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Business Correspondent
GWERU City Council’s-owned beer concern, Go Beer Breweries is seeking strategic partners to revive operations after folding last year due to technical and financial constraints. In an interview the brewery’s acting general manager, Alfred Fundira said they were inviting proposals from registered companies or individuals to partner Go Beer.
Fundira said the partners were expected to do repairs to the plant and equipment and also provide working capital. “The partner is supposed to repair two boilers for NSSA inspection and commissioning, general maintenance, buy a new bottle mould as well as work on effluent tanks and changing rooms,” he said.
Fundira said the company was expected to join the brewery on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) and profit sharing. He said the company had the capacity to produce 1.2 million litres of beer per month. The company’s fleet used for delivery only requires servicing.
“Pressure to open is also coming from the community that is demanding their locally brewed beer, which is Go Beer. They’ve since written a petition requesting the beer back,” said Fundira.
He said GO Beer has a farm that produces maize and sorghum, the major inputs in brewing beer. “Outside inputs are yeast which is locally available and lactic acid which is found outside Gweru,” said Fundira He said they had made inroads to procure a strategic brewery plant from South Africa at a cost of $150,000 to replace the old equipment.
Go Beer Breweries employs 188 people on full time and more than 20 on contract. The company comprises a brewery and 13 beer halls in Gweru.
Online Reporter