4
Sorghum essential for
future of Nigerian
Breweries
IN BRIEF
Miniature brewery shipped to Nigeria
Purification
in Algete Spain
almost ready
Nigeria covers a surface area of almost 1 million
square kilometres, which makes it one of Africa's
biggest countries. The country has a population of
almost one hundred million. Heineken is
represented in Nigeria through its shareholding in
Nigerian Breweries Limited (NBL). NBL produces
the local beer brands Star, Gulder, Maltina and Rex,
and also Green Sands shandy. Heineken
International Magazine focused its sights on
Nigerian Breweries and found that this brewery in
Lagos is humming with activity. Major efforts are
being made to expand the possibilities for brewing
beer on the basis of sorghum. Some time ago Rex,
a new type of beer brand containing sorghum as one
of its basic raw materials, was put on the market.
Nigerian Breweries have recently also been able to
make use of a micro-brewery to perfect the
production technology for sorghum-based beer.
In one of Heineken's pro
cess research laboratories in
Zoeterwoude (Holland)
trials lasting several weeks
were carried out using an ex
ceptionally small brewery.
In miniature brewing kett
les, made of glass instead of
the usual copper or stainless
steel, all sorts of sorghum-
based brews were tested.
Computers enabled a very
accurate simulation of the
entire brewing process.
Employee efforts
Constant quality
The new Rex brand
Training courses
M Italy
Netherlands
New Caledonia
Netherlands
O. Adeniyi of Nigerian Breweries at work with the micro-brewery. He spent two
months at Zoeterwoude learning all about micro-brewing techniques.
The apparatus has meanwhile
been shipped out to Nigeria
where it is now being used for
further research. Provisionally,
research work will be aimed at
improving the quality of the sorghum.
Sorghum is a tropical seedplant which
has recently been introduced in the
brewing process in Nigeria.This move
was a consequence of the Nigerian
Government's decision to restrict malt
imports. A complete ban on malt
imports is likely to come into effect in
1990. This decision meant that
Heineken and NBL had to look for
alternative raw materials.
The micro-brewery was constructed in
scarcely two month's time.This was an
unusually short period when
compared to the other micro-brewery
in Zoeterwoude which took some ten
years to develop. So that the
equipment could be optimally used in
Nigeria, two NBL employees, Dr. A.
Aisi and Mr. O. Adeniyi, spent two
months in Holland helping to set up
the micro-brewery and familiarise
themselves with the many computer-
controlled processes.
The water purification plant at the El
Aguila brewery in Algete is nearing
completion.The installation had to be
expanded because of the sharp climb
in production capacity at the Algete
brewery. The treatment plant purifies
the brewery's waste water using an
anaerobic process, which means one
that works 'without oxygen'. Within
the brewing industry this form of
purification is fairly rare and the
Algeta installation will be the first
within the Heineken concern.The
advantage of anaerobic purification
compared to the aerobic method is
that it saves energy.
Work is already being done in Nigeria
on the sorghum brewing process. A
major aspect in this new brewing
process is making sure that the
sorghum is of constant quality. The
micro-brewery can play an important
role in guaranteeing that constant
quality. In the brief speech he made at
the official delivery of the mini-
brewery, Mr. Van Eerde, Manager of
Corporate Technical and
Technological Affairs, recalled the
amount of know-how that had been
gained through technological
progress. "But that know-how is not
enough for the future. By now we
know a great deal about malt, but our
knowledge of sorghum is still in its
early infancy."
Pending further improvements in
sorghum quality, Nigerian Breweries
had already made a start some
eighteen months ago on the
production of a new type of pilsener
lager.This beer is made on the basis of
malt and sorghum instead of malt and
sugar and has been introduced on a
limited scale in the Nigerian market
under the name Rex. For the time
being the new beer brand is available
in hotels and big supermarkets. Plans
are to increase the number of outlets
as product acceptance grows.
With the launch of Rex and the arrival
of the micro-brewery in Lagos,
Nigerian Breweries Limited have
shown that they intend to make a fast
change-over to the use of locally
grown raw materials in beer
production. In any event the brewery
is not simply sitting back calmly and
waiting until 1990 when the import
ban is imposed. Responding to new
developments is an absolute
precondition for all businesses if they
are to be able to continue operating
effectively, wherever in the world.
One factor crucial to the micro-
brewery is its proper operation.
How do you find skilled people who
can make the best use of such
apparatus? You could of course
send out technicians from Holland.
This was what Heineken did for
many years, one of the reasons
being that in Nigeria, for instance,
technically skilled people were in
very short supply on the labour
market. Because of the strong
expansion of brewing operations in
that African country and also
because of the Nigerian
Government's wishes for young
nationals to be given a chance,
Heineken changed the direction of
its policy in the 1970s. Young
Nigerians were taken on at a fast
rate and trained for technical or
management posts.
The success of the training courses
was reflected in a rapid growth in
capacity and sales. Both production
and sales doubled over a five-year
period.The fast growth in the
number of training courses also
meant that training facilities had to
be dramatically expanded. What
started out as a small department
with one manager and one lecturer
has grown over the years into a
large organisation. In addition,
Heineken employees regularly
travel from Nigeria to Holland to
gain extra know-how or - as in the
case of the micro-brewery - to
follow a training course.
Nigerian Breweries pays a lot of attention to training. This engineer is busy with
a drawing assignmentpart of his training course.
The Italian brewery Birra Dreher
S.p.A., part of the Heineken group,
increased its minority interest in the
brewery S.P.A.I., S.p.A. to 70%.The
S.P. A.I. brewery, which has its head
office in Cagliari on the island of
Sardinia, has an annual capacity of
some 300,000 hectolitres. Birra
Dreher already has breweries in
Popoli, Macomer, Pedavena and
Massafra.
Several years from now Heineken's
Spirits and Wine Group in Holland
will be transferring its production
from Leeuwarden to its unit in
Zoetermeer.The Leeuwarden plant
will then be closed.The closure is a
result of the structurally adverse
Dutch market for spirits.The
relocation will also benefit the
efficiency of the organisation.
Consultations are currently still under
way as regards the consequences for
personnel.
Grande Brasserie de Nouvelle
Caledonie, in which Heineken has a
stake of more than 85%, has been
awarded the distinction of "Best
bottler of 1986" by Pepsi Cola
International.Thanks to a creative
marketing policy and the constant
high quality of the Pepsi Cola
produced by Grande Brasserie de
Nouvelle Caledonie, Pepsi's market
share in New Caledonia has doubled
in the space of just two years.
This month saw the start of the
distribution of the Pommery
champagne brand in the Netherlands
by Heineken's Spirits and Wine
Group.The Pommery brand is owned
by the French B.S.N, concern.