Joh. Barth & Sohn, HVG Hop Growers Cooperative announce major investments

FOLLOWING discussions between NATECO₂ partners and Hopfenveredlung St. Johann, the parties have agreed to new investment plans at two locations in Wolnzach and St. Johann.

“In the next five years we shall build a new hop extraction plant in St. Johann with a capacity of up to 10,000 tons, while also transforming our location in Wolnzach into a centre of excellence for natural substance extraction,” said Regine Barth, managing director of NATECO₂ GmbH in Wolnzach, and Dr Johann Pichlmaier, co-managing director.

A budget of up to €30 million will be allocated to construction projects to upgrade technology.  “Those who want continued success in the current global market have to make sure their technology is up-to-date,” says Ms Barth.

The hop processing will continue in Wolnzach until 2019, and that the natural substances business area will be expanded to become the centre of excellence. “NATECO₂’s expertise concerning CO₂ extraction under various high pressures up to 1000 bar is already recognised worldwide. The company will be able to use this expertise in future for processing other natural substances such as hemp, millet, sabal berries or cocoa,” he said.

Currently, each facility employs 100 people during the high season, and development of new facilities would also mean creating new jobs and securing existing ones.

NATECO₂ is the world's largest producer of hop extracts and natural substances using CO₂ as an extraction solvent. Partners are Joh. Barth & Sohn (60% stake) and the HVG Hop Growers Cooperative (40% stake).

Hopfenveredlung St. Johann GmbH & Co. KG has its own research brewery and state-of-the-art cold-storage facilities. It is home to the world’s largest hop pelletization plant. Partners are Joh. Barth & Sohn (60% stake) and the HVG Hop Growers Cooperative (40% stake).