• 40 Years Long Service - John Ibbetson

• Certificate Presentations at Muntons

• Andrew Fuller Joins the New Product Development Team

• Health Certificate Presentation

• Muntons plc appoints new Managing Director

• Fire

BrewZer gets new image
Following the continued success of the Miracle BrewZer in 2004 the Marketing Team of Andy Janes and James Smith decided that the brand needed a revamp to bring the product into the 21st century.

The BrewZer, along with its bigger brother the Microbrewery, now aims to explain the lifestyle benefits of brewing at home, whether it be for a Barbeque, Christmas Party or simply drinking at home brewing your own beer can be fun, easy and value for money.

With the new packaging and working in conjunction with our UK wholesalers we aim to target the high street multiply retailers to increase the exposure of the hobby to the general public. With the Christmas sales period now over and having obtained listings in British Home Stores we will begin the difficult task of obtaining listings for Easter and Christmas 2005 in the early new year.

Together with the new packaging the website www.miracle-beer.com has also taken on a new look to emphasise the benefits and enjoyment from brewing your own beer at home. The site explains the Miracle Beer process and the beer styles available, including the new stout variant.

If you fancy taking the Miracle Beer challenge and seeing if you can beat the 1 minute record to start the brewing process then log on to the website and get your BrewZer ordered today, and in 14 days you to could be enjoying your own home made beer.

“Feast to Famine? The story of a harvest” This is an article written by Alan Ridealgh of Muntons and published in The Brewer magazine this month. Click here to view/download full article - 304k. (Right click and choose 'Save target as' option)

Own your own microbrewery!
A radical new product launched this month (July 2004) is set to introduce a new generation of discerning beer drinkers to the delights of hand crafted ale produced in their very own personal micro brewery.

The new Micro Brewery System takes its inspiration from North America where both micro brewing and home beer making sit comfortably side by side, brewing unique beers of exceptional quality. The new Micro Brewery System costs just £39.95 and makes 40 pints of premium draught pub style beer in just 14 days.

The new three-in-one system makes everything so easy. It is a single fermentation, storage and dispense system designed to keep the whole brewing experience so simple that even a novice can brew beer of exceptional quality – a quality that would make any master brewer proud. Everything that is needed to brew the first 40 pints batch of premium quality pub-style beer is included with the new system – just follow the clear step-by-step instructions and within just 20 minutes the brewing has been started. Then, there is nothing more to do other than build up a good thirst over the next two weeks while the brewery does the rest!

Sarah Nunn, pictured, is typical of the new generation who enjoy their own brewed ale: young, career minded and happy to enjoy a pint or two with her friends. She even works as a marketing executive with one of the many companies that make up the Home Beer & Wine Manufacturers Association, the organisation behind the new system. Sarah Nunn said that the new micro brewing system gives consumers the opportunity to make their first batch of great beer for less than £1 per pint.

‘It’s great for impromptu parties and special occasions’ Nunn continued ‘and there’s even better news: the equipment can be used time and time again, so to make your second batch of 40 pints, all you need to do is buy a replacement ingredients kit which will cost about £15. This means that the price per pint drops to less than 40p!
‘
The compact barrel sits snugly on any worktop. I make mine in the kitchen, but you can make it in the garage, garden shed or even in the spare room. It’s a wonderful way to keep your spouse at home!’ she concluded.

Andy Janes, chairman of the HBWMA said "The micro brewing system is really taking off, with accolades from all over the country - from leafy Sussex in the South of England to the Orkneys in the Scottish Isles. We are delighted with the response, which has exceeded even our great expectations!"

With barbecues in mind, summer holidays, Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Christmas and gifts in particular, the HBWMA predict sales of its Micro Brewing 40 Pint micro-brewing system look set to take off in a big way.

With more than ten companies producing refill packs suitable for the new micro-brewery the choice is enormous. Indeed, there are well over 50 different beer styles to choose from. One of the most popular beers is the Woodfordes Wherry Bitter, based on the award-winning bitter from Woodfordes Norfolk Brewery or you may prefer a cool Irish style stout, or a Victorian bitter. Even a crisp clean American style lager can be made in this new system.

For more details of your supplier visit: www.one2brew.com or email the HBWMA through their website: www.homebrewmanufacturers.co.uk

HRH The Princess Royal being welcomed to the
Muntons Malt stand by Alan Ridealgh and Alison Bullock.

HRH The Princess Royal Visits Muntons

Muntons were honoured to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to their stand at this years Suffolk Show. Muntons Malt is the prime sponsor, and along with The Suffolk Agricultural Association, co organiser of the Suffolk Show School Competition. The competition, which forms part of the national curriculum, is open to all primary schools in the county. This year’s theme was "healthy eating" and the children were asked to produce a piece of artwork reflecting a healthy diet. The work was displayed as part of the Muntons exhibit at the show.

Managing Director of Muntons Malt, Alan Ridealgh said "There are sound business reasons for our presence at the show; for example we are sourcing increasing tonnages direct from local farms and the show gives our buyers the opportunity to see many growers over the two days.
Our sponsorship of the Schools Competition enables us to support education in our local area. Over 50 schools took part with over 250 pieces of work submitted. It is an opportunity to us to work with the local community to promote and inform on many aspects of agriculture. Invariably one of the classes in the competition touches on barley, malt or related matters. The work the children have done is brilliant, makes a great exhibition and was clearly enjoyed by The Princes Royal."

The show also provides the opportunity for awards to be presented to the winners of the Muntons Malting Barley Competition. This year’s winners and recipients of a Certificate and bottle of Muntons Malt Whisky were:

Best sample of Pearl - W L King & Son
Best sample of Gleam - A Davidson & Son
Best sample of Maris Otter - A W Mortier Farms
Best sample of Barke - Seymour Brothers

Muntons were also the proud recipient of two awards from the show organisers for the quality of their stand – one for Best Use of Floral Decorations, and the other for Best Stand in Category.

Muntons plc have issued their Harvest 2004 Conditions of Purchase of Grain for Malting & processing.
Click here to download pdf version of the terms (356k)
(right click and choose 'Save target as' option)

Crop update May 2004 - UK Crop Report now available.
Click here to download pdf version of the report (684k)
(right click and choose 'Save target as' option)

We are proud and delighted to announce that Muntons Malted Ingredients have been selected to receive the Queens’ Award for Enterprise for 2004.

This accolade is for ‘outstanding achievement in International Trade’ and comes after three years in which export sales increased more than threefold.

In 2003, nearly 60% of our sales came from outside the UK – from more than 50 countries worldwide. This geographic spread is made possible by many factors, including

• Our 44 agents and distributors who market our products
• A loyal customer base of food and beverage companies from the largest multi-nationals to the smallest specialists
• The skill and enthusiasm of the team of 114 staff at Stowmarket who make things happen
• The widest range of malted food ingredients of any supplier in the world
• Our suppliers of our raw materials and packaging materials, particularly our colleagues in Muntons Malt who supply top quality white malts to us

In receiving this award, we are privileged to be in a group of about 60 UK organisations to be so recognised in 2004. The award is the highest mark of commercial success, and provides a spur for continued growth and development in our markets in future years.

To mark the announcement of this year’s awards, a celebration was held in London for all Award winners on April 22nd – the day after the Queen’s personal birthday – for which we received a single invitation. By contrast, there will be a bigger, more inclusive celebration at Stowmarket later in the year, when the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, representing the Queen, will visit Cedars Maltings in order to confer the award and to meet the staff that worked so hard to make it possible.

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In April 2004 Muntons completed the installation of new state of the art germination box turners at Cedars Maltings, Stowmarket.

Manufactured by Ohlman Hauner, the turners form part of a £500,000 (US$850,000) per year investment programme at the Stowmarket Maltings, that began 2 years ago and will continue until 2009. The turners are manufactured from stainless steel, are lubricated with food grade oils and have the latest sophisticated process controls to ensure consistently high malt quality. Cedars Maltings, General Manager, Dr. Nigel Davies said "The new turners are part of our drive to continuously review and improve the standards of hygiene across all our plants. This latest improvement complements our accreditation to the British Retail Consortium – Global Standard Food, achieved in January 2004."



The picture shows one of the new turners in operation at Cedars Maltings.
For further information please contact
Dr. Nigel Davies
General Manager, Cedars Maltings
Muntons Malt
Cedars Maltings
Stowmarket
Suffolk IP14 2AG UK
Tel + 44 (0)1449 618370
Email nigel.davies@muntons.com

On 29th March 2004 Muntons (Kirkcaldy) were accepted into the UKASTA Feed Assurance Scheme – Merchants (UFAS).

This certification follows an extensive audit of the merchanting activities carried out at Dunnikier Maltings, Kirkcaldy and concerns the sales of feedstuffs sourced from manufacturers, which are then sold on to farms.

The UFAS standard is the merchanting equivalent of the Feed Manufacturers Assurance Scheme (FEMAS). By July 2005 all malting plants will have to conform to FEMAS if they wish to continue to sell co-product into the food chain. The assistance of Phil Ashton (Quality Assurance & Food Safety Manager) and Fiona Black (Grain Administrator) was invaluable in enabling the Company to comply with what is a demanding standard.

For further details contact:
Phil Ashton
Quality Assurance and Food Safety Manager
Muntons Malt
Cedars Maltings
Stowmarket
Suffolk IP14 2AG UK
Tel + 44 (0) 1449 618364
Email phil.ashton@muntons.com

Muntons Malt, the Malting Division of the Stowmarket (UK) based company Muntons plc is the first sales maltster to be certified to the BRC Global Standard - Food.

The Stowmarket maltings was certificated in January 2004 following lengthy audits in December 2003 by the independent UKAS accredited certification body Knight International Inspectorate. It was the Divisions first attempt and it is now certified at Foundation Level.

The Standard sets out a number of conditions, which must be met by a food company in order to provide an assurance that its products are of the required quality, are safe, and meet all relevant legislation.

The Standard has six main sections:

• HACCP
• Quality Management System
• Factory Environment Standards
• Product Control
• Process Control
• Personnel

It was originally written for manufacturers who provide "retailer branded food products", but has proven so successful that it is used by companies completely outside the retail business to demonstrate their ability to supply "safe" products.

In order to retain their certification, companies are audited on a regular basis (normally annually).

The award follows hard on the heels of another division of the Company, Muntons Malted Ingredients, who achieved the same standard in May 2002.

Muntons Malt manufactures and sells over 200,000 tonnes of malt to Brewers, Distillers and Food Companies. It has three malting sites in the UK at Stowmarket, Suffolk, Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kirkcaldy, Fife. The Company exports 40% of its output to over 30 countries

For further details contact Phil Ashton Quality Assurance and Food Safety Manager Muntons Malt Cedars Maltings Stowmarket Suffolk IP14 2AG UK Tel + 44 (0) 1449 618364 Email phil.ashton@muntons.com The accompanying picture shows from left: Phil Ashton (Quality Assurance and Food Safety Manager) and Nigel Davies (General Manager Stowmarket Maltings) proudly showing the certificate awarded by Knight International Inspectorate.

APPOINTMENT OF MUNTONS (HOLDINGS ) PLC CHAIRMAN

Following the retirement of John Wells at the Annual General Meeting on 23 January 2004, Muntons are pleased to announce the appointment of David Newton as their new Chairman.

David joined the Board in June 2003 after many years experience in the food industry culminating in the position of Chief Executive of Hillsdown Holdings plc. Since his retirement as a full-time executive, David has held a number of non-executive directorships, and is currently Chairman of Carrs Milling Industries plc and Meadow Foods Ltd, and a non-executive director of Bernard Matthews (Holdings) Ltd. David's wealth of experience in the food industry will be invaluable to the future development of Muntons.

Muntons, manufacturers of malt and malted ingredients, supply the brewing, distilling and food industries worldwide. The Stowmarket headquarters is home to a 70,000 tonnes per annum maltings, a 28,000 tonnes per annum malt extract plant with a total of 6,000 tonnes per annum spraydrying and band drying facility, a 3,000 tonnes per annum homebrew production line plus a malt flour mill. Recently Muntons added malted wheat flakes to its range.

The company has malting plants in Stowmarket Suffolk, Bridlington Yorkshire and at Kirkcaldy Fife and annually sells over 200,000 tonnes of malt per annum. Muntons are one of the largest independent maltsters in the UK and are one of the largest malted ingredients manufacturers in the world.

RETIREMENT OF MUNTONS (HOLDINGS ) PLC CHAIRMAN - JOHN WELLS

After more than 34 years as a Director, 13 of these as the Company Chairman, John Wells retired from Muntons (Holdings) plc at the Annual General Meeting held on 23 January 2004 at The Suffolk Trinity Rooms, Ipswich. John has overseen the development of the Company to its current status as one of the largest malted ingredients companies and the 19th largest malting company in the world. The board and shareholders fully supported the vote of thanks for John's valued service to the Company over the last 34 years.

Muntons, manufacturers of malt and malted ingredients, supply the brewing, distilling and food industries worldwide. The Stowmarket headquarters is home to a 70,000 tonnes per annum maltings, a 28,000 tonnes per annum malt extract plant with a total of 6,000 tonnes per annum spraydrying and band drying facility, a 3,000 tonnes per annum homebrew production line plus a malt flour mill. Recently Muntons added malted wheat flakes to its range.

The company has malting plants in Stowmarket Suffolk, Bridlington Yorkshire and at Kirkcaldy Fife and annually sells over 200,000 tonnes of malt per annum. Muntons are one of the largest independent maltsters in the UK and are one of the largest malted ingredients manufacturers in the world.