In its effort to become the number 1 in the Vietnam beer market (inside.beer, 15.8.2021), Heineken has now unveiled the final stage of the 11 million hectoliters expansion of its brewery in Ba Ria Vung Tau. The brewery was legally acquired by Heineken Vietnam in 2017 and has experienced multiple expansions, growing over 36 times bigger in capacity in the last 5 years.
The Vung Tau brewery has automated to a large extent all its operations in the beer making process – from raw material delivery, brewing, filtration to delivery for packing – making it the most productive Heineken brewery in the world. In the Packaging Hall, every two canning lines – each filling 130,000 cans an hour, are only manned by five technicians. The four high-speed canning lines in Vung Tau brewery, which can altogether fill 12 million cans a day, are among the fastest in all Heineken breweries in the world.
The brewery covers an area of 40 hectares, of which over 10 hectares (27%) has been planned for gardens and green spaces. The brewery enjoys a natural lighting and ventilation solution. With 615 transparent domes installed on top of buildings, natural light and fresh air are allowed to come into the brewery and help reduce total energy consumption.
Since acquisition, the brewery has cut energy consumption by almost a half (48%) on a per hectoliter basis. Currently, 97% of the demand for thermal energy comes from a biomass plant just across the street in My Xuan Industrial Zone. Towards the future, and in line with Heineken Vietnam’s 2025 Sustainability Ambition, the brewery has in place an aspiring plan for renewable electricity implementation.
Vung Tau is also the most water efficient of all Heineken breweries in Asia Pacific. It is taking the brewery only 2.32 liters of water to make one liter of beer (including the water going into the beer). After the brewing process, wastewater at Vung Tau brewery is treated to grade A standard, and 8% of the water is reclaimed and used for cleaning purposes in the brewery. Circularity is not only applied with water in Vung Tau brewery – in fact, all waste and by-products are going back into a supply chain – through reusing, recycling and up-cycling. The brewery is sending zero waste to landfill.
The brewery is also considered the innovation hub for Heineken Vietnam. Since acquisition, it has produced 7 new products in Vietnam. Vung Tau brewery is home of some of our latest innovations, including Strongbow cider, Tiger Platinum, Edelweiss and Heineken® 0.0.
Over the last 5 years, Heineken Vietnam Vung Tau Brewery has formed a business eco-system with more than 46 companies in and around My Xuan, and indirectly supporting more than 200 jobs locally outside the brewery walls. During the peak of its expansion, the brewery created approximately 1,000 jobs ranging from design and construction, to engineering and gardening. The brewery is also among the top 3 budget contributors through taxes in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province and plays an active role in building a greener and stronger local community.
On the 24 September 2022 Heineken Vietnam officially unveiled the newly enlarged brewery attended by Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Vu Duc Dam, Ba Ria – Vung Tau Party Committee Secretary Mr. Pham Viet Thanh, Ba Ria – Vung Tau People’s Committee Chairman Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, Heineken CEO Mr. Dolf van den Brink and the Heineken family Mr. & Mrs. de Carvalho-Heineken.
