Gladfield Malt has acquired Malteurop’s former site at 8 Glassworks Road in Ashburton, strengthening its access to locally grown malting barley following the French group’s withdrawal from New Zealand. Importantly, the Ashburton operation is not the malting plant that Malteurop is closing in Marton, but a barley storage and grain-handling facility in the heart of Canterbury’s major grain-growing region, according to Farmers Weekly and the Brewers Guild of New Zealand.
Malteurop operated two distinct facilities in the country. Its 42,000-tonne malthouse in Marton in the lower North Island processed the barley into malt, while the Ashburton site collected and stored barley grown in the South Island. Grain from Ashburton was transported north to Marton for malting, with finished malt subsequently returning south for distribution to brewers. Malteurop announced in July that both operations would cease general activities on September 30 as part of its withdrawal from New Zealand after 18 years (inside.beer, 17.07.2026).
The Ashburton acquisition therefore does not replace the malting capacity lost through the closure of Marton. Instead, it gives Gladfield additional storage and grain-handling infrastructure close to many of the Canterbury farmers supplying malting barley. Gladfield itself produces malt at its own operation near Dunsandel, south of Christchurch.
Doug Michael, who owns and manages Gladfield together with his wife Gabi Michael, told Friday Night Beers that Ashburton is strategically important because many of the company’s growers are located in the surrounding region. Gladfield already has substantial storage capacity, but the additional site is expected to improve security of grain supply as the company seeks to meet increased demand following Malteurop’s exit.
Malteurop had previously supplied around 70% of the malt sold in New Zealand, according to Friday Night Beers. With its Marton malthouse closed, brewers needing volumes beyond domestic production will have to make greater use of imported malt, including supplies from Australia. Against this background, Gladfield says the Ashburton acquisition should give brewers greater confidence in the continued availability of malt produced from New Zealand-grown barley.
All employees currently working at the Ashburton operation will retain their positions and become part of Gladfield. The transaction therefore preserves the grain-handling operation and its connection with Canterbury growers, even though malting itself will not take place at the site.
The acquisition also includes heritage buildings at the former Malteurop property. Doug and Gabi Michael plan to restore parts of the historic site as a longer-term project alongside Gladfield’s farming and malt business.
Gladfield Malt is a 100% family-owned and operated 500-acre farm and maltings located near Dunsandel in the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 2004 by Doug and Gabi Michael, who come from a fifth-generation family of barley growers. Gladfield Malt has an annual production capacity of approximately 20,000 tons of malt.The company produces 100% natural, hand-crafted base and specialty malts tailored for the craft beer, whisky, and homebrewing industries, utilizing grain varieties grown on-site alongside crops contracted from roughly 150 local South Island grower-suppliers. It offers over 50 types of malted and roasted grains, including specialized options like peat-smoked and manuka-smoked malts for whiskey distillers.
