Farsons aim to complete brewhouse project by 2013

Farsons’ new brewhouse, for which it was given a development permit last week, should be completed by 2013.

Giving details about the €14 million investment, group chief executive Louis A. Farrugia told a news conference the investment also included a quality control laboratory and a water treatment plant.

This was the third and final phase of a €40 million investment in a new soft drinks plant, a new logistic centre and a new brewhouse and water treatment plant. The first two projects commenced in 2005.

Mr Farrugia said that the company had been using the new soft drinks packaging centre and new logistics centre since 2007.

“The objective of these investments has been to increase production efficiencies and continue to improve the quality of our products and services,” Mr Farrugia said.

Mr Farrugia said the new brewhouse it will be an efficient, fully automated and versatile plant, leading to improved product consistency, decreased production costs, and sufficient capacity for the foreseeable future.

It will have energy saving lighting systems, building management systems, thermal insulation, a passive ventilation system, and solar water heating.

Energy recovery systems, such as recuperating as much waste heat from the brewing process as possible, have been incorporated in its design. It will use half the steam required by the old brewery.

Construction works are expected to start in July.

Mr Farrugia said that in the past 80 years, the company managed to overcome the challenges it faced, by also ensuring that its products remained among the most popular choices for consumers. This was essential, especially since it started competing in a fully liberalised market.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the investment would allow the company to continue to deliver a better product and service to customers.

The investment, he said, was proof of confidence in the Maltese economy. It was not being carried out in isolation but was one of a string of new investments announced in various spheres of the economy over the past weeks.

On completion, Farsons will decide on how best to utilise the building of the original brewery along Notabile Road in Mriehel.

Farsons is a diversified group with its turnover resulting partly from manufacturing that is from the sale of beers, soft drinks and water produced in Malta, and from other group activities, including the importation, wholesale and retail of food and beverages, the operations of franchised food retailing establishments and property management.