“Dick Yuengling Jr., 67 years old, drives to work in a 2002 Ford Taurus that he bought used. On a recent morning, the gray sedan sat coated with dust, papers strewn across the front and back seats. "He won't get it washed because he won't spend money on a car wash," says David Casinelli, Yuengling's chief operating officer. Mr. Yuengling's frugal ways and his deliberate approach to growth are part of the formula that has enabled the 181-year-old regional brewer to survive industry consolidation and become a sought-after brand among distributors, retailers and consumers. Now, the fifth-generation brewing scion and sole owner is poised to make his riskiest move yet to expand the nation's oldest beer maker. Yuengling (pronounced ying-ling) announced last week that it signed a letter of intent to buy a former Coors brewery in Memphis, Tenn. The facility would be the Pennsylvania brewer's largest and could more than double the company's overall capacity and allow it to expand distribution into multiple states beyond its 13-state footprint in the Eastern U.S. Mr. Yuengling says he would like to leave the company in good shape for the next generation, and hopes that one or more of his daughters—two of the four work at the brewer—will buy it from him. He has no plans to retire. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't do this," he says. "I'd go crazy." ”
