Obolon CJSC

Obolon JSC

Type	Private
Industry	beverages
Founded	Kyiv, Ukraine (1980)
Headquarters	Kyiv, Ukraine
Key people	Oleksandr Slobodian, honorary president
Products	beer, sodas, cocktails, mineral water
Revenue	UAH 4,5 billion (2010)
Operating income	not disclosed
Net income	UAH 90 million (2010)
Number of employees	6,500 (2010)
Website	www.obolon.com

Obolon Joint Stock Company (Ukrainian: ПАТ "Оболонь") is a major Ukrainian producer of beverages: beer, low alcohol drinks (cocktails), soda drinks and locally extracted natural mineral water, as well as a major malt producer. Based in Kyiv, Obolon JSC has sites across Ukraine and employs several thousand people.

Obolon's main plant in Kyiv is the largest brewing facility in Europe by installed capacity. As of 2008, that facility was Europe's largest single beer manufacturer in terms of physical volume. Obolon's plant in Khmelnytskyi Oblast is the largest malting facility in Europe by installed capacity.

The company's main brewery was built in 1980 according to designs made by Czech engineers, near an artesian well in Kyiv's Obolon district. Initially called Kyiv brewery #3, it acquired the name "Obolon" in 1986. In 1992, Obolon became the first privatized company in independent Ukraine and registered its corporate brand Obolon (Ukrainian: Оболонь). The shares of company stock were distributed among its employees. In 1993, Obolon changed its legal status to a closed joint-stock company (currently it's a private joint stock company under present legislation). In 1997, Obolon obtained a $40 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which the company used to significantly expand its production capacities.

In 2009 Obolon obtained a further $50 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development towards financial stability and increased energy efficiency.

Oleksandr Slobodian, the CEO and veteran of the company was also a national politician till the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election; he was a member of the Verkhovna Rada and has represented the conservative People's Movement of Ukraine for three consecutive sessions.