27/08/2025

Rödermark, August 27, 2025. Beer is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages around – in Germany alone, average consumption was equivalent to around 88 liters per person in 2024. A number of work steps are required before the natural components – barley, hops and malt – are transformed into the end product of beer or even whiskey. As an experienced plant engineer, engineering partner and integrated solution provider, Zeppelin Systems has special expertise in the construction of malting facilities and breweries. The company will be at Drinktec in the Munich Trade Fair Center from September 15 to 19, 2025, where it will be presenting its complete solutions from a single source at stand 548 in hall C4. We Create Solutions!

“The majority of the world’s beer output is from large international brewery groups producing in massive volumes. However, in recent years, many small and often region-specific breweries have also entered the market, offering distinctive special beers and flavor variants. Zeppelin Systems is able to support all relevant players in the market with suitable systems and solutions – irrespective of whether production involves multiple millions of liters of beer every day or 100,000 hectolitres per year”, explains Marc Segers, Global Business Manager for Malting & Brewing Plants at Zeppelin Systems GmbH.

Zeppelin Systems specializes in the design, construction and technological development of industrial systems for storing, conveying, mixing, dosing and weighing high-quality bulk materials and raw materials, and provides customized turnkey systems to various sectors including the food industry. Zeppelin Systems is also leading the way in malt processing and the construction of malting facilities: For example, the company’s most recent reference projects include the construction of the world’s largest (one-piece) malting facility in Brazil. Zeppelin Systems planned and constructed the plant and also supplied all the processing equipment for this extraordinary project, facilitating the annual production of 240,000 metric tons of malt. In a single day the plant produces approximately 880 metric tons, which corresponds to 18 million cans of beer. Zeppelin Systems experts will be on hand at Drinktec to explain the benefits of individual technologies and components. For example, tower malting facilities offer the advantage of being very space-saving compared to traditional, “flat” arrangements – this is of particular interest for sites where land is expensive and scarce, such as in port locations. While construction costs for concrete are cheap compared to steel, the concrete tower is a logical choice. This setup also requires a lower number of conveyor systems. The flat arrangement with steel containers is a popular conventional solution which can be implemented with a shorter construction time. This design delivers excellent thermal insulation and is easy to clean. Zeppelin Systems also offers steel containers for germination; these are available in 15 different sizes and so can be aligned to batch sizes between 100 and 450 metric tons. The same applies to kiln containers required for drying. Ten different sizes are available to suit various production volumes.

Another tried-and-tested technology that Zeppelin Systems offers is rectangular Saladin boxes, a 150-year-old French invention devised and patented by Jules Saladin. The roots of brewer’s barley become entangled without regular turning, creating large mats that are unusable for further processing. To avoid this, the barley is stored in long troughs, in which motorized metal screw conveyors deal with the turning process. Many systems still use the same principle today. The Zeppelin Systems portfolio for Saladin boxes includes turning machines, unloading machines, wet and dry conveyor systems and associated ancillary equipment such as fans and heat exchangers.

The Zeppelin Systems Automalt solution is suitable for smaller batches or craft brewers making special malts. This malting solution is suitable for annual malt production levels between 1,500 and 15,000 metric tons – which can be subsequently processed to make 100,000 to 1,000,000 hectolitres of beer or one to almost ten million liters of whiskey. The principle consists of separate germinating-kilning boxes, using a single soaking chamber and single kiln heater. Drinks manufacturers can start production with a small investment and gradually increase their capacity with additional germinating-kilning boxes.

"Zeppelin Systems offers sustainable solutions for a huge range of customer needs, from the planning, construction and commissioning of completely new plants on greenfield sites, to extensions or adaptations of existing brewery and malting facilities. Our wide portfolio comprises solutions for the handling and storage of malt and brewing grain. In this way, we optimize throughput and ensure better and consistent quality," says Hubert Stojanovic, Chief Sales Officer (CSO) at Zeppelin Systems GmbH.






Zeppelin Systems at Drinktec: Hall C4, stand 548

Experts from Zeppelin Systems will be available at Drinktec, stand 548 in hall C4 at Munich Trade Fair Center from September 15 to 19, 2025, for all your questions about malt handling in breweries and malting facilities. We Create Solutions!

You can find more information on Zeppelin’s expertise in the field of malting facilities and breweries on the Zeppelin Systems website.


Image captions:
Image 1: With the expertise of Zeppelin Systems, one of the world's largest malt production plants was built in Brazil with a production capacity of up to 240,000 metric tons of malt per year.
Image 2: View into the lower level of a steeping house with twelve steeping tanks in stainless steel.
Image 3: The controlled germination of the barley begins in the germination boxes – a crucial step in producing high-quality malt.

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