An investment of EUR 10 million, steel giants several tons in weight and a construction time of 10 months: With the installation of 16 new pressure tanks and the building work to replace the pressure tank cellar, OeTTINGER Brewery has comprehensively modernized its Mönchengladbach site, increasing its efficiency for the future. The tanks store the beer before it is sent to be bottled.
Dr. Andreas Boettger, technical Managing Director at OeTTINGER Brewery, explains: “Mönchengladbach is our second most important brewery after our headquarters in Oettingen and plays a very important role within the Group. This is where our research and development processes take place and is the site of our technology center. Additionally, a large part of our logistics is coordinated from here.” After almost 12 months of construction work, the Brewery can now enjoy its latest big modernization investment – and by big, we mean really big! The three pressure tanks, which come in three different sizes, are an impressive 24-30m high, weigh up to 30 tons when empty and measure 4.20m in diameter. The largest tanks have a storage capacity of approximately 350,000 liters. To put this into some kind of tangible perspective, if every fan in attendance at a sold-out football match at Borussia-Park, the home of Borussia Mönchengladbach, bought two beers, it would take three matchdays to drink the largest tank dry.
Andreas Boettger says: “We are known for doing things differently and being ahead of the times. We have been setting the standard in our industry for years, in terms of both technology and quality.” In 2013, the Brewery put a wastewater treatment facility into operation, which has helped to save a significant amount of natural gas by recycling biogas during wastewater treatment processes.The recycled biogas is used as renewable energy in production processes to heat the water in the boiler house. Additionally, in 2015, OeTTINGER Brewery became the first company within the brewing industry to install a high-tech industrial membrane filter, enabling smooth filtration and clarification of beer at low energy input. This is cutting-edge technology which is now also being used by other businesses. A delighted Andreas Boettger says: “Together with the processing technology that comes with them, the tanks will help us to further improve our energy footprint, save water and minimize waste water.”
The facility was put into operation on September 20, 2019 with a staff party that was joined by the Mayor of Mönchengladbach Hans Wilhelm Reiners.
