Kihei, Maui-based Maui Brewing Co. has expanded its distribution to New York, Massachusetts and Florida.
“For years we have fielded request after request to get our beer into the hands of Florida and New England drinkers and we are happy to announce that the time has come,” said Pete Schneider, Maui Brewing Co. national sales manager, in a news release.
The expanded distribution follows agreements with Cavalier Distributing in Florida, the Sheehan Family of distributors in New York and Atlantic Imports in Massachusetts, he said.
Maui Brewing brews all of its beers in Hawaii and is on pace to produce some 40,000 barrels this year. However, it is expanding brewing capacity after 10 months in its new facility, adding equipment that will boost output to just under 100,000 barrels a year, according to founder Garrett Marrero.
Founded in 2005, the company’s beers are available in 15 states and 13 countries, pending further planned growth.
GM admits first car-fire recall ineffective
DETROIT >> Despite already getting repairs for an earlier recall to prevent a fire, 1,345 General Motors car owners across the U.S. had cars that caught fire. GM has acknowledged the fix didn’t work and issued a new recall involving 1.4 million older cars, some for a second time.
GM advised drivers to park the cars outside until the repairs are done, for fear of flames spreading to nearby structures.
The post-recall fires raise questions about whether GM should have acted sooner, whether the government should have taken notice and stepped in, and whether the ineffective fix should have been approved in the first place.
China factory output falls, retail rises
BEIJING >> China’s factory output and investment weakened in October while retail sales edged up, suggesting economic growth has stabilized but has yet to revive despite repeated interest rate cuts and other stimulus.
The data reported Wednesday reflected the two-speed nature of the economy as communist leaders try to encourage growth based on consumer spending instead of trade, investment and heavy industry.
Economic growth decelerated to a six-year low of 6.9 percent in the latest quarter. Communist leaders insist they are comfortable with slower growth after the last decade’s explosive double-digit expansion but face pressure to avoid a politically dangerous spike in job losses.
Lufthansa adept at coping with walkouts
FRANKFURT, Germany >> An airline strike with hundreds of canceled flights conjures up fears of long lines and chaos, but German carrier Lufthansa appears to be coping, having managed over a dozen walkouts in a matter of months.
On Wednesday, the airline re-booked and rerouted thousands of passengers as a walkout by flight attendants led to the cancellation of more than 900 flights on the stoppage’s fifth day. Despite the disruption, there were no lines at the usually bustling Lufthansa counters at Frankfurt’s international airport, the airlines’ main hub.
Germany testing emissions on 23 brands
BERLIN >> Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority says it’s testing the emissions of vehicles made by 23 foreign and domestic brands following revelations that Volkswagen installed software on some 11 million vehicles allowing them to fake emissions results.
The agency said Wednesday since late September it’s been examining about 50 diesel-powered vehicles, based on German test statistics and tips about heightened emissions. It says about two-thirds of the tests have been carried out and the raw data shows “in some cases” elevated emissions of the pollutant nitrogen oxide.
Greece gearing up for public worker strike
ATHENS, Greece >> Greece is bracing for the first general strike since the left-wing government first came to power in January, with public service workers across the country to walk out to protest new spending cuts and tax hikes.
In a first, the governing Syriza party itself is backing today’s 24-hour walkout against the measures, which leader Alexis Tsipras has said he had no choice but to implement as part of a bailout deal to avoid economic disaster.
