NBL inaugurates new filtration plant

Namibia Breweries Limited this week commissioned its N$300 million new filtration plant as part of its five-year investment plan, with an addition investment of N$77million to follow later this year.
“Over the last five years, N$650 million has been invested into Namibian Breweries, of which approximately N$300million was on infrastructural investment and expansions alone, excluding other significant investment such as the training of our people,” said Sven Thieme, chairman of Namibia Breweries.
Thieme added that for any 21st century organisation, success lies on the right mix of a number of factors such as relentless innovation, being purposeful, leadership, oneness with the customer, a breakthrough environment and growth.
“Growth in a relatively small market such as Namibia has necessitated that we embark on an ambitious strategy. Only 42% of produce by the Breweries is consumed locally while 47% is exported to South Africa and 11% to the rest of the world,” he said.
Challenges facing exports include the need to distinguish the Breweries’ brands from so many world class competitors, the need to remain competitive despite the fact that they follow price rather than setting it, the costs involved in establishing distribution channels, Thieme further said.
“We are indeed people from the ‘Land of the Brave’ and have expanded and launched Windhoek Lager in new markets such as Cameroon, Kenya and the UK. This continuous growth brought on a number of capacity constraints, prompting the extensive investment undertaken by the Breweries,” he said.
In his keynote address, Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Hage Geingob said that through the investment, Namibia Breweries is adding to the growth of the Namibian economy and more revenue for the State coffers to meet the developmental objectives of employment and wealth creation for all as per Vision 2030.
“On our part, Government will continue to secure regional and international market access through bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure that local manufacturers and exporters such as the O&L Group would continue to expand, compete successfully and repatriate profits to further boost the Namibian economy,” he said.