Malteurop is shutting down malt production at its Heidenau site near Dresden/Germany, according to unconfirmed information from industry sources made available to inside.beer. The workforce was reportedly informed at a staff meeting on 30 March that production will end on 30 April, and part of the machinery is expected to be dismantled by the end of this year. The plant, with a maximum malt production capacity of around 60,000 tonnes per year, had not been fully utilized in recent years due to technical issues, according to people familiar with the site. In recent months, the company had already been operating under a short-time working scheme, and it was widely assumed at that time that production at the Heidenau plant could cease permanently.
The malting industry as a whole, and especially in Germany, is currently facing several severe headwinds. Beer consumption in Germany fell by 6% last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office, marking the lowest level since records began in 1993 (inside.beer, 2.2.2026). This drop in demand, combined with soaring energy costs, has already led several malting groups to shut down production in Germany. Recent closures of all three Soufflet/Durst Malz plants in Heidelsheim, Gernsheim, and Castrop-Rauxel (inside.beer, 9.12.2025), the shutdown of Boortmalt/Cargill in Salzgitter (inside.beer, 17.12.2025), BestMalz’s Wallertheim plant, and now Malteurop in Heidenau amount to a total reduction of approximately 350,000 tonnes of annual malt production. This corresponds to around 17% of Germany’s total malting capacity, which now stands at roughly 1.78 million tonnes per year. However, industry experts fear that even this may not be sufficient to offset the ongoing decline in beer production in Germany, and further closures could follow.
Interestingly, the announced closures mainly affect sites operated by international malting groups, which are under pressure from investors to achieve reasonable profit margins. In contrast, traditional family-owned maltsters, many of which have been operating for generations, appear better able to withstand periods of depressed margins under current market conditions.
While the German beer market has recently seen several insolvencies and financial restructurings among breweries, the malt sector shows a different pattern: maltsters tend to announce plant closures while continuing to meet their financial obligations and fulfill contractual commitments.
This also applies to Malteurop. Following the closure of Heidenau, the company will retain two sites in Germany, which are expected to take over all contractual obligations. The Rostock plant, located at a Baltic Sea port, and the Langerringen plant in Bavaria near Munich both have capacities of around 95,000 tonnes each. While Rostock benefits from its port location, allowing efficient barley imports and malt exports, Langerringen faces increasing pressure as an inland site with logistical disadvantages. Barley sourcing in the region has long been challenging, as Avangard operates a 55,000-tonne malting plant in nearby Grossaitingen, with both facilities competing for the same local barley supply.
The closure has also reshuffled the ranking of major maltsters in Germany. Avangard Malz, backed by Russian investors, remains in the leading position with around 370,000 tonnes of malting capacity in Germany. The French Malteurop group has now fallen to fourth place with a combined malting capacity of 190.000 tonnes, while the two family-owned German maltsters Erfurter Malz and Bamberger Malz have moved into second and third positions, each with approximately 200,000 tonnes of capacity. More than a dozen additional maltsters make up the remainder of the market, all privately owned by German families, except for the UK-based Tivoli Malz/Crisp Malt, currently ranked seventh.
