[Press Release] Malteurop sets out to conquer new markets, with the inauguration of its new malthouse in Mexico
VIVESCIA Group and its malting business today inaugurated a new malthouse in Meoqui, in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Mexico and the authorities of Chihuahua, as well as the group’s customers and partners, and the employees involved in the project.
With a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes of malt per year, the plant will help Malteurop – already one of the world’s biggest maltsters – to win new business in Mexico with a virtuous process from grain to glass. This project is the first investment in Mexico by a malt industry player.
As well as the €112 million investment in this malthouse, over the past three years, Malteurop has developed a 100%-local supply chain thanks to a partnership with some 500 local farmers who produce malting barley.
From left to right: Olivier Hautin, Managing Director, Malteurop; Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, His Excellency Ambassador of France to Mexico; Christoph Büren, President of VIVESCIA; María Angélica Granados Trespalacios, Representative of the Governor of Chihuahua for Economic Development and Innovation, Miriam Soto Ornelas, Mayor of Meoqui ; Olivier Miaux, Managing Director, VIVESCIA Industries.
The President of VIVESCIA Group, Christoph Büren, said: “Our arrival in Mexico marks a new stage in our malt business’s international development. This new malthouse also highlights French industrial and agricultural expertise while addressing local economic needs and the challenge of sustainability. During the construction of this new malthouse, Malteurop’s agronomic and varietal development teams have put together a 100%-local barley supply chain. This is an extension of our original business model, which is in place on VIVESCIA’s cooperative territory in France.”
Olivier Hautin, Managing Director of Malteurop, added: “This malting plant is the culmination of almost four years' work since the initial discussions with local farmers, through the difficulties related to the COVID pandemic, to the successful start-up of the malthouse in the summer of 2023, when the first batches of malt were produced. With an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of malt, which could be extended to 150,000 tonnes in the future, this new facility will enable us to meet the needs of brewers in a particularly buoyant market, which has a shortage of malt, a strategic ingredient in beer production. This project illustrates Malteurop's unique, well-established capacity to develop new industrial projects throughout the world.”
His Excellency Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, France’s Ambassador to Mexico, has declared: “Malteurop, with its expertise in malt production and its close ties to the French agricultural world, will contribute to rural development in Chihuahua. It will also support Mexico's brewing industry, which has become one of the most important in the world.”
From left to right: María Angélica Granados Trespalacios, Representative of the Governor of Chihuahua for Economic Development and Innovation; Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, His Excellency Ambassador of France to Mexico; Christoph Büren, President of VIVESCIA
A virtuous ecosystem: contributing to the development of a local barley-malt-beer value chain
Over the past three years, Malteurop has formed partnerships with nearly 500 farmers, encouraging them to diversify into malting barley as an additional crop.
Malteurop was able to identify the malting barley varieties that are best suited to the region, while liaising with VIVESCIA Cooperative’s teams, who provided support for the farmers with agro-ecological best practices and low-carbon farming techniques.
This new crop, malting barley, covers almost 35,000 hectares, with two harvests a year.
Mexico is currently one of the world’s most rapidly expanding beer markets, with growth of around 8% in 2022. It is also a major importer of malt. With its new malthouse in Meoqui, Malteurop is part of a virtuous local ecosystem, with a more sustainable short supply chain, alongside its farming and brewing partners, in particular Heineken, whose most recent site is adjacent to the malthouse.
- A €112 million investment
- A 10-hectare site adjacent to Heineken’s brewery
- 70 local jobs created
- Annual production capacity: 120,000 tonnes, which can be expanded to 150,000 tonnes
- 30,000 tonnes of storage capacity (barley and malt)
- 100% local sourcing: the creation of a malting barley supply chain, involving 500 partner farmers cultivating 35,000 hectares
- A construction project carried out with 15 partners and technical subcontractors, and up to 850 people involved in the works
A new stage in the Group’s climate strategy and its commitment to regenerative agriculture
As VIVESCIA and its malting business expands into Mexico, the company is pursuing its commitment to climate action and decarbonising its value chain by finalising its roadmap for SBTi certification . Aligned with VIVESCIA Group's strategy, Malteurop aims to significantly reduce its carbon footprint by 2030. This entails a 25% cut in total carbon emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3, with a targeted 38% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its direct operations (scope 1 and 2). In order to achieve this, Malteurop intends to step up its efforts to help farmers adopt regenerative, low-carbon farming practices that promote soil health and biodiversity. This year, Malteurop joined the TRANSITIONS programme run by VIVESCIA Cooperative in North-East France. Malteurop can use the programme as a large-scale "laboratory" trial and replicate its successes in other regions.
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