DME ships the largest brewery in its history - Weekly Specialty Beer Report - Diversified Metal Engineering Ltd.; Abita Brewing Company L.L.C - Brief Article

Modern Brewery Age, Nov 19, 2001

Diversified Metal Engineering Ltd. of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in co-operation with Steinecker Inc. of Germany, has signed a contract for the delivery of a 100-barrel brewery, including the Merlin wort boiling system, with Abita Brewing Company L.L.C. in Abita Springs, Louisiana. The system is now on the shop floor at DME, ready for inspection by representatives from Steinecker and Abita.

According to Jorg Finkeldey, Regional manager of the US-based Steinecker Incorporated (a subsidiary of Steinecker-Germany), this is a unique project insofar as Steinecker has for the first time teamed up with a brewery equipment supplier, operating in the local market.

"We are thrilled to be able to yet again deliver state of the art Steinecker brewing technologies to the craft brewing industry in America," Finkeldey said. "This collaboration with DME offers the craft brewing industry in North America world leading technology at an excellent value."

Finkeldey commended David Blossman, President of the Abita Brewing Company, for being the first American brewer to purchase Merlin. Mr. Finkeldey says that Mr. Blossman has now joined ranks with many European brewers in investing in technologies to conserve water, raw materials, cleaning agents and energy. It was evident during his visit to Germany that Mr. Blossman insisted of stability and repeatability of high quality beers which led him into ordering the BC-Automation "Botec" (Batch control) automation system, using PC driven controls. To complete the Steinecker technology package a visit to the renowned Hofmuhl Brewery convinced Blossman to also invest in Steinecker's unique lautering system.

The challenge was on for DME to integrate these state of the art technologies into their brewery design. Peter Toombs (President) and Denton Moffat (Project Engineer) did a remarkable job of tailoring a complete l00-bbl system accommodating the tough requirements that Steinecker is known for and insist on to effectively service the industry.

Abita Brewing Company said it expects to capitalize on the proven success of Merlin abroad, where the boiling system has last year received two additional awards, the "Federal Prize 2000" from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology for outstanding innovative achievements for the trade. Finally the "Bavarian Energy Prize 2000" was presented by the Bavarian Ministry of Economics for developing the Merlin[R] procedure as an outstanding technological energy innovation.

DME said it was extremely enthusiastic on the potential of a continued partnership with Steinecker, which will allow DME to continue to be one of the top brewery equipment suppliers in North America.

DME Brewing Services was incorporated by founding President, Peter Toombs, P. Eng., in 1991 and is now owned by four private partners including Mr. Toombs. DME's roots are in custom designed and fabricated equipment for a wide range of industries including food, beverage, industrial, and pharmaceutical processing. In the brewing sector, DME has installed approximately 200 systems around the world. The majority of brewing systems fabricated by DME are exported outside of Canada.

Steinecker of Germany was founded in 1875 as an engineering works by Anton Steinecker of Freising, Germany. Today, it is a member of the Krones Group and has a workforce of more than 440 employees.

Abita Brewing Company was founded in 1986 and is 20 miles north of New Orleans. In its first year, the brewery produced 1,500 barrels of beer. By 1994, the original site was outgrown (now their 100 seat brewpub) and Abita moved up the road to a larger facility to keep up with growing demand for the product. By 1996, output had reached 33,500 barrels of beer. The new 100-barrel system from DME / Steinecker will have an annual capacity of 100,000 Barrels.