always enjoyed being in the brewing industry. So this was another way to stay involved and stay in contact with the great people in the industry, and enjoy all the relationships I have made over the last 25 years.” Canada Kegs & Packaging is Canada’s only supplier of “Franke” kegs, a German manufacturer of high-quali- ty kegs, complete with the best warranty in the business. Mason explains that Franke kegs represent by far the bulk of his business. “Probably 80% of our business comes from Franke kegs. That’s our bread and butter and our big mon- ey-maker. And they do something that nobody else does. They put a 30-year warranty on their products. And they have no representation in Canada whatsoever. So I saw this as a great opportunity. They have a great reputation in the industry. We’re happy to be able to bring their kegs in for the brewers in Canada.” Mason points out that it wasn’t as easy as just signing on the dotted line with Franke. It took some convincing for the Germany-based company to enter into uncharted waters. But in the end, Mason allayed their fears with pretty con- vincing profit estimations. “They took a look at it at first and said ‘no, we don’t need a distributor.’ And I asked ‘well what are your sales in Canada?’ and they said ‘basically zero.’ So I came back with ‘how would you like to make $3-$4 million?’ That kind of got their attention.” Canada Kegs & Packag- ing just recently re-signed a five-year open-ended contract extension with Franke.
start-up breweries because you just never know which one of them is going to take off and hit the big time.”
Being in the brewing industry for a quarter century before starting up Canada Kegs & Packaging gave Mason a first- hand view of where he wanted to end up once he jumped ship and sailed on his own. One thing became clear — he wasn’t going to end up as a brewmaster. “To be honest, at 56 years old, I didn’t want to go back to school and become a brewer.” But that doesn’t mean he didn’t explore his options. “Back in my earlier days, I had done three different business plans to open up a brewery with a couple of partners who were in the brewing industry as well. But we could never really quite get it off the ground, whether it be financing or something else. It was usually money. I always seemed to be the one who had the money to put into it, and the others weren’t willing to risk a dime.” “Within four-and- a-half short years, we are the largest keg supplier in Canada.” However, love for the brewing industry runs deep. Once bitten, there’s virtually no turning back. Just ask any craft brewer how difficult it is to walk away from the barley and hops. Mason was no different. He merely re-positioned himself and looked at the industry from another angle. “I’ve
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2017
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