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It
was a British born entrepreneur, Robert N. Wells, who first
conceived the idea of building a Brewery in Seychelles. Mr.
Wells wrote to the then British Colonial Secretary on 28th
February 1967 about starting a Brewery in Seychelles and a
licence was granted on 27th May 1968.
On 28th October 1968, Seychelles Breweries Limited (SBL) was
registered, but it was not until Mr. Wells met Joachim Haase
of the German family brewery Brauhaase, on 12th June 1970,
that the dream finally became a reality. |
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Joachim Haase |
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An agreement with
Haase Breweries was made in January 1971 and Mr. Haase held
the position of Chairman from 1971 to his retirement at the
age of 68, in 1993. |
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The second chapter
of SBL story began when Guinness Plc took majority share of
SBL in a friendly take-over in October 1993 - the culmination
of an alliance which began in 1971 when Guinness made its
first investment in SBL shares. SBL's new Chairman, David
Hampshire, is the Guinness representative on the SBL Board
of Directors since 1988. From his appointment as Chairman
in 1993, Mr. Hampshire helped the two companies improve their
partnership, bringing management and technical resources,
as well as the brewing expertise honed by Guinness since 1759
to SBL. |
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Today SBL sells an
average of 5,200 hectolitres of beer, and 5,700
hectolitres of soft drinks every month (Oct 04 - Sep 05). SBL has become a
national institution, which employs over 140 local staff.
Our employees study for international brewing examinations
and are encouraged to attend selective overseas courses. We
have two distributors on Mahe, one on La Digue
and direct distribution on Praslin Island. |
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| Brewing |
Only premium natural
ingredients, imported from Europe, Australia and South Africa
are used in our beers. We use malt, sugar, hops, yeast, water
and world-class manufacturing level of know-how and care to
produce each bottle of beer. |
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At our Brew House,
computer science is combined with the brewer's natural instinct
and talent. We use advanced filtering methods, cooling processes,
impressive cylindro-conical tanks - also known as dual purpose
vessels - for maturing and fermentation, high tech PET bottling,
labelling and packaging lines. |
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In addition, we are
so confident about our best practice operating procedures
that our production lines and laboratory checking facilities
can be clearly seen by the passing public through the glass
windows in our new building design. |
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| Quality |
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We are committed
to ensuring that each bottle we produce tastes just as good
whether it is drunk on a remote beach, a bar in Victoria,
or straight from our bottling line.
To maintain the high quality of all our products, we have
highly trained Quality Control personnel who constantly monitor
the products throughout the entire production process from
raw materials to storage. |
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| Brands |
Since the first bottle
was opened in 1972, SeyBrew Lager has been the favourite beer
of Seychelles. That same year saw the introduction of Guinness
Foreign Extra Stout, the world 's first global beer brand,
bringing the biggest name in the global stout market into
the SBL family. Guinness is brewed in 50 and sold in 150 countries
in all five continents around the world. In addition, the
Guinness-Diageo Company owns or manages brewing stations and
other concerns in over 75 countries around the globe and is
the sixth largest brewer in the world by operating profit. |
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Seychelles Breweries
Ltd had expanded with the launch of EKU Bavaria, under licence
from the German brewery in Kulmbach, Bavaria in 1984 and SeyPearl
soft drinks, Cocktail de Fruits in June 1990 and Appletise
in August 1991. Appletise was taken off the market in 1999
because of high foreign exchange implication. |
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In 1993 we joined
forces with Coca-Cola, to bring the world's leading soft drinks
to Seychelles, along with Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta.
In 1997 we had something else to celebrate - our 25th years
of existence. To celebrate in memorable way, we introduced
Celebration Brew, a red beer brewed in the best tradition
of British ales. Celebration Brew was discontinued in 2004. We marked the new
century with De Mil lager, a specially brewed lager that was
sold for the limited period of December 1999 to April 2000
only. |
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In June 2005, we launched Smirnoff Ice. Smirnoff Ice is a blend of pure Smirnoff red vodka with the classic taste of lemon. It is one of the world's most popular drinks and it is sold in more than 65 countries across 4 continents. |
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| Awards |
We were
awarded a Gold Medal in Brussels in 1974: just two years after
the first bottles of Seybrew lager reached the shelves of
the Seychelles' shops and bars. We topped 500 competing beers
to scoop that first international award early acclaim which
was consolidated by winning a Silver medal in Geneva 1978
and a Gold medal in Amsterdam 1981. In addition we were awarded,
the bronze award in Coca-Cola Quality League for Africa and
Indian Ocean in 1998 and a gold medal in 1978 for the soft
drink 'Limon'. |
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Although we have proved
the superiority for our products, we know that the real test
comes when each of our bottles are opened and sampled for
the first time - and for that reason, we remain focused on
the quality of every beer and soft drink that we produce. |
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| Be Responsible. If you drink, don't drive. |
Whether
sponsoring the chemists of the future, promoting recycling
and environmental projects or advocating responsible drinking,
SBL is at the heart of the community. |
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We are committed to
producing quality alcoholic drinks and have a keen interest
in the impact of alcohol on society. One of our policies is
to promote moderate drinking through educational campaigns. |
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Additionally, we use
bottles rather than cans in an effort to keep our beaches
litter-free. |
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Did you know?
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SBL produces over 3.5
million bottles of beverage every month. |
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Whilst most beer is drunk soon after
bottling, Guinness stout matures in the bottle, and the brewery
keeps it for a minimum of 2 weeks before distribution and sale. |
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SBL contributed SR180 million to
the government in the financial year 2004/05 through combined
taxes, making SBL the biggest private sector contributor to
the Seychelles economy. |
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The name "EKU" comes from
the latin word for "crown" - the crown seen on each
EKU Bavaria label, and a fitting symbol for beer at its best.
"EKU" is German for "Erste Kulmbacher Actienbrauerei"
which is also on every EKU Bavaria label and is the name of
the German brewery, which authorises the worldwide production
of EKU Bavaria under licence. |
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Each of our nine cylindro conical
tanks - or Dual Purpose Vessels (DPVs) - which can be clearly
seen from outside the brewery, can hold 550 Hectolitres of beers. |
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·
Time Line |
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Mr
Robert N Wells registers the company name 'Seychelles Breweries
Limited'; plans for the brewery announced in local press, and a
model of proposed building is put on public display. |
| 1968 |
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Share issue launched. |
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| 1971 |
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Haase-Brauerei
of Germany enters agreements in January and sub-contract construction
company Costains to start work at the Le Rocher site. Guinness PLC
invests in SBL shares. |
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| 1972 |
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The
first bottle of Seybrew rolls off the production line, price SR1
per bottle. Free samples handed out at selected venues. |
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Guinness Foreign
Extra - the world's first global beer brand - launched in Seychelles
at a price of SR1.50 per bottle by SBL following Guinness' purchase
of 26% of SBL shares. |
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SeyPearl soft
drink launched (Soda, Tonic, Ginger Ale and Bitter Lemon). |
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| 1974 |
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SeyBrew
Lager awarded Gold medal in world beer competition in Brussels.
SBL strikes gold for the first time -
SR13,600 profit recorded. |
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| 1976 |
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SBL
officially inaugurated by Sir Bruce Greatbatch the then Governor
of Seychelles.
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Seychelles gains
independence from Britain. |
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De
Luxe Premium Lager launched.
SBL upgraded cooling facility from 324,000 kcl to 925,000 kcl. |
| 1981 |
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| 1984 |
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EKU Bavaria launched. |
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Inauguration
of O'Brien House, SBL's new headquarters. |
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| 1988 |
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SBL
announces a deposit of one Seychelles rupee on beers and soft drinks,
and twenty Seychelles rupees on plastic crates, in an environment
move backed by the government. |
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SBL
invests 12.5 million SR in a bottling line, which can bottle 15,
000 bottles an hour. The bottle washer alone weighs 14.5 tonnes
and took three hours to transport from New Port to Le Rocher. |
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| 1991 |
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March
- SBL introduced expiry dates as well as a list of contents on all
beer and soft drinks and revamped the design of all labels at a
cost of SR 200,000. |
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Inauguration
of the "Conveyor Bridge" transporting full crates over
the main road from the Production Lines to the Full Goods Store
(FGS) and also the Palletiser, automatically stacking full crates
onto wooden pallets. |
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Inauguration
of the Full Goods Store and extended in 1995 giving it a capacity
of 120,000 crates. |
| 1992 |
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Inauguration of the Water Treatment
Plant. |
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New extension of the Brewhouse -
new Kettle, Whirlpool etc. |
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| 1993 |
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Guinness
PLC took over SBL in a friendly buy out. Founder Mr Haase announced
his retirement. |
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August
- SBL joined with Coca-Cola to bring the world's popular soft drink
to Seychelles. The launch of Coca-Cola was announced just ahead
of the Indian Ocean Islands Games, hosted by Seychelles. Diet Coke,
Sprite and Fanta followed. |
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A
brewery Depot constructed on Praslin to facilitate larger scale
distribution of brands. The Depot can accommodate approximately
25,000 crates. |
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| 1994 |
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SBL invested
SR11 million in upgrading the Brewhouse, acquiring of six new Dual
Purpose Vessels (DPV's) and installation of the Cleaning In-place
Plant (CIP).
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Computerisation of the Brewhouse. |
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| 1996 |
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SR10.3
million invested in the SBL plant and facilities including a new
electronic empty bottle inspector, an electronic fill inspector
and a video jet date coder. |
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| 1997 |
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Celebration
Brew launched in Seychelles to commemorate the 25th anniversary
of SBL. The Red beer is brewed on the best tradition of British
ales and is unofficially christened 'Oyaba' by Seychellois after
the South African Group who promoted it.
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Reintroduction of Draught Seybrew. |
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| 1998 |
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Record
1 million Coca-Cola bottles sold, boosted by the 1998 World Cup
promotion for Coca-Cola.
SBL invested SR6.9 million in innovation
of the Central Processing Area and acquiring of three additional
DPV's. |
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Launch of "Seychelles
First" P.E.T. Packaging Line and new Syrup Room at a cost of
SR35 million. |
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| 1999 |
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Launch of De Mil. The
specially brewed lager on sale for the limited period of time from
December 1999 to April 2000. |
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Opening
of the new Quality House, an extension to the factory, with a new
modern laboratory on the ground floor and offices on the top floor
at a cost of RS2.5 million. |
| 2000 |
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| 2001 |
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Eku achieves 20% of SBL beer market share for the first time. To celebrate the success, three SBL representatives and one retailer were awarded a trip to Munich for the October beer festival and visit to Kulmbach brewery. |
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| 2004 |
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Launch of Gold Lager in November, the first seasonal beer from SBL; sold out by March 2005. |
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| 2005 |
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Smirnoff Ice launched on 24th June and followed by consumer launch parties on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue in July.
2nd seasonal beer launched in September and appropriately named Lakadans coinciding with the popular Creole Festival in October. |
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