Simonds Farsons Cisk inaugurates new €12.5 million brewhouse

The new state of the art Brewhouse at Farsons Brewery was inaugurated yesterday by the President of Malta Dr George Abela and blessed by Archbishop Paul Cremona in the presence of Farsons Group Chairman Louis A Farrugia and Farsons Group Chief Executive Officer Norman Aquilina.

The €12.5 million project is the final phase of an €40 million investment consisting of three capital projects that included a Soft Drink Packaging Centre and a Logistics Centre inaugurated in 2008. Construction of the new Brewhouse started in July 2010 and was completed in 24 months.

The new Brewhouse is a modern building with copper cladding, and incorporates a natural ventilation system, rain water harvesting and temperature insulation. Apart from the brewing plant, the building also houses a malt-handling and storage system, a rainwater reservoir, a laboratory and offices. The new energy-efficient Brewhouse has been designed to cope with Farsons' future brewing requirements with further improved quality, productive capabilities and cost efficiencies, thereby ensuring competitiveness in an ever-changing international market scenario.

Cost efficiencies will result from reduced shipping costs of bulk malt deliveries, automated malt handling, better yields and quality thanks to up-to-date technologies and automation, energy savings, as well as more efficient equipment with a dedicated energy recovery system.

Further energy savings will arise from lower energy use per litre of beer by energy recovery from the boiling process, low emissions from the boiling process, reduced use of packaging material for brewing materials that will be bought in bulk, buildings designed with thermal insulation to conserve energy, use of natural ventilation, and a rain collection system.

Like the previous two projects, the new Brewhouse project was managed entirely by a Farsons project team and Farrugia expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to the team led by Farsons' Chief Projects Officer, Paul Micallef. He also extended his appreciation to Alberto Miceli-Farrugia of Architecture Project (AP) and his team who were entrusted with the architectural design and structural planning of the building.

The plant, installed by Krones AG from Germany, includes twelve silos for malt storage, each capable of holding 90 tons of malt, equipment for malt milling, five main brewing vessels and wort cooling.