Logichem Process International

Call Directions Website

Logichem Process International Logichem is a chemical engineering contracting company located in Wellington, 85km from Cape Town, in the beautiful Cape Winelands district in South Africa.

Logichem was incorporated in 1989. Founded in 1989, Logichem is a leading South African Process Engineering company, involved in the design, construction and optimization of process plants. Logichem has a strong design culture, focused on providing custom solutions to suit client’s particular circumstances. Our engineers are trained and skilled in the application of cutting-edge design techniques, mostly developed in-house based on our many years of experience in commissioning and continuously improving our own designs. We make extensive use of Process Simulation in optimizing our technology. Our customer list includes all the major process companies in South Africa, as well as clients in neighboring territories, West Africa, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, UK and the USA. We actively pursue opportunities to expand our customer base internationally. The extent of repeat businesses we enjoy from existing clients bears testimony of client satisfaction, endorsing our promise to optimize your investment. Logichem’s process simulation capabilities enables us to custom design and optimize specific client requirements, both in terms of performance requirements, as well as making optimum use of existing equipment. Our competitive edge coupled with our own technology, gives us the ability to design from 1st principles enables custom-fit solutions. Scientifically based design techniques + Process Simulation modelling enable rapid evaluation of options to ensure our client’s investment is optimized. Our thermodynamic models for the CO2 /O2 /N2 System are tried and tested across a wide range of operating conditions. Our engineers have hands-on experience of the practical issues involved in the application of this technology (especially in a retro-fit scenario, which is always more difficult than a new plant, and requires custom design capability to match existing constraints and thus optimize the client’s investment). With over 20 Years experience in distillation in the chemical engineering industry, not only having expanded our reach to the International Market, but Logichem is a dominant engineering contractor in Ethanol Technology in Southern Africa, as well as being the only contractor in SA with experience in all three spirit types: grain, grape + cane.

08/10/2026

What do a brewer and a c***rmaker have in common with a w**emaker?

Over the last month we stepped away from w**e and spent time with JC Steyn, General Manager for Brewing and Quality at Signal Hill Products, who walked us through how b**r is made and what separates a real c***r from a sweetened, flavoured drink.
His best line: give two brewers the same grain, hops and yeast and you will get two different b**rs.

Once you understand how much care goes into building that character, you understand why removing the alcohol without losing it is so difficult. Jean explained why b**r is the trickier one: foaming, and hop compounds that boil off at temperatures very close to the alcohol itself.

Winemaker, brewer or c***rmaker, the question is the same. How do you meet demand for lower-alcohol options without handing your customer something that does not taste like the drink they love?
Next week we start a new series on the part of that problem we have been working on hardest. The aroma.

logichem.com
can you de-alcoholise b**r and c***r
why is de-alcoholising b**r difficult
***r

01/10/2026

GoLo is not just a w**e story.

Over the past few weeks we walked through how b**r and c***r are made, and what it takes to remove the alcohol from them properly. This week we close the loop.

GoLo is Logichem's vacuum distillation system, built around a single idea: take the alcohol out without taking the character out with it.
The same low-temperature, single-pass approach that works for w**e is exactly the kind of tool the industry needs for b**r and c***r. Gentle enough to protect the hop aromas and delicate esters in a b**r, and the fruit and fermentation character that makes a c***r recognisable.

Whether you are a w**emaker, a brewer or a c***rmaker, the question is the same. How do you meet growing demand for lower-alcohol and alcohol-free options without handing your customer a product that does not taste like the one they love?
That is what GoLo was built around. If you are curious what that could look like for your own product, get in touch.

We will be at SIMEI in Milan, 17 to 20 November, stand V-08.
logichem.com
can you de-alcoholise b**r and c***r
de-alcoholisation equipment for brewers

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭: 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐋𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭.Any technology supplier can tell you their system wo...
01/10/2026

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭: 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐋𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭.

Any technology supplier can tell you their system works. We'd rather you hear it from someone else.

As demand for alcohol-free w**e grows, producers need to know two things about any dealcoholisation technology:
1) does it reliably reach alcohol-free levels? And
2) what does it do to the w**e?

Researchers from the Department of Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Murcia, Spain, set out to answer both questions for GoLo. Over 12 months, they tested 274 commercially dealcoholised white, rosé and red w**es, covering more than a dozen grape varieties.

Here's what they found, published in the peer-reviewed journal Beverages and selected as an Editor's Choice article: "𝐆𝐨𝐋𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐎𝟐 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬."

Consistent results across real commercial w**es, independently tested.

Our next focus is aroma, and we'll have more to share on that soon.

Link to the article: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/10/2/32

24/09/2026

Why is de-alcoholising b**r harder than de-alcoholising w**e?

The principle is the same across w**e, b**r and c***r. Vacuum distillation lowers the pressure inside the system, dropping alcohol's boiling point right down so it can be removed at a much lower temperature than normal distillation would need. That lower temperature protects the delicate aroma and flavour compounds that make a drink taste like itself.

B**r is the tricky one. Foaming is a real engineering problem, and many of the compounds carrying b**r's hop character and fruity esters boil off at temperatures very close to the alcohol. Getting a clean separation without stripping the character out takes real precision.
C***r follows the same logic. The low-temperature vacuum principle protects the bright apple and fermentation aromas that make a c***r recognisable.

This matters commercially. The non-alcoholic and low-alcohol b**r and c***r category is growing fast. Consumers want the option, but they still want it to taste like the drink they know.
Next week we bring it together and show where GoLo fits.

logichem.com
why is de-alcoholising b**r difficult
how does vacuum distillation remove alcohol from b**r
***r

17/09/2026

What actually makes a c***r a c***r?

The process sounds simple. Apples are washed, milled into a pulp called pomace, then pressed for the juice. Yeast converts the apple sugars into alcohol. The c***r is conditioned, clarified, often carbonated, and bottled.
But the definition matters more than most people realise.

JC Steyn, General Manager for Brewing and Quality at Signal Hill Products, explains that c***r has to come from apples. South African legislation requires 80% of the sugars to come from apple. In some countries that drops as low as 15%.

A sweetened, flavoured drink is not a c***r, however it is marketed. And a Perry is not a c***r either, that comes from pears.
He also draws a sharp line on yeast. In w**emaking, wild yeast can be a virtue. In c***r, JC uses cultured yeast almost exclusively, because a wild ferment risks off flavours and the apple character needs to be what you taste.
Most relevant to us: JC believes c***r suits low alcohol better than b**r does. It is expressive, the natural sweetness rounds out the palate, and in his view some of the best alcohol-free products on the market are c***rs.

Disclaimer: This video features Signal Hill's own b**r and c***r production process. Signal Hill does not use Logichem's dealcoholisation technology.

logichem.com
what makes a c***r a c***r
wild yeast versus cultured yeast in c***r
***r ***rmaking

10/09/2026

How is b**r actually made?

The short version: barley is malted, soaked and germinated and dried, which wakes up the enzymes inside the grain. Those enzymes turn starch into sugar during mashing, creating a sweet liquid called wort. The wort is boiled with hops, cooled, and pitched with yeast. Fermentation does the rest.

Four ingredients. Grain, water, hops, yeast. But that summary hides an enormous number of decisions.
So rather than explain it ourselves, we spoke to JC Steyn, General Manager for Brewing and Quality at Signal Hill Products. JC is a qualified w**emaker who spent ten years making w**e before moving into brewing, which gives him a rare perspective on both.
In this video he covers why fermentation is where the ingredients truly come together, how hop timing changes a b**r completely, and why yeast strain alone can shift a b**r from neutral to banana and clove.

His best line: give the same grain, hops and yeast to two brewers and you will get two different b**rs.
Understanding how much care builds that character is exactly why removing the alcohol without losing it is such a hard problem. More on that as the series continues.

Disclaimer: This video features Signal Hill's own b**r and c***r production process. Signal Hill does not use Logichem's dealcoholisation technology.

logichem.com
how is b**r actually made
what does malting do to grain
**r

03/09/2026

This month was about giving w**emakers the information to make better decisions.

What the label actually means, and why de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic are not the same. How the three main de-alc technologies differ. What happens to the spirit, essence and water in the process. And where Logichem is headed in November.
The thread running through all of it: understand what's happening to your w**e, and be honest with your customers about how it got there.

Much of what Linette covered this month applies whichever technology a producer chooses. An informed decision beats an easy one.
GoLo with integrated heat pump has been entered into the SIMEI Innovation Challenge. SIMEI runs 17 to 20 November in Milan, stand V-08. If de-alcoholisation is part of your plans, for w**e or b**r, come and talk to us.
The road to Milan continues.

logichem.com
how to choose de-alcoholisation technology
what is the difference between de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic w**e

27/08/2026

Logichem has entered GoLo into the SIMEI Innovation Challenge.

The entry is GoLo with integrated heat pump. The heat pump recovers thermal energy from within the distillation process rather than losing it, so the whole de-alcoholisation process runs more efficiently, with a lighter footprint on the cellar's power and water use.

SIMEI runs from 17 to 20 November in Milan. It's the biggest stage in the world for w**e and beverage technology, and this edition opens further into the wider beverage space, with b**r now very much part of the conversation.
Which brings up something a lot of people don't know: GoLo isn't just for w**e. The same vacuum distillation process works for de-alcoholising b**r and c***r. Same gentle, low-temperature approach, same focus on flavour and aroma.

If you're in Milan in November, come and find us at stand V-08.
logichem.com
can you de-alcoholise b**r and c***r
what is the SIMEI Innovation Challenge

20/08/2026

Three questions w**emakers always ask about de-alcoholisation: what happens to the spirit, the essence, and the water?

The spirit doesn't disappear. In vacuum distillation it's drawn off as a concentrated ethanol condensate that can be repurposed for fortification elsewhere in the cellar, or used as a base spirit.

The essence, the aroma and flavour compounds, is the most fragile part of the process. The best systems capture those compounds separately and reintroduce them rather than letting them evaporate off with the alcohol.

Water usage varies a lot by technology. Membrane systems carry a much higher water footprint when reducing alcohol below 7%. GoLo's vacuum distillation approach is built to keep that footprint efficient, because water isn't just an operating cost, it's a resource under real pressure.

Whichever technology you choose, the important thing is understanding what's happening to your w**e and being honest with your customers about it.
logichem.com

what happens to the alcohol removed from w**e
how much water does de-alcoholisation use

13/08/2026

How do you actually remove alcohol from w**e?

There are three main technologies, and each leaves a different fingerprint.

Membrane filtration (reverse osmosis or nanofiltration) pushes w**e through a fine filter at high pressure. Gentle and heat-free on the first pass, but multi-stage, water-heavy, and requires ongoing membrane maintenance.

The spinning cone column uses vacuum evaporation across two passes: one for aromatics, one for alcohol. The benchmark for large-scale producers for decades, and good on aroma. Also large, capital-intensive, and steam-driven.

Vacuum distillation is a single-pass process. Lowering the pressure drops ethanol's boiling point dramatically, so alcohol evaporates at a much lower temperature, protecting the heat-sensitive compounds that carry a w**e's character.
GoLo refines that process to hold on to the esters and aromatics behind fruit and floral character. Independent research comparing

GoLo against spinning cone found GoLo ahead on ester retention and on fruity and floral sensory scores.
logichem.com
what are the different de-alcoholisation technologies
membrane vs spinning cone vs vacuum distillation

Address

Rheebok Close, Wellington Industrial Park
Wellington
7655

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 15:00

Telephone

+27 21 873 6499

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Logichem Process International posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category