40 years Esau & Hueber: worldwide demand for brewery technology from Schrobenhausen

What do small privately owned breweries, craft breweries and large-scale corporate breweries have in common? They all rely on the technology and expertise of Esau & Hueber GmbH. With more than 70 employees, the company from the Upper Bavarian region of Schrobenhausen plans, builds and delivers complex systems not only for breweries but also for companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Stainless steel is the common element in all of these systems. The family-owned company, which joined BAUER Resources Group in 2008, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Managing directors Christoph Sedlaczek and Harald Koch celebrated the anniversary in mid-July and recalled some of the company's important milestones together with employees, their families and some guests from the parent company.

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Esau & Hueber has its roots in Munich, where Hans Hueber started as a brewery supplier in the 1920s. In 1977, the company merged with Klaus Esau's fitting and machinery business. In 1981, Esau & Hueber, then managed by Klaus Sedlaczek, relocated the company's headquarters and the production facility from Munich to Schrobenhausen, some 60 kilometers away. In 1998 and 2000, his sons Christoph and Bastian Sedlaczek joined the company, and in 2008, Christoph Sedlaczek became the sole managing director.

Two years later, a new module construction facility was built next to the headquarters. Esau & Hueber was able to complete its range of products and services for the brewing industry by acquiring Nerb, a brewery specialist based in Freising near Munich, Germany, the following year. "We only supplied solutions for the cold parts of the brewing process in the past, but today we also supply systems for hot processes", says Christoph Sedlaczek, who has been forming a dual leadership together with Harald Koch since 2016. "That means we're now a full-service provider for our customers all over the world."

Esau & Hueber recently delivered a complete brewery for the privately owned brewery Hofmann, located in the Franconian town of Pahres, as a turn-key project on undeveloped land. After brewing beer here for over 350 years, the owners of the family business laid the foundation stone for a new brewery. Esau & Hueber GmbH was responsible for the overall concept, technical planning and approval of the new facility in collaboration with the customer. The new brewhouse – a five-vessel brewery with a capacity of 70 hl – is designed to produce more than 100,000 hl per year, with the possibility of expanding production to 150,000 hl per year. It consists of a mash container, a lauter tun, a supply tank, a wort kettle with external boiler and a whirlpool. Thanks to modern brewery technology, the privately owned Hofmann brewery can now brew up to ten batches a day.

Another milestone in the history of Esau & Hueber is currently in the final stages of commissioning in Ohio, USA. Craft beer company BrewDog ordered a complete brewing process system, including a 200 hl brewhouse, from Esau & Hueber, the largest contract in the history of the Bavarian engineering company. "The craft beer movement has been growing in the US in recent years. We decided to focus more actively on this market five or six years ago", says Christoph Sedlaczek. The company now features numerous reference projects in this market. "Our clients appreciate the fact that we can offer them all the technology and service they need from a single source", says Christoph Sedlaczek. Some of Esau & Hueber's customers include the world's largest brewery conglomerates, such as Carlsberg, which has over 150 breweries, as well as Miller and Heineken. "However, we mainly supply those clients with core technologies for areas such as the cold section, yeast management or wort aeration", says Christoph Sedlaczek.

Esau & Hueber has expanded its production capacity in recent years thanks to a high volume of incoming orders. Components and small-scale modules for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and IT companies are manufactured in Steingriff, whereas modules and systems for the beverage industry are manufactured at a new facility not far from the company's headquarters. The company is now fully prepared for future growth. Christoph Sedlaczek is optimistic, given the company's positive performance: "Our goal is to maintain our profitable growth. At the same time, we will increasingly use our national and international references to acquire further projects for hot processes, which is still a relatively new area for us."