Thai Beverage is the largest spirits producer and the largest beer producer in Southeast Asia by sales volume, and the fourth largest spirits producer globally. This leading market position in both the beer and spirits markets has enabled the Company to establish an extensive distribution network throughout Thailand and enhanced our ability to obtain favorable terms from our customers and suppliers.
In 2004, the Company’s beer products had a market share of 60.4% of the total beer sold in Thailand by sales volume, while spirits products had a market share of 74% of the Thai spirits market. Thailand is the eighth largest spirits market globally, according to independent research. The Thai beer market grew by 10% per annum on average from 1999 to 2004 in terms of sales volume and the Company expects it to continue, driven by an expanding customer base and an increasing consumption per capita trend. Thai Beverage is also the leader in both white and brown spirits in terms of sales volume in Thailand.
We expect to grow our share of the drinking water and soda water markets, in which the Company has existing under-utilized capacity. We also believe there is growth potential for our industrial alcohol business, which was acquired in 2002, driven by international demand for crude alcohol, particularly from Japan, and for alternative fuels, such as gasohol, which the Company believe will benefit from favorable government policies in Thailand.
Thai Beverage products have a strong and established brand identity in Thailand, with a reputation for quality, taste and being ""Thai.'' Chang Beer is the number one beer brand consumed in Thailand. Sangsom is our flagship spirits brand recognized in Thailand for its international quality. Mekhong is our brand of traditional rum with a long heritage in Thailand. We use proprietary production processes to give our leading brands a unique flavor, which differentiates our products from those of our competitors. We continuously increase our brand visibility in Thailand and abroad with strategic marketing investments, including sponsorship of high-profile sports teams such as Everton Football Club.
We have more than 900 salespersons, over 4,000 vehicles and approximately 400 warehouses, which enable us to sell and distribute our brands through an extensive network of approximately 400,000 points of sale throughout Thailand. Our distribution network is integrated for beer and spirits and we see significant potential to further leverage our distribution platform to sell incremental complementary products, such as non-alcoholic beverages, into the marketplace.
Thai Beverage breweries are state-of-the-art production facilities in terms of efficiency, quality and environmental management. Kamphaengphet brewery, due for completion in the first quarter of 2007, will be one of the largest and most modern breweries in Asia. Our 16 distilleries were recently refurbished in 2000 and 2001.
Our management team has a proven track record of entrepreneurial leadership evidenced by our introduction of Chang Beer in 1995, which became the market leader in 1998. Our brewery production staff includes 10 "master brewer" qualified technicians, who have studied at accredited international brewing schools in Europe.