ST. LOUIS — After working 24 years in technical support at Anheuser-Busch, Russ Mathis was empowered to take on a new role to operate the brewing company’s latest $5 million Technical Excellence Center.

Mathis’ role as manager of technical abilities was one of eight new jobs created to run and operate the new center. It provides better training for all of Anheuser-Busch’s North American employees to facilitate better line performance and faster response and repair time, which can help with cost savings.

“The main thing I’m looking forward to is watching our production improve,” Mathis said.

Over the course of his career at AB, he has spent most of the time trying to keep lines running by fixing problems.

“I look forward to the day that these technicians can not only execute their job well but enjoy the job. And then our performance is better, the company does better, and everybody’s happier when the company does better," Mathis said.

He also is looking forward to one day developing strategies for AB.

“Let’s focus on how we can make better products, newer products instead of reacting to issues on the floor,” Mathis said.

While some labs at the tech center are still under construction, the 17,000-square-foot facility has some up and running, including the 3D Printer Lab, the Instrumentation Lab, the PLC Lab and the Seamer Lab. Already, more than 200 employees have taken training from two curricula out of 12 newly developed curricula.

In the first quarter, Mathis said about 80 employees are expected to be trained at the center, and by next year, thousands will come through the facility. By the end of 2024, the center will have 30 curricula available, and as more develop, so will new positions, according to Mathis.

The Technical Excellence Center used to be called the Busch Technical Training Center, where mostly leadership and standard trainings took place, Mathis said. Anheuser-Busch always had trainings in the past, but it was mostly one-on-one or sending employees to learn basic training from a vendor.

“So, we’ve since decided we’re going to invest a lot of time, and resources, and money into building up our own curriculums that focus on exactly what (employees) need,” Mathis said.

Future growth includes leadership and management training.

The tech center is not just for Anheuser-Busch’s St. Louis employees — Mathis said the facility supports all its North American employees. Workers from across the country and Canada will come to St. Louis for weeklong courses and take their knowledge back to their jobs.

To alleviate some of the travel, AB is building regional sites, including smaller labs in Georgia and in London-Ontario, Canada. Mathis said those labs will have the same curricula and capabilities where employees can remotely follow the sessions taking place in St. Louis.

More regional sites also are being planned.

Inside the labs and throughout hallways, the tech center features wall-sized images of vintage AB photos of production lines, machinery and, of course, the iconic Clydesdales, as well as a timeline and photos when each North American facility opened.

The PLC is the brewer’s automation system and the “heartbeat” of the process, Mathis said. Every automation is controlled by a PLC, or “super-computer,” that allows employees to control equipment, interactions with equipment and provide a status of what is happening on the floor.

“We always had a challenge on how to train our technicians the AB way of controlling and manipulating PLCs,” Mathis said.

Last year, 200 technicians were trained in the PLC Lab and about 300 are expected to be trained this year. Prior to the center, Mathis said a vendor would train employees on the basics of PLC, but it was not the “AB Way.”

“This one is probably the most important, as well as the most popular lab we have,” Mathis said.

He noted that the courses will be divided up into basic, intermediate and advanced. He said other companies are interested in renting out this lab to teach their employees.

Additionally, not just anyone is teaching workers at this lab, but retired and long-term technicians are educating them, according to Mathis.

The second most popular lab is the Seamer Lab, where workers learn how to operate the machinery that seals tops onto cans.

“This equipment is very critical for us,” Mathis said. “One, you got to put a lid on a can, and two, if it’s not done properly, you have leakers and you’ve got customers getting a can that’s either not full or leaking beer everywhere.”

He said machinists must be very well-trained on the seamer equipment because it can be touchy, where just a minor adjustment can throw everything off.

Two of Anheuser-Busch’s top technicians who work in that department are now teaching workers how to use the seamer machinery, and plans are to add five more instructors, Mathis said.

Seven technicians can be trained at once, and about 12 training sessions are set to take place this year.

“We expect by the end of 2024 that 95-100% of our technicians know how to work on this,” Mathis said.

The 3D Printer Lab is where workers are making parts for AB machinery. Parts that can be made in-house can “dramatically” cut down costs, Mathis said. 

The company plans to use projected savings by reinvesting into the tech center so it eventually becomes self-sustaining.

The facility will have a total of 11 training labs when completed, and others include a Manufacturing and Engineering Center, a Machine Shop, Lubrication, a Packer Lab, a Seamer Lab, a Utilities Lab, a Conveyor Lab and a Labeler Lab.