O&L secures NBL expansion capital

OHLTHAVER and LIST (O&L) have secured N$80 million to invest in brewing facilities of Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) from First National Bank and Standard Bank Namibia.

The relevant financing agreements were signed with First National Bank Holdings and Standard Bank Namibia last week on Friday and on Wednesday respectively, with the amount spilt equally between the banks, said O&L. Ohlthaver & List holds a majority shareholding in NBL Investment Holdings.This investment follows the signing of a partnership with Heineken and Diageo PLC on April 16 2003, the company said.”The agreement stipulates [among others] the brewing of Heineken beer at NBL from July 2004, according to Patrick Hashingola, public relations officer for O&L.Sven Thieme, Chairman and CEO of O&L said: “Our investment goes into the areas of training, skills development, and the upgrading of NBL’s production facilities.We plan to commence with the production of Heineken beer in July 2004.Ultimately, we aim to ensure NBL’s regional growth, the protection of its brands, and the extension of the manufacturing base in our country.”Heineken beer is to be available in a 340ml non-returnable bottle and can while, the product will be packed in handy cardboard cluster packs, the breweries said.NBL presently has an annual production capacity of 1, 9 million hector litre from its plants in Windhoek and Swakopmund, supported by numerous depots in Namibia, and one in South Africa.With the project already under way in February two massive horizontal fermentation tanks jointly weighing 44 tons, and with a capacity of 2400 hectolitres each, were transported via road from the port of Walvis Bay to the NBL’s brewery in Windhoek.A combined team of specialists from Heineken and Namibian Breweries have spent seven months in the installation and modification of various brewing and bottling machinery at the premises in Iscor Street.NBL sent a team to Holland to acquire the skills of brewing Heineken beer according to the original recipe.Locally, trials run have already started under supervision of technical experts from Heineken to ensure absolute compliance.The costs for the entire project are estimated at approximately N$70 million, the breweries said.Ohlthaver & List holds a majority shareholding in NBL Investment Holdings.This investment follows the signing of a partnership with Heineken and Diageo PLC on April 16 2003, the company said.”The agreement stipulates [among others] the brewing of Heineken beer at NBL from July 2004, according to Patrick Hashingola, public relations officer for O&L.Sven Thieme, Chairman and CEO of O&L said: “Our investment goes into the areas of training, skills development, and the upgrading of NBL’s production facilities.We plan to commence with the production of Heineken beer in July 2004.Ultimately, we aim to ensure NBL’s regional growth, the protection of its brands, and the extension of the manufacturing base in our country.”Heineken beer is to be available in a 340ml non-returnable bottle and can while, the product will be packed in handy cardboard cluster packs, the breweries said.NBL presently has an annual production capacity of 1, 9 million hector litre from its plants in Windhoek and Swakopmund, supported by numerous depots in Namibia, and one in South Africa.With the project already under way in February two massive horizontal fermentation tanks jointly weighing 44 tons, and with a capacity of 2400 hectolitres each, were transported via road from the port of Walvis Bay to the NBL’s brewery in Windhoek.A combined team of specialists from Heineken and Namibian Breweries have spent seven months in the installation and modification of various brewing and bottling machinery at the premises in Iscor Street.NBL sent a team to Holland to acquire the skills of brewing Heineken beer according to the original recipe.Locally, trials run have already started under supervision of technical experts from Heineken to ensure absolute compliance.The costs for the entire project are estimated at approximately N$70 million, the breweries said.