial grounds in 2006.
Britain's beer market has been falling for a number of years, with the closure of 30 breweries since 1998, but the slump has accelerated by between 7% and 8% in recent months. Britton said: "It is a reality of the market - people are drinking less beer."
Workers leaving the nightshift this morning and those arriving for the day were given the news, while the firm issued a parallel announcement that it would continue its sponsorship of rugby league teams Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls. Tim Roache, regional secretary of the GMB union, which represents workers at the site, said: "This is very disappointing news.
"We will be seeking talks with Carlsberg to see if there is anything that can be done to change their minds about closing this historic brewery".
Tetley's was founded by a Leeds maltster, William Tetley, who narrowly escaped bankruptcy when barley prices soared during the American War of Independence and the town's mayor warned that the situation amounted "almost to prohibition". The brewery was the work of his son Joshua, an outstanding entrepreneur who used a borehole far below the Aire to avoid the river's filthy water.
Tetley's beer brewing history in Leeds | ||
For generations, since 1822, the Tetley's brewery has sat on the southern approaches to Leeds. Now Carlsberg is planning to close Tetley's, it was announced back in November 2008. The company blamed falling consumption, higher duties and regulatory pressure for the decision to shut its Leeds site in 2011. The latest announcement is that the company will be brewing the cask ale in Wolverhampton. Ambitious building scheme The Tetley family's links with the beer industry reach back into the 1740s when William Tetley was described as a maltster in Armley. Drying malt is a vital part of the brewing process.
His son William then expanded the business, which in turn was passed to his son Joshua. It was in 1822, Joshua Tetley leased a brewery in Salem Place, Hunslet. Joshua died in 1859, leaving the business to his son Francis William, who took on a partner, Charles Ryder. By 1864 Joshua Tetley and Son were starting an ambitious building scheme. In 1890 the firm opened their first public house close to the brewery, the Duke William (pictured above). In 1897 Tetley's became a public limited company. Latterly the brewery was bought by Carlsberg. The Tetley's brewery has supplied a popular bitter, stood as a Leeds landmark and of course employed generations of Loiners. | ||
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