An interview with Mr. Kalyan Ganguly, President, Breweries Division, The United Breweries Group, Bangalore

1. What are the qualifications required to get into breweries and distilleries? Is there a separate degree offered in this area?

It depends entirely on what stream a person chooses in this industry. In terms of functions other than technical, this industry is no different from any other FMCG company. As in any other industry we emphasise on the creation of brand equity. The qualifications we look for is the kind you find in some of the larger companies. We like engineers, not because they are engineers, but because many of them have an MBA from premier institutes. A student of humanities does have a chance to join our company provided they have a premier b-school background. For the financial vacancies we look for people who hold a degree in CA and Cost Accounting. In the technical stream we require specialised knowledge, they come biochemistry, chemical engineering and microbiology backgrounds. We prefer students from the Institute of Brewing Technology located in UK. We are now recruiting candidates with Diplomas in Industrial Fermentation and Alcohol Technology that is located in Kanpur.

Are there any best practices in your organisation/ company that boost productivity and improve working conditions?

We as the largest players in the industry try to be at the cutting edge. We work very closely with Anderson Consulting. They work with our team to evaluate and examine the various facets of our organisation including best practices in manufacturing, recruitment and so on. Benchmarking practices provides a window to the outside world and clients, that helps us serve better.

We have introduced the concepts of seminars and work shops that are specific to a particular functional area. It enhances the ability of the team to perform better and reach the desired goals. The interactive workshops we have with the engineers to discuss the inter/intra practices of breweries, or troubleshooting, set benchmarks that others can follow. Our practices are aimed largely at preventive maintenance. We also send our employees abroad so that they can keep abreast of the latest happenings in the technology of brewing so that we can continue to produce the world- class product we are famous for.

United Breweries (UB) is one of the best-known companies in the country. In which states are you established?

We are a nationally international! We have offices in all major cities. We have breweries in all major states except MP and Orissa and North Eastern states. We also have production facilities in Kent, UK, San Francisco and a place very close to New York City. We have offices in African countries, Europe, and the Far East.