The story
Tsarist Russia
The origins of "Stumbras" lie in an 1894 law on monopolizing alcohol production by state-owned enterprises in the Russian Empire. The law was expected to increase budget revenues and to improve the quality of produced vodka. The government of Kaunas acquired a suitable plot of land in 1903 for a high price of 52,200 Russian rubles. The buildings were finished and production started at the end of 1906. The official name of the company was "Kazionyj Nr.1 vinyj očistnyj sklad" (State wine warehouse No. 1). The city's name was later included in the title. The site included an electric power station, charcoal burner (for filtration purposes), canalisation, evaporation heating, three-dimensional water supply system, six artesian wells, and a rail connection.
German rule
The company was enlarged and modernised several times until 1914. During World War I, Lithuania was occupied by Germany and production of strong alcohol was forbidden. The main building was converted into a public bathhouse.
Interwar period
After the war, when Lithuania regained its independence, the cisterns were used by the Lithuanian state to store its spirits reserves and by the electric power station to store oil and kerosene. The warehouse belonged to the war commissariat. Gradually the idea of rebuilding the factory gained ground. Around 1921–1922, the company received large investments for rebuilding and modernisation. The production of strong alcoholic drinks was still a monopoly, generating considerable income for the national budget.
Soviet occupation
Lithuania was occupied by the Soviets at the beginning of World War II and again from 1944. All factories and other businesses were nationalised. The factory continued to operate. In 1948, the Soviets decided to merge the Stumbras factory with the M. Velykis liquor factory, thus creating the largest alcohol producer in the Lithuanian SSR. In 1975, three local spirit producers in Atanavas, Balbieriškis and Šilutė were merged into the company and it became known as "Stumbras".
Independent Lithuania and privatisation
Stumbras was a state-owned company until 2003. UAB "Mineraliniai vandenys", a subsidiary of holding company MG Baltic, as of December 2008, owned 94.9% of the company's shares. After the privatisation, the company underwent management and organisational reforms, including the spinning off of the bioethanol plant in Šilutė. In 2006 and 2007, the company introduced several new vodka and brandy products. Increasing sales of these new products and growing exports resulted in significant growth in sales volume (47.3% in 2007) and net profits (51.4% in 2007). However, 2008, saw decreases in sales and profits with the share price dropping from near 14 litas at the end of 2007 to around 4 litas at the beginning of 2009.
In spring 2010, Stumbras started a project with the Lithuanian Institute of History to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Battle of Grunwald. The aim of the project is to create the biggest mock up model of the battle, which will be 20 sq. meters.
From Wikipedia’s article on Stumbras, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4