On 1 october 2011 Jens Neidhardt (44) took over as international Sales Director for the activities of GEA Brewery Systems GmbH, Kitzingen, Germany in the brewing and beverage industry. Neidhardt has many years of international sales experience in different industries, especially the food and beverage industry. Before joining GEA Brewery Systems, he served as Managing Director of Hamba Filltec GmbH in Saarbrücken, a member of the OYSTAR Group, and before that, he held the same position at SIG Combibloc Ltd in Great Britain.

Effective from 1 October, Andreas Baumgarth (47) assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the European Operations of WILD Flavors GmbH. He will be responsible for all aspects of the European business. Andreas Baumgarth will be a member of the Management Board and report directly to Michael Ponder, Global Chief Executive Officer.

Eppan on the South Tyrolean Wine Road: A city blessed with a good climate; row after row of grapevines grace the hills, and the waters of Lake Caldaro sparkle in the distance. An authentic wine region! What possesses someone who is not from a brewing family and has no ties to the brewing industry whatsoever to establish a brewery here, in a wine region? We asked him. BRAUWELT International spoke with Lutz Philipp, owner of BergnerBräu GmbH in Eppan, Italy, and his business partners Beate Romen and Manuel Perktold.

Milan does not only mean fashion – it also turns into a platform for producers, fillers and marketers from the beverage industry every two years, from wine, mineral waters, beer and carbonated beverages to juice and brandy or vinegars and oils. The average worldwide consumption of beverages amounts to over 4 billion hl, with tendency to rise. In beverage production, machines and producing lines also have to be cutting edge. Simei caters to these expectations. From 22 to 26 November 2011, visitors can see for themselves on the 90 000 m2 of the newly-built exhibition centre of fieramilano in Rho-Pero. On the occasion of the 24th edition of Simei BRAUWELT International talked with Lucio Mastroberardino, president of Unione Italiana Vini (holder of the Simei trademark since 2010).

Petainer has appointed Mark Ellis as group financial director. A qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Ellis has joined Petainer after 20 years with the RPC Group, including three years as general manager of two manufacturing sites. In his new role with Petainer he will be involved in and support effective commercial and strategic decision-making, corporate finance and funding strategies and will assist in identifying and evaluating acquisitions.

The Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) has announced that James Van der Watt has won its award for the 2011 “Younger Member of the Year”.

Donald Nelson has been elected as the sixty first president of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is the first to come from New Zealand. Donald is the Technical Best Practices Director for Lion Nathan in Auckland and has over 30 years’ experience in the brewing industry.

In July 2011, Dr Carsten Zufall has been accepted as a reviewer for the scientific online journal BrewingScience (www.brewingscience.de).

Charlie Bamforth, the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences in the Department of Food Science and Technology, has been selected to receive the 2011 Award of Distinction from the American Society of Brewing Chemists and the society’s board of directors.

Paul Corbett, MD of Charles Faram & Co Ltd and Chairman of BFBi for 2010 & 2011 handed over the chain of office to National Vice Chairman, Alistair McInnes, MD of Centriflow Services Ltd at his Chairman’s Dinner, held at Williams F1 Centre, 9th June 2011.

Anuga, the trade fair for the Food and Beverage World, will take place in Cologne from October 8th to 12th, 2011. About 6500 exhibitors are expected, who will present new concepts and products for trade visitors in the catering sector – the overall visitor count ran to 150,000 in 2009. Anuga is subdivided into ten separate fairs, one of which is Anuga Drinks. BRAUWELT International spoke to Peter Grothues, Vice-President Food, Technol­ogy & Environment at Koelnmesse GmbH, about opportunities and business potential of the fair for breweries and beverage producers.

Mr Ulrich Dieter and Mr Thomas Lehmann are the two new Managing Directors of Ziemann Group. Mr Andreas Weinlein’s successor, Mr Ulrich Dieter has been responsible for the areas of Human Resources, Purchasing, IT and Quality Management since June 1, 2011. As of July 1, 2011 Mr Thomas Lehmann will be the new Managing Director for Sales and Marketing.

The Brewers Association (BA) has announced a new board of directors in March 2011.

Simon Spillane, now Communications Senior Advisor for the Brewers of Europe, Brussels/Belgium, succeeds Niall Doheny, Head of Communications, who left the organization in April 2011.