Miller Magazine Issue: 150 June 2022

58 MILLER / JUNE 2022 NEWS Malteries Soufflet inaugurates its 28th malt house located in the Bole Lemi industrial park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The malt production site, which came into service a year ago, is based on a local supply chain for malting barley. This ambitious project is fully in line with the InVivo group's strategy of continuing to develop Malteries Soufflet outside Europe, where it is already operating in Brazil, Argentina and India. Located on 10 hectares on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Soufflet Malt Ethiopia benefits from a strategic location, in di- rect proximity to the malting barley crops. Equipped with state- of-theart infrastructure, the malt house has an annual produc- tion capacity of 60,000 tons per year and is aiming for 110,000 tons in the short term. This new malt house is also the first in the world to be zero carbon emission, using energy produced by hydroelectric dams. With this new location, Malteries Soufflet has initiated a proj- ect to replace imports along the entire value chain: the barley used is mostly grown locally, and the malt is sold directly to local brewers. This will significantly reduce imports of raw ma- terials, which currently account for 70% of the market, and limit the transport of goods. “InVivo wants to make the malt business one of the pillars of its business model. We intend to seize growth opportunities in the barley market, which is expected to reach $24.7 billion by 2027 including $9.7 billion for malt alone. We have decided to accelerate our investments to move upmarket and support our customers' growth and diversification projects worldwide. To achieve this objective, we can capitalize on Malteries Souf- flet's proven organization, tools and industrial processes" says Thierry Blandinières, CEO of the InVivo group. 100% LOCAL PRODUCTION FOR A GROWING MARKET Ethiopia is Africa's largest barley producer and the conti- nent's fourth largest beer producer, with a market growing by nearly 15% a year. However, the local supply of malt and barley production are not sufficient to cover the needs of the sector and keep up with its expansion. Malteries Soufflet's am- bition is to source 100% local barley (which represents a nec- essary volume of 80,000 tons of barley per year) within two years. To meet this target, the company has been supporting the 50,000 small producers in the Oromia region for several years by relying on agronomic and commercial advisors and technicians. Malteries Soufflet employs a team of 100 people in Ethio- pia. The new plant has also generated more than 200 indirect jobs, mainly in rural areas, to ensure barley quality control and handling. Malteries Soufflet inaugurates its first malt house on the African continent