Windhoek biraları, Alman Saflık Kanununa (Reinheitsgebot) göre üretilmektedir ve Namibya, Güney Afrika'da ve ötesinde sadık takipçileri bulunmaktadır.
1920 Yılında kurulan biracılık tesisinin çoğunluğunun sahibi Namibya olup, Heineken ve Diageo eşit derecede güçlü azınlık hisselerine sahiptir. Profesyonel pazarlama ile desteklenen işletme giderek büyümekte ve bira ihracatı devamlı olarak artmaktadır. Ana dağıtım alanları güney ve doğu Afrika olmakla birlikte Kuzey Amerika, Avustralya, Yeni Zelanda, Avrupa ve Birleşik Krallıkta da satılmaktadır.
Capacity expansion
In view of Windhoek’s success, Namibia Breweries Limited decided to expand its overall production capacity. The brewery was built in 1985 by the companies Heinrich Huppmann (brewhouse), and Otto Tuchenhagen (cold process area), now both part of GEA. Since then a number of expansion projects have been carried out by the brewery equipment specialist at the Namibian brewery. For the latest expansion, increasing the capacity by an additional 16 %, the client approached GEA again for support from the conceptual stages through to the execution phase.
Three work packages
The project included work in the areas for utilities, cold process, filtration and packaging. GEA was charged with the following tasks:
• Expansion of the existing cold process capacity
• Integration of a new kieselguhr-free filtration system
• Supply of a new concentrated chemical supply station
In addition, the refrigeration system could be optimized by the installation of GEA compressors and other refrigeration components. These three work packages were split between GEA Process Engineering South Africa and GEA Brewery Systems to allocate the right resources to the individual areas in order to carry out the project.
GEA Güney Afrika, soğuk işleme kapasitesinin arttırılmasından sorumluydu. İş, aşağıdaki ana adımları içeriyordu:
Filtre paketi tasarımı ve ayrıca bütün ekipman tedarikini içeriyordu. Amaç, yeni filtreleme hattının Namibian biracılık tarafından temin edilen GEA separatörü ile birlikte bira tesisinin proses akışına entegre edilmesiydi. Entegrasyon için gereken ana ekipman üç tampon tankından ve yeni bir separatör vana blokuydu.
The concentrated chemical store package included the supply of equipment for the chemical store itself as well as the required pipework to connect the supply system to the various CIP plants within the brewery.
Modification without interrupting production
The modernization measures were completed end of 2012. While the work was carried out the brewery remained in full operation: a requirement of GEA South Africa to minimize shutdown times. In some instances the installation of new systems occurred in parallel to existing units until the new system became fully available, which allowed minimal change-over time.
Modifications of existing equipment are always especially challenging, but thanks to the close cooperation between the experienced site supervisor Eckardt Steib and the brewery, the work could be carried out smoothly and with only minimal interruption in production.