Logichem Process International

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.

03/09/2026

This month was about giving winemakers 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 wine, 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 wine or beer, 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 wine

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 wine and beverage technology, and this edition opens further into the wider beverage space, with beer now very much part of the conversation.
Which brings up something a lot of people don't know: GoLo isn't just for wine. The same vacuum distillation process works for de-alcoholising beer and cider. 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 beer and cider
what is the SIMEI Innovation Challenge

20/08/2026

Three questions winemakers 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 wine and being honest with your customers about it.
logichem.com

what happens to the alcohol removed from wine
how much water does de-alcoholisation use

13/08/2026

How do you actually remove alcohol from wine?

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

Membrane filtration (reverse osmosis or nanofiltration) pushes wine 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 wine'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

06/08/2026

Do you know the difference between de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic wine?

Most consumers don't. And for winemakers, it's the difference between an honest label and a legal problem.
In South Africa there are four categories, not two. Low-alcohol sits between 0.5% and 4.5%. De-alcoholised goes below 0.5%. Alcohol-free goes below 0.05% with no tolerance. All three start as real, fully fermented wine.

Non-alcoholic is different. It never contained alcohol, because it was never fermented as wine. It's grape juice, made more flavourful to suggest the idea of wine.

Why it matters: compliance risk in export markets, consumer trust when what's in the bottle doesn't match expectations, and the commercial value of a premium story that's genuinely yours.
De-alcoholised wine done well is your winemaking, your work, your actual wine, with the alcohol taken out afterwards. That's worth saying clearly on the label.

logichem.com
what is the difference between de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic wine
how should de-alcoholised wine be labelled

30/07/2026

This month, Logichem followed the aroma.

What happens to the flavours during de-alcoholisation. Whether they can really be recovered. And why the essence fraction is the key to keeping a de-alc wine close to the original.

The theme running through it all: control. The more control a winemaker has over their essence, the closer the final product stays to the wine they set out to make.
July was also when we began talking openly about our essence recovery technology, one of a kind, and built to give winemakers flexibility they haven't had before.

Thanks to Aaron from Low & No Beverages in Australia for his honest feedback on what GoLo has done for their wines.
Next month: we look at the types of de-alc and non alcoholic wine and the technology available to make it.
The road to SIMEI continues.

logichem.com
what is essence recovery in wine de-alcoholisation
can wine aroma be recovered after de-alc

23/07/2026

Why does the essence fraction matter so much to the wine maker in de-alcoholisation?

It carries the character of the original wine. The essence comes off first during the de-alc process, and how much of it you can add back determines how close the final product is to the original.

For a 0.5% ABV wine, there's a lot of flexibility on essence add back. At 0.05%, it becomes much harder.
This is where Logichem's new essence technology comes into its own. It's one of a kind, and it will give winemakers far more flexibility over essence add back.

The results speak for themselves. Aaron from Low & No Beverages in Australia says consumers are consistently impressed by the quality leap from other zero and de-alc wines, with more fruit and more of the heart character in reds that older technologies lost.
His advice to winemakers considering GoLo? Absolutely, it's the right way to go.

logichem.com
why does essence matter in de-alcoholisation
what is essence add back in wine de-alcoholisation

16/07/2026

Can wine aroma really be recovered after de-alcoholisation?

It depends on the wine, but the answer is yes, more than most people expect.
GoLo captures the volatile aroma compounds that come off first in the process, keeping the end product closer to the original wine. White wines are easier to restore, reds are more challenging because their character comes from phenolics and tannins, and sparkling wines are the most forgiving of all.

The proof is in the feedback. Aaron from Low & No Beverages in Australia told us the GoLo output had less of the cooked character they usually have to mask, letting their true flavour shine. Their reds went from thin and sour to rich, plummy, and complex.

That's the goal: not to make something that tastes de-alcoholised, but to protect what made the wine worth drinking in the first place.

logichem.com
can wine aroma be recovered after de-alcoholisation

09/07/2026

Does de-alcoholisation destroy the aromas in your wine? It doesn't have to.

But you need to understand the trade-offs. The volatile flavour compounds, the ones you nose in a glass, have the lowest boiling points. They come off first when you heat the wine. That's actually an advantage: you can capture them before the alcohol is removed.

The temperature debate is where it gets interesting. Competitors claim they can operate at 38 degrees. So can we. But going colder means deeper vacuum, harder condensing, and significantly more expensive equipment.

Logichem founder Schalk Pienaar puts it directly: if you ask a winemaker how much more damage 50 degrees does versus 40 degrees, the honest answer is they don't know. GoLo operates at parameters that balance minimum temperature, minimum exposure time, and commercial affordability. That's an honest compromise, not a marketing claim.

logichem.com
does de-alcoholisation destroy wine aromas what temperature is best for wine de-alc

02/07/2026

Why do some de-alc technologies lose more flavour than others? It comes down to where the technology was born.

Most de-alcoholisation equipment evolved from the fruit juice industry. Evaporative processes designed to concentrate orange juice.

Wine is not orange juice. Wine has far more volatile flavour compounds, and recovering them requires more sophisticated techniques. Logichem came from the opposite direction: 25 years of spirits distillation.

Our founder Schalk Pienaar understood how to separate volatile compounds at a fundamental level before GoLo ever existed. That background gave us equipment designed for this specific job, not repurposed from another industry.

Natural circulation instead of mechanical pumping. Lower temperatures. Shorter exposure times. And the ability to concentrate the spirit to commercial value, not treat it as waste. The result: 98%+ volatile flavour recovery. Not a marketing claim. A measurable outcome.

logichem.com
why does de-alcoholised wine lose flavour what is the best de-alc technology for wine quality

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

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