Ibero-American VLB Symposium successfully held

Conference | After the forced break in 2020 and followed by a successful online edition in 2021, the Iberoamerican VLB Symposium Brewing & Filling Technology (IBS) took place for the 12th time, this year from 21–23 November 2022 at the Uberlândia Convention Center in Uberlândia, Brazil.

The technical visits took place on Monday. More than 140 participants made their way to the Petrópolis brewery in Uberaba as well as the Ambev brewery in Uberlândia. After the welcoming ceremony, two trees were planted at both breweries, a symbol of the bond between VLB and South America. Both state-of-the-art breweries showed off their impeccable technical facilities in detail, which went down very well with all the visitors.

On Tuesday, Roberto Biurrun (VLB) opened the symposium with a cordial welcome address. The first session, “Raw Materials”, with presentations from Ambev, BMS, Hopsteiner and Grupo Petrópolis, was moderated by Wilson Fornazier (Ambev). Roberto Biurrun (VLB) led through the second session, where Ziemann Holvrieka and Steinecker presented their insights on “Technology & innovations in the brewhouse”. In the third session, Celio Myagui (Heineken) took over as moderator. Fermentis, Heineken, VLB and AB-Inbev presented their knowledge about “Fermentation technology. Process and innovations”.

The first day of presentations ended with a pleasant evening in the foyer of the convention center, supported by Rovi Ingenieria and JT Instrumentacoes.

Wednesday started with the session "Innovations in the brewing process" moderated by Burghard Meyer (VLB), which Pall, Anton Paar, Pentair, Sartorius enriched with their presentations. The last session of the conference, moderated by Alvaro Nogueira (Grupo Petrópolis), focused on "Packaging and logistics processes". KHS, Heuft and VLB presented their informative lectures on this topic. In the last presentation of the symposium, Heineken explained the path of Heineken Brazil to a high-performance organisation.

After thanking the sponsors and the breweries who supported the event, as well as the VLB team behind the scenes, the team that looked after the technology and sound, and the translators, a satisfied Roberto Biurrun invited the participants to the final toast.

The 13th Ibero-American VLB Symposium will be held in Bogotá, Colombia, from 18–20 September 2023.