Next Monday Malteurop will inaugurate the massive expansion of its only malting in Australia which is strategically based with direct access to Australia’s main deep-water seaport in Geelong, near Melbourne, Victoria. At a cost of AU$ 85 million (US$ 61.3m) the capacity of the facility was enlarged within the last two years from 80,000 to 200,000 tons, which makes the plant the second biggest in Australia.
“Operational since 1998 and acquired by Malteurop in August 2008, the Geelong plant is one of the most efficient in Australia and provides a firm platform for further investment to meet the burgeoning demand in the Asia Pacific region,” said the company at the start of the expansion.
“We are looking to capitalise on growth in beer consumtion in the Asia Pacific and especially in South East Asia which is now a significant area of growth for the worldwide beer market,” explained this week Trevor Perryman, Malteurop’s general manager for Australia and New Zealand. 85 to 90 percent of the production of the enlarged production is destined for export, according to the manager.
“With Malteurop’s Geelong facility so well placed in terms of proximity to the highest quality and most abundant malting barley sources and its bayside location on Australia’s main export gateway, we have a fantastic opportunity here,” Perryman was quoted by Graincentral. “This will give Asian brewers greater opportunity to source their malt out of the Australian market and thus reduce their reliance on Europe.”
The new plant has the adaptability to pack and ship Pilsen and pale malt from 2-row barley in several ways - bulk in ship’s hold, bulk/bagged in container and individual bagged & palletized malt.
With a total capacity of 2.2 million tons of malt, Malteurop is the world’s second largest commercial maltster and employs over 1,000 employees in 27 industrial sites in 14 countries. With its plants in China, Australia and New Zealand, Malteurop is already one of the leading maltsters in the Asia-Pacific region.
Largest maltster in Australia is Cargill’s malting division Joe White Maltings, which also operates the country’s biggest malting with a yearly malt capacity of 210,000 tons in Perth, Western Australia. While Cargill is currently exploring possibilities to exit the malt business (inside.beer, 6.9.2018), Australia’s largest independent brewing group Coopers Brewery, inaugurated a brand new 54,000 tons malting last November at its Regency Park brewery in Adelaide, South Australia. (inside.beer, 30.11.2017)
