Following the closure and sale of what was once the world's largest malt house, Malteurop's old production buildings in Milwaukee are expected to be demolished soon. Malteurop that purchased the plant in 2008 announced last July to close the plant within the next half year “due to the economic impact of COVID-19”. (inside.beer, 15.7.2021)
In April an investment group headed by real estate investor Tom Beaudry bought the complex for USD 900,000. Bordering the city of Milwaukee on two sides, the area is considered an interesting real estate location. The owners have now put the 17-acre site up for sale "free and clear of all structures" for a total of USD 10 million. The listing states that the “buildings [are] in process of being demolished”.
Malteurop’s North American headquarters remains in Milwaukee, as does a distribution center, according to press releases from April.
The malting plant was built at its current location in the early 1920s by Froedtert Malt after the original malthouse in central Milwaukee was destroyed by a fire.
In 1986 Lesaffre, a French company involved in the production of yeast, yeast extracts, malt, baking ingredients and animal feed, bought Froedert Malt and merged it in 1998 with the malting business of Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM). The combined company, known as International Malting Co. (IMC), had its headquarters in Milwaukee. IMC operated in the United States under the name Froedtert Malt, in Canada under the name Dominion Malt and in Europe under the name Grandes Malteries Modernes.
In 2006, after the closure of the French malthouse in Marquette-lez-Lille, Lesaffre sold its share in IMC to ADM, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of ADM. Two years later in 2008, ADM decided to withdraw from the malting business and sold the malthouses in Winona, Minnesota; Winnipeg, Canada and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Malteurop.
The Milwaukee plant remained until recently one of Malteurop’s four malthouses in North America. After the closure of Milwaukee, the company still operates plants in Montana, Minnesota and Winnipeg, Canada.
Olivier Parent, until his dismissal in March 2021 the CEO of Malteurop (inside.beer, 1.3.2021), announced in September 2019 the construction of a new malt house with a capacity of 120,000 tons in Meoqui, Chihuahua state, in the North of Mexico. The site was chosen to provide local raw materials for Heineken's new nearby brewery. (inside.beer, 3.9.2019)
