CHAMWE KAIRA
Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) has unveiled its N$337-million wine packaging line, a significant milestone in the company’s ongoing commitment to innovation and growth. The new facility was officially inaugurated by President Dr Nangolo Mbumba at NBL Head Office in Windhoek.
In a strategic move to expand production capacity and diversify its brand portfolio, NBL has allocated an additional N$44 million to enhance its existing packaging lines. This upgrade will allow the brewery to produce and package popular ciders such as Savanna and Hunters locally for the first time.
Additionally, the brewery’s extended warehouse, covering 4,400 square meters represents an investment of N$56 million.
Peter Simons, Managing Director of NBL disclosed that the wine line project, which commenced in April 2023, was successfully completed ahead of schedule. NBL has employed 16 new permanent operators overseeing the wine packing process and offered permanent positions to 23 temporary staff members in packaging and a further 8 in logistics and distribution.
Simons said NBL now employs a workforce of 953, with the right capabilities and talent to drive the business forward. He added that with the extended warehouse, the company can now package Tassenberg, Castelo and Granada locally, as well as Savana and Hunters and pay an additional N$170 million amount of Excise to the Namibia Revenue Agency.
NBL Board Chairman Vetumbuavi Mungunda said the wine and cider production, which is built on the solid foundation arising from the transaction entered with the Heinken Group about 18-monhs ago.
He added that a subsect of the transaction entered into included the acquisition by Namibia Breweries of the Namibian operations of Distel for N$1 billion.
Mungunda said the transaction was also significant with respect to our country’s Foreign Direct Investment with an amount of close to N$9.2 billion injected into the country’s economy in April 2023.
He further said a key part of the business case embodying the transaction with Heineken was the benefits of local production of the cider and wine products from the Distel portfolio, which included expansion to existing buildings, infrastructure and equipment at an amount of about N$500 million.
NBL was awarded the Highest Contributor of Tax and Excise by the Namibia Revenue Agency in April this year with an amount of N$800 million and a further N$1.6 billion towards total corporate taxes, customs and excise paid out last year. Coupled with this, is NBL’s beer exports which amounted to N$747 million in 2023, Mungunda disclosed.
