Mack & Schühle Italia invests €16 million to expand its Laterza wine plant

Mack & Schühle Italia is investing €16 million to expand and modernize its plant in Laterza, in the southern province of Taranto, as the wine company pushes ahead with new production capacity, sparkling wine output and alcohol-removed wines despite a difficult period for the sector.

The company, the Italian arm of the German group founded in 1939, said the project is aimed at strengthening production capacity, speeding up technological innovation and improving the plant’s circular operating model while reinforcing the strategic role of its operations in Puglia. The investment began at the start of 2026.

In June, Mack & Schühle Italia secured €12 million in financing from BdM Banca and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti to support the plan. According to the company, the funding was structured as two 10-year loans of €6 million each in a club deal backed by a Sace guarantee.

The project includes an expansion of the industrial building and a full overhaul of the bottling line. The new line will include a next-generation module equipped with artificial intelligence systems for self-diagnosis and predictive maintenance, a sign of how wine producers are increasingly turning to automation to improve efficiency and reduce downtime.

The company also plans to install a sparkling wine production unit and a dealcoholization system based on low-temperature osmotic filtration. Those additions would allow Mack & Schühle Italia to widen its product range and respond more quickly to shifts in consumer demand, especially in categories that are drawing growing attention from producers and retailers.

That matters for the beverage business because investments in bottling technology, lower-energy production and no- and low-alcohol capacity can affect not only wine supply but also broader distribution strategies across beverage portfolios. For importers, private-label operators and large retail channels, more flexible production can make it easier to adapt to changing demand in traditional wines, sparkling products and alcohol-reduced offerings.

WineNews reported that the no- and low-alcohol wine segment in Italy is currently worth €3.3 million, citing data from the Vinitaly Observatory, and could reach €15 million over the next four years. Globally, the market is estimated at $2.4 billion today and is projected to grow to $3.3 billion by 2028.

The company has been among the Italian players showing strong interest in that category as consumer habits evolve and producers look for new growth areas beyond conventional still wines. The addition of dealcoholization technology at Laterza suggests Mack & Schühle Italia wants to build that capability directly into its industrial base rather than rely only on outside partners.

The investment also places strong emphasis on environmental performance. The company said it is adopting high-efficiency energy solutions and technologies designed to reduce consumption at the site. That approach reflects wider pressure on beverage producers to cut operating costs, lower emissions and show measurable progress on sustainability while maintaining output.

The financing banks were advised legally by Advant Nctm, with a team led by partner Eugenio Siragusa and counsel Gianluca Salvadei, according to a company note.

For Puglia, where bulk wine production and bottling remain important parts of the regional economy, the expansion strengthens the role of Laterza within an international group at a time when many wine businesses are balancing weaker consumption in some markets with investment in higher-value segments and more efficient production systems.