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11/26/2012

Completely satisfied

Hirsch Brauerei Honer all set for more sales success with new KHS turnkey line “You can rely on KHS – both for technology and service,” says Rainer Honer, managing director of Hirsch Brauerei Honer. And Honer knows what he's talking about, as he’s been working with KHS since he took over the brewery from his father in 1960. The most recent investment has made one machine out of two, with the tasks of the classic glass bottle and clip-lock bottle lines being integrated into just one KHS turnkey line. “The setup works perfectly – as we expected it would,” smiles Honer. “Our new KHS equipment is very flexible – and at the same time extremely sustainable.” Plant manager Thorsten Jauch adds, “Besides improving the filling quality, it also gives us even better line efficiency.” Honer and Jauch are especially proud of their new Innofill Glass DRS-ZMS filler. Jauch states, "I believe this to be the most up-to-date filler technology on the market at the moment.” Incidentally, where the DRS-ZMS filling system is used, KHS ensures outstanding oxygen values of 0.02 mg/l of beer – a value that in practice is often much lower. According to the acceptance results issued by the Technical University in Munich and Weihenstephan, thanks to the new filling system oxygen pickup in beer at Hirsch Brauerei Honer is a mere 0.008 mg/l. With its recent investment the brewery from the region for the region is all set for further sales success. In the next few years Honer is reckoning on a moderate increase. “In the last few years a small plus in sales meant that we were already much better placed than the rest of the brewing industry in Baden-Württemberg.” As a regional brewery the company enjoys a very good reputation. Under the motto “The gold of our homeland” only local, first-class raw ingredients are used. The brewery also sponsors many local cultural and sporting events, and has promoted the development of tourism by investing in the Mahlstetten adventure park. The most recent activity was to open the brewery’s own woodland climbing course. “We really enjoy getting new things going in the region that secures our existence as a family brewery,” Honer explains. Today, Hirsch Brauerei Honer sells 80,000 hectoliters of beer and 30,000 hectoliters of soft drinks per year. In the beer segment Weizen or wheat beer is most popular, amounting to 35% of total sales. This is followed by pilsner, Gold, and many seasonal specialty beers. Impartial organizations have confirmed the high quality of Hirsch beer on several occasions; for example, in 2010 the German Agricultural Society or DLG made Hirsch Brauerei Honer Brewery of the Year. Just recently, the same association awarded Hirsch eight gold medals and one silver medal for its nine submitted beers. The company has also picked up several prizes at European Beer Star,  with the Sport Weisse brand winning gold no less than five times.