On 24 March 2023, Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH was named an official Solution Partner of SIEMENS AG for automation systems, drives and the SISTAR BRAUMAT expert module. The company, which specialises in tanks and process engineering for the brewing, beverage and liquid food industry, is thus certified for exceptional expertise in automation. From its base in Ludwigsburg it can provide top-quality future-ready automation solutions anywhere in the world in conjunction with systems from SIEMENS.

In addition, Ziemann Holvrieka is celebrating a world first, as Koray Müftiler, Key Account Manager of SIEMENS AG, explains: “I’m very pleased that the certification is now complete and that we can officially announce our Solution Partnership. This makes Ziemann Holvrieka the first plant engineering company in the market to be certified for BRAUMAT and SISTAR.”

The Siemens Solution Partner certificate was presented in Ludwigsburg by a SIEMENS delegation comprising Frank Hauber, Koray Müftiler and Dirk Grafe. Ziemann Holvrieka was represented at the ceremony by Klaus Gehrig, CEO, Wolfram Hänsel, Head of Process Automation Software, and the staff of the automation team. The certificate was presented at Ziemann Holvrieka’s pilot plant, which has operated for years with SIEMENS BRAUMAT. Klaus Gehrig explained his company’s thorough familiarity with BRAUMAT: “Cooperation between our companies in automation began decades ago. Ziemann Holvrieka has therefore become an expert in BRAUMAT and created highly efficient module libraries. This knowledge is unique in the market. So it’s appropriate that we should be the first to be certified by SIEMENS for BRAUMAT and SISTAR.”

Andreas Marz is the new Head of Sales Americas at Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH. In this role, Marz will be in charge of North and Latin American sales for the company, which specializes in tank and process technology for the brewing, beverage and liquid food industries. In the future, Marz will coordinate the activities of all sales employees and locations in these regions from his base in Ludwigsburg. “We’re delighted to have found such a competent and highly motivated expert for our important markets. Andreas Marz is solution-oriented, and he analyzes our customers’ challenges in detail. As a result, he always creates tailor-made offers that perfectly match the customer’s requirements,” emphasizes Florian Schneider, Sales and Marketing Managing Director of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH.

Andreas Marz is a qualified master brewer. After graduating as a master brewer in Weihenstephan, he spent more than ten years in sales positions, including sales manager for North and Central America for a global beverage plant engineering company and sales manager for a mid-sized bottling company. Andreas Marz on his new role with Ziemann Holvrieka: “I’m really looking forward to my new role. I’ve known many of my colleagues for a long time, and during my first days at Ziemann Holvrieka, I’ve got to know a corporate culture that has totally inspired me. I’ve never experienced this in such a positive way before.”

Axel Zügel is a trained industrial clerk. After completing his training, he worked for a plant manufacturer for several years before moving to Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH in 2004. After gaining a Master of Science degree in Strategic Management, he initially held the position of Purchasing Manager in the company. In this position, he was responsible for ensuring that the supply chain ran smoothly. As Director of Projects EPC, he was subsequently in charge of the order processing, project management, assembly and logistics divisions at the Ludwigsburg site. Commenting on his new position as COO, he said: “I’ll continue to be 100 percent committed to strengthening our global capabilities and expanding our worldwide connectivity. My many years of working with our company, employees and partners will contribute to our continued handling of high-quality projects and our punctual adherence to deadlines.”

On January 1, 2023, Axel Zügel took over the management of the operational areas of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH as COO. In his new function, he relieves Klaus Gehrig, who was both CEO and COO of the company until the end of 2022. As COO, Axel Zügel is responsible for the operational business areas of order processing, purchasing, project management, assembly, logistics and engineering at the Ludwigsburg site. “We’re delighted that Axel Zügel has taken over this important position,” says CEO Klaus Gehrig. “He’s the right man for the job too, because he’s ‘lived’ Ziemann Holvrieka for the past nineteen years,” he adds. Thanks to his long affiliation with the company, Axel Zügel has acquired comprehensive know-how in the brewing, beverages and liquid foods industry – and that knowledge will make it easier for the new COO to continue optimizing internal processes and act as a competent contact person for customers.

Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH will use the parallel event “BrewExpo America” to provide information about its complex range of products and services, which is particularly interesting for the framework conditions of North American craft brewers. The focus of the trade fair presentation at booth 5705 will be on mashing and tank construction. Furthermore, DME Process Systems Ltd, Canada, which belongs to the same group of companies, will be presenting itself at the booth, rounding off the portfolio with standard solutions also for small brew sizes.

Focus on mashing and tank construction

Ziemann Holvrieka’s range of products in the field of wort preparation extends from the malt intake via grist mills, mash vessels, all currently relevant lautering systems, wort kettles, whirlpools up to wort cooling systems. At the „BrewExpo America“ Ziemann Holvrieka will be presenting the mash agitator COLIBRI by ZIEMANN.

This mash agitator primarily is a combination of the advantages of several mixer geometries. A perforated plate above the bottom heating zones ensures the required flow and mixing. At the end of the perforated plate, two solid bearers bypass the shell heating zone like an anchor agitator. The bearers have a spiral, which passes through the mash with its wing-like profiles. The homogenizing effect of the COLIBRI is further intensified by an inclined transverse bracing. Overall, the COLIBRI ensures the requested turbulences at the boundary layers of all heating zones as well as the horizontal and vertical homogenization of temperature and concentration.

With this design, COLIBRI offers many advantages, especially for craft breweries. These include: ideal heat transfer into the mash and a self-cleaning effect on all heating zones, which prevents fouling, the highest possible mash concentration, maximum flexibility regarding the use of raw materials, low shear forces, high enzymatic conversion rates.

The second trade fair focus – tank construction – is another proven core competence of Ziemann Holvrieka.

As one of the largest tank manufacturers worldwide, Ziemann Holvrieka covers this area with all types of fermentation and storage tanks, bright beer tanks, yeast tanks and all necessary CIP tanks. These are preferably delivered in one piece. If a one-piece delivery is not possible, the assembly is carried out with own technologies on construction sites all over the world.

The know-how and extraordinary vertical range of manufacture including the in-house production of tank bottoms and tops, guarantees highest quality as well as adherence to dates and deadlines – all this with shortest delivery times thanks to corresponding capacities. With the high-quality hygienic design, a maximum of biological product safety can be achieved.

By the way: Ziemann Holvrieka has compiled many essential basics and tips for the selection, equipment and installation of a tank in its “White Paper”, which can be downloaded, free of charge, at https://www.ziemann-holvrieka.com/de/updates/downloads/whitepapers.

With the new brewhouse the brewery will be able to produce up to 12 brews per day, each with 500 hl of cold wort. „We are very pleased about this renewed sign of confidence from one of the world’s best-known craft brewers. This once again proves the attractiveness of our solutions, especially in this demanding market segment”, says Florian Schneider, Managing Director Sales and Marketing at Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH.

Successful cooperation since 2014

In its first year, BrewDog brewed 1,050 hl, and by 2014 the brewery had already brewed 90,000 hl. With these seven-league boots the success story continued in the last few years. In order to be able to adequately follow its marketing and sales talent in terms of brewing technology, BrewDog has consistently relied on the cooperation with Ziemann Holvrieka since 2014. A real milestone was reached in 2016, when the two partners built a state-of-the-art brewery in Ellon, in the north-east of Scotland. In this project, Ziemann Holvrieka was responsible for the production, delivery, installation, automation and commissioning of the complete process technology – from the milling plant up to the connection to the bottling plant.

Cold block: complex piping and elaborate automation system

Since then, orders for new tanks or an additional lauter tun have been placed at regular intervals. With the current order, BrewDog adds another chapter to its success story. The new brewhouse will be installed next to the brewery in Ellon and connected to its cold block. Here, Ziemann Holvrieka will expand the existing filtration and implement two completely new filtration and separation lines. In addition, the yeast and bright beer tank cellar will be technically and mechanically adapted to the new filtration process. The central challenges in this sub-project are the complex piping and the elaborate automation system. The complete package of new brewhouse and cold block expansion is again being handled by Ziemann Holvrieka on a turnkey basis, this means including engineering, project management, assembly, automation, commissioning and training.

At this trade fair, the industry traditionally presents its new developments and technological visions. Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH, Ludwigsburg, is looking forward to presenting its innovative components, future-oriented technologies and sustainable solutions for the beverage, dairy, liquid food and edible oil industry. The scope of supply and services ranges from individual components to turnkey production plants, including individual recipe and process development in the company’s own pilot plant.

The first focus of the trade fair presentation in hall 5.1 at stand A-044 is a proven core competence of Ziemann Holvrieka – tank construction. As one of the largest tank manufacturers in the world, Ziemann Holvrieka covers this sector with all types of tanks and silos made of stainless steel – in particular fermentation tanks, process tanks, storage and blending tanks. These are manufactured in production facilities in North America, Asia or Europe and are preferably delivered in one piece. Otherwise, the assembly is carried out with own technologies on construction sites all over the world. The know-how and extraordinary vertical range of manufacture including the in-house production of tank bottoms and tops, guarantees highest quality as well as adherence to dates and deadlines – all this with shortest delivery times thanks to corresponding capacities. With the high-quality hygienic design, a maximum of biological product safety can be achieved, which also covers aseptic applications.

Solid-liquid separation in the food industry

The second focus is on the solid-liquid separation and in particular on the dynamic mash filtration system NESSIE by ZIEMANN. By means of four rotary disk filters, connected in series, NESSIE combines the process steps of separation, extraction in the counterflow procedure as well as the dynamic washing of solids. Due to this process combination, products can be processed with the identical system regardless of temperature ranges, viscosities, raw material sources or suspensions. Even the smallest batch volumes can be processed at any time. A continuous process can also be implemented.

Thanks to an effective extraction process, NESSIE by ZIEMANN achieves the best possible results with minimal use of the washing medium in the fluid or solid separation. Two examples are the lautering work in the brewery (fluid) and the separation of solids in the food industry, where the pressureless process is also particularly gentle on the product. The proven hygienic design, the very compact construction, the simple expandability and the possibility of targeted water savings by means of recuperation are additional features of the system. Another important aspect from the operator’s point of view is the high process speed of the system.
As a further separation technology, filter presses are not only to be considered for breweries, but also for other areas of food production. DRAGONFLY by ZIEMANN is designed as a thin-layer mash filter, which processes even the largest charges quickly and reliably. An alternative is BUTTERFLY by ZIEMANN, which is equipped with a so-called “mixed” plate package, where the chamber and the membrane plates are alternately arranged. By using membrane plates, the dry substance in the solids can be significantly increased.

As of January 1, 2022, Florian Schneider has taken over the position as Managing Director Sales and Marketing / CCO of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH, Ludwigsburg. He succeeds Lars Roed Nielsen, who moved as CEO to the sister company Ziemann Holvrieka Asia in China. “In his previous areas of responsibility, first as Sales Manager EMEA and later as Sales Manager Process Technology, Florian Schneider has done an outstanding job. The expansion of his responsibilities to the entire division will further advance our company”, says Klaus Gehrig, CEO of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH, adding “With his global network, which he constantly maintains, as well as his pronounced intercultural understanding, he is predestined for the upcoming tasks.” 

Florian Schneider is a trained brewer and maltster. After his vocational training, he worked for several years in various Bavarian breweries. Following his studies in industrial engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Landshut, Schneider continued his professional career in the sales department of a well-known brewery plant manufacturer in the Asia-Pacific region before joining Ziemann Holvrieka in 2017. Here, he initially held the position of Sales Manager EMEA, but was soon also responsible for the APAC region and subsequently for global sales in the area of process technology. In this way, he made a significant contribution to the company’s success. About his new position as Managing Director at Ziemann Holvrieka, Florian Schneider says: “In recent years, we have realized many new projects in a wide range of industries and countries and gained very satisfied customers. I will do my utmost to ensure that we continue this successful path. In doing so, I can rely on a highly motivated team. I am very much looking forward to the new task and the future challenges.”

Ziemann Holvrieka partnered with Mark Anthony Brewing to engineer and design this state of the art, purpose-built brewery. Ziemann Holvrieka will lead the turnkey installation, commissioning and training as the plant comes on-line in the fall of 2021. The implementation has already started, and the first large hard seltzer fermentation & storage tanks have been installed recently. Mark Anthony Brewing (MAB) is the market leader in the fast-growing hard seltzer and flavored malt beverage segment. The new production facility will be one of the largest breweries built in the United States in the last 25 years. This facility will provide MAB with additional capacities to serve consumer demands in the United States.

“We are very delighted that Mark Anthony Brewing has entrusted us with this very significant project, especially as this is our first partnering up, and then immediately a project of this magnitude. This underlines the great reputation our performance enjoys in the market, especially for turnkey projects with a high integration part beside our OEM equipment”, said Mr. Florian Schneider, Director Sales Process Technology of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH.

“Once complete, this new state-of-the-art facility will be a center of excellence for our patented PureBrew process which allows White Claw, Mike’s and our growing portfolio of market-leading beverages to taste like no other”, said Mark Anthony Brewing President John Sacksteder.

About us
The three sister companies Ziemann Holvrieka, BRIGGS OF BURTON and DME PROCESS SYSTEMS have a wealth of experience in the development, design and construction of brewery plants and complete turnkey production facilities, which has resulted in several major global projects in the hard seltzer market. The profound knowledge of the hard seltzer production process enables the group to implement projects – from craft breweries through to large turnkey projects.

More about Hard Seltzer

Contact us now: hardseltzer@ziemann-holvrieka.com

After start-up of the factory, two brews of 100 hl each are to be produced per day. NESSIE allows for high original wort concentrations of 20 percent or even more: “This is optimal for the whisky production process and provides us with all the freedom we want”, says Björn Stegemeyer, who, with his company HanseBev, was commissioned with the planning and project design. Furthermore, NESSIE worts supply the yeast with important nutrients, resulting in a fast fermentation and a high final degree of fermentation. Due to the very compact design, NESSIE requires little space in the building. The decision in favour of T-REX was taken due to its attractive economic efficiency compared to other mill systems and the optimal grist composition for the NESSIE operation.

“We are pleased that we were able to open up a new and extremely interesting field of application through the outstanding advantages of our innovative solutions, especially because the initiative for the cooperation came from the customer,” says Holger Wunsch, Sales Manager DACH and Eastern Europe at Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH. “We are sure that this grist and lautering system will optimize the process flows for many whisky producers. Everyone who is active in this beverage segment should deal with this technology.”

At the Dresdner Whisky Manufaktur UG, they are pleased to be able to rely on Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH with regard to the mash filtration: “In Dresden, we are planning not only the largest, but also the most modern distillery in the country. Due to the energy efficiency, the higher yield and the first-class support, we deliberately decided in favour of this cooperation”, says co-initiator Thomas Michalski.