Namibia Breweries Limited

Last updated
Namibia Breweries Limited
Namibia Breweries Limited logo.png
Location Windhoek, Namibia
Coordinates 22°31′25.24″S17°4′44.20″E / 22.5236778°S 17.0789444°E / -22.5236778; 17.0789444
Opened1920;103 years ago (1920)
Owned by
Website nambrew.com
Active beers
NameType
Windhoek Lager Lager
Windhoek LightLight beer
Hansa Pilsener Pilsener
Tafel Lager Lager

Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) is a brewery founded in 1920 and based in Windhoek, Namibia. On April 26, 2023, Heineken announced that it had completed the purchase of NBL. [1]

Contents

Upon completion of the acquisition, its operations were integrated into Heineken Beverages, a company created by the multinational from the merger of its South African unit, NBL and another African brewery acquired by the Dutch company, Distell. [2]

History

The brewery was founded in 1920 when Carl List and Hermann Ohlthaver acquired four small breweries with financial difficulties. The breweries were merged under the name South West Breweries Limited (SWB).

In March 1990, SWB changed its name to Namibia Breweries Limited when Namibia gained independence. Ohlthaver & List Group of Companies are still the majority shareholder.

Since 2003, Namibia Breweries Limited has been working in partnership with Heineken South Africa. After 2010, NBL started to buy shares of Heineken SA, [3] eventually reaching a 25% ownership of the Dutch subsidiary in South Africa. [4]

In 2014, Namibian Breweries Limited became the first brewer in Africa to switch to solar energy, and on a large scale. It invested in a 1.MW Solar Power plant installed on existing roof structures and covering up to 34% of its energy use. [5]

In November 2021, Heineken announced the purchase of two African breweries (NBL and Distell) for US$4.6 billion – with Namibia’s valued at €400 million. [6] The acquisition was completed in 2023.

Description

NBL brew all of their beers according to the Reinheitsgebot (German purity law) from 1516. Other than the four top-selling beers NBL also produces some speciality beers like Urbock - a winter bock beer. Nambrew also distributes other beer brands like Erdinger Weissbeer, Guinness and Kilkenny in the region. The low alcohol (2%), low calorie product Windhoek Light was endorsed by the South African Heart Foundation. [7]

Currently NBL exports 20.5% of its production to South Africa and 22 other countries world-wide.

Products

Bottles of Windhoek Lager Windhoek.Beer.JPG
Bottles of Windhoek Lager

Own products:

Brewed under licence:

Distribute:

Bibliography

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References

  1. "HEINEKEN successfully completes acquisition of Distell and Namibia Breweries to create HEINEKEN Beverages". Heineken N.V. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  2. "Our Profile". Heineken Beverages. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  3. Lazarus Amukeshe, Heineken SA boosts Nam Breweries profits, Namibian.com.na, 18 September 2019
  4. Lazarus Amukeshe, Namibia Breweries offered to sell 25% of Heineken SA, Namibian.com.na, 1 October 2021
  5. Tom van der Linden, Top 100 Solar-Powered Beer Breweries, Solarplaza.com, 2 August 2019
  6. Blenkinsop, Philip; Mukherjee, Promit (November 15, 2021). "Heineken to buy S.Africa's Distell and Namibian Breweries". Reuters via www.reuters.com.
  7. "Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa| Preventing Heart Disease & Strokes". www.heartfoundation.co.za. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  8. "Beer Brands". Namibia Breweries Limited. Retrieved 10 February 2012.