Meura: brewing up innovation
"There are two parts to the brewing process, explains Jeroen Vandenbussche, Sales & Marketing Manager for Meura. The hot block is where malt and hops are ground and boiled. The cold block is where fermentation takes place. We have the hot block. Out of about ten major players we’re Nr. 4".
By John CURLING
Meura has
been manufacturing brewing equipment since 1845 when Jean-Baptiste Meura
founded his workshop in Tournai. Today, the company’s products cover malt
milling, complete brewhouses and yeast management. With the beer industry
globalising rapidly, nearly all of Meura’s business is in the export market.
"We’re involved in major projects in regions where beer consumption is
expanding: Asia, South America, Africa and the former Soviet Union, Jeroen
Vandenbussche, Sales & Marketing manager, says. Being located in Belgium is
an advantage. We’re one hour to Inbev, two hours to Heineken and near the
London head offices of Guinness and SAB Miller Europe".
What about the growing microbrewery market popular in the U.S. and elsewhere? "We’re carefully following this trend. As microbreweries get bigger, they’ll be able to benefit from our highly efficient technologies", Vandenbussche says.
New ideas
Innovation has always played a key role at Meura: founder Jean-Baptiste acquired one of the first steam machines. "If you ask a brewer what he thinks of Meura, says Vandenbussche, he’ll say: they’re the guys with all those new ideas". Indeed, 60 engineers work at the head office in Péruwelz, where certain key components are fabricated. Construction of the rest of the machinery is subcontracted to firms in Belgium and abroad.
In 1997 the company established Meura Technologies, an R&D centre at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve. Equipped with a complete test brewery, half-a-dozen researchers work together with students. There is also collaboration with other academic institutions. "We have some patented technologies that we even sell to our competitors".
How will changes in the industry affect Meura? "Beer brewing is becoming less conservative, Jeroen Vandenbussche answers. With pressure to be more competitive and to offer new products, people are now open to very interesting ideas we’ve had for quite awhile. Brewing technology will see big changes in the coming years".
© Dynamisme Wallon, 12/2007
Localisation : Péruwelz
Founded in : 1845
Activity : specialists in engineering, design and manufacture of process equipment for breweries
Employees : 98 (Belgium)
Revenue : € 35 Mio
Export volume : +95%