New energy-efficient facility will have a Czech brewmaster
The firm ZVU Potez, a Czech-based supplier of technology for the chemical, food and energy industries, has completed the implementation of a brewery in Maychew, Ethiopia. The contract is worth €27.6 million.
The modern facility for Raya Breweries will be inaugurated Feb. 15 with the participation of senior representatives of the Czech Republic.
The brewery has a capacity of 600,000 hectoliters per year. The project included the delivery of complete technology for the brewery plant as well as a boiler room, transformer stations, water treatment and sewage treatment plants, and a diesel generator serving as a reserve energy source.
The overall implementation lasted 24 months from the signing of the contract. “A first phase included the training of local personnel, and other phases will continue after the opening of the brewery,” Vladimir Čepelík, CEO ZVU Potez, said in a press release.
“We will acquaint them with our modern facilities and also we also offered them our specialist for further consultation.”
The brewery in the northern Ethiopian town of Maychew, approximately 650 km from the capital Addis Ababa, will create approximately 150 to 200 new jobs.
Czech master brewer Ladislav Pařízek will remain there to oversee production.
The technologies used are among the most advanced energy-saving solutions in the field of brewing, according to ZVU Potez. The plant captures CO2 during fermentation for further processing and also includes a system for reducing energy consumption. Energy created during the production process will be used to heat water. ZVU Potez subsidiary DIO Hradec Králové was also involved in the project.
“The African continent is very interesting for us. Currently we are developing additional business opportunities there and evaluating the potential of each individual investor. … Our extensive experience in the brewing industry … allows us to penetrate the markets from South America to East Asia,” CEO Čepelík said.
ZVU Potez is based in Hradec Králové, East Bohemia, with around 500 staff. Since August 2014, the company has been part of Swiss-based Safichem Group.
[PraguePost]