Heineken to build malting plant in SA

The malting plant's capacity would be around 40,000 tonnes a year. Heineken NV, the world's third-largest brewer, is in talks to build a barley-malting plant at its new brewery in South Africa and a deal is expected soon, a company official said on Tuesday.

Peralt van der Merwe, Heineken's director for business and legal affairs, said the company was negotiating with "a major corporation" to build the facility. He declined to name the party.

The brewery, in which global drinks maker Diageo Plc has a 25 percent stake, is due for completion later this year.

The malting plant's capacity would be around 40,000 tonnes a year.

"An investment group will build it and I will get certain take-out guarantees, meaning I will buy a certain amount of the malted barley on a take-out basis," Van der Merwe told Reuters in an interview.

He said Heineken was currently importing malted barley in preparation for the brewery's startup late in the third quarter or early in the fourth, after which the new plant would take over malting.

The brewery would have an initial capacity of 3 million hectolitres, which could later be expanded to 6 million hectolitres.

"For a brewery the size of 3 million hectolitres you would need about 40,000 tonnes of malt and that's what we're looking at," Van der Merwe said.

Heineken started construction of the brewery in Sedibeng, south east of Johannesburg last year and has invested 286 million euro in the project.

It is initially expected to create about 225 new jobs as well as provide service-related outsourcing opportunities.

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