Durst Malz, the German arm of the French Soufflet Malt (InVivo) group, has informed customers that its two remaining German maltings will cease production: Heidelsheim by the end of December 2025 and Gernsheim during the first quarter of 2026. The announcement was issued by Philipp Schumpp, Sales Manager, who in a circular to customers pointed to sustained structural challenges in the German beer and malt market. Years of declining beer consumption, rising costs and export difficulties have steadily eroded the economic basis for operating three malting sites in Germany.
Beyond the pure shutdown timetable, industry circles report that key positions at Durst Malz in Germany are already vacant. The departure of experienced specialists and managers in recent months has left important operational and administrative functions unfilled, further limiting the ability of the German organization to maintain its previous scope of activities even before the final closure of the maltings.
Soufflet has assured customers that all contractual obligations will be fulfilled and that the group will maintain its commercial presence in Germany via the existing sales team, supplied from its European malting network. The step marks the final stage of a consolidation process that began with the closure of the Castrop-Rauxel plant announced in February 2025 (inside.beer, 10.02.2025).
The underlying market pressures are severe. Since 2018, sales of alcoholic beer in Germany have fallen from 94 million hectoliters to 82.6 million hectoliters in 2024 (inside.beer, 03.02.2025). The resulting loss of roughly 11.4 million hectoliters of Reinheitsgebot-compliant beer corresponds to an estimated 180,000 tons of malt—more than three times the annual capacity of the Castrop-Rauxel plant that has already been removed from the market.
These German developments are embedded in a broader global strategy. Following the takeover of Groupe Soufflet by the French agricultural cooperative InVivo and the subsequent acquisition of United Malt Group (UMG), Soufflet Malt now operates as the world’s largest malting group, with a focus on optimizing capacity and logistics across continents rather than maintaining smaller, structurally disadvantaged sites (inside.beer, 27.03.2023). Within this framework, Germany will in future be served from other European maltings instead of domestic production.
For the German market, Soufflet’s withdrawal removes one of its major international malt operators at a time when the entire sector is grappling with shrinking volumes and tougher export conditions. Market observers caution that, unless German brewers can revive export growth or stabilize domestic demand, further capacity cuts by other maltsters cannot be ruled out (inside.beer, 17.03.2025).
As the group informed later the same day, the closures are embedded in the MALTiply 2030 strategy, which prioritises digital and operational excellence. Over the past twelve months, targeted investments and the deployment of artificial intelligence tools have increased Soufflet Malt’s overall capacity in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region by 5% compared with a 2024 baseline. Production and sales growth was recorded in several markets, including France, the Czech Republic and Romania, as capacity was shifted toward more efficient facilities.
By using machine learning models to optimise production parameters in real time, the group aims to improve quality consistency, productivity and sustainability across its network. At the same time, underperforming or less competitive sites are being phased out, with volumes reallocated internally or replaced by new investments in growth regions.
Beyond Germany, similar adjustments are under way in other markets. In the United Kingdom, the Pencaitland malthouse has been decommissioned, with volumes transferred to more efficient domestic plants, while further investments are planned at the Inverness site to expand future capacity. Looking ahead, Soufflet Malt plans to invest EUR 350 million in new malthouses, with initial projects announced for South Africa and Central Europe, alongside potential greenfield developments in Asia and South America.
“Our global footprint allows us to respond swiftly to market dynamics,” said Jorge Solis, CEO of Soufflet Malt, noting that the group will continue to concentrate capacity at best-in-class sites while applying advanced technologies such as AI to support long-term growth and competitiveness.
