Family-owned companies think in terms of generations and not in terms of quarterly reports, which means they have a different corporate culture. Sustainability is not a modern buzzword, for example, and the focus isn’t only on climate and environmental protection.

The company is currently under the management of the seventh generation of the family. This means they have an entirely different connection to the company than shareholders in a public limited company.

Consumers are often unaware of how much time and work we as a brewery put into cleanliness and hygiene. At the weekend, for example, we clean the bottling plant in two shifts; the cleaning schedule is part of our production planning. This makes cleaning technology hugely important to us, as it ultimately determines whether or not our product reaches the consumer.

First and foremost, we need reliable, effective and environmentally friendly solutions. The cost-benefit effect plays a role too, of course, as we have to work economically. Let’s take the example of the bottle cleaning machine for returnable bottles. We work with our cleaning technology suppliers to define treatment times, temperatures and other factors to ensure the cleaning processruns as effectively as possible and achieves the desired result. As far as the chemicals used are concerned, we work with manufacturers who develop products that are tailored to our specific requirements – we need, for example, lye with additives with a good cleaning power but minimal foam formation.

As well as these special applications, we also have to think about the day-to-day cleaning of the production environment. We look for solutions that make our employees’ work asconvenient as possible.