4
IT'S A CORKER! n IT'SA CORKER
WHATHAPPENEDIN
MUNDU?
I any dozens of employees of Heineken Technical Services in Zoeterwoude (Holland) are
almost constantly travelling to our associated breweries to provide them with advice and
I assistance when they ask for it. We asked one of those employees, Rolf Lans, a Dutchman
whether he could tell us something about how one such journey went off.
J*
WW
Getting back
L* 1 i
IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE US
IF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY
WENT GREEN WITH ENVY.
Two new brewing kettles were installed in the brewery.
That brought a 20% increase in the capacity. Four labelling
machines were also replaced by one new one. That seems
easy, but actually doing it was not simple at all.
The brewing kettles arrived in Cameroun and had to be
transported overland to Tchad. Across the river between
both countries there is only one bridge. Just before the
kettles were due to pass over it, the bridge broke in half.
Then a floating pontoon was dug up from somewhere and
the kettles were loaded on to it. That's how they were
ferried across.
The labelling machine was also supposed to arrive by land,
but that plan fell through. A military transport-plane had to
be called in to get the machine to Mundu. Despite these
setbacks everything was ready on time in the end. A superb
achievement by the local personnel and by the people of
Heineken Technisch Beheer (Heineken Technical
Services).
OUT TO MUNDU AND BACK
C A
Some time ago he was asked to go out
to Mundu inTchad. That's a country in
Central Africa which has been in the
news on several occasions because of
the troubles thereThe brewhouse had
just been expanded by the addition of
two kettles. That meant that the
brewers were faced with a different
working method and in such cases it's
useful to go along and lend a helping
hand. That's just what Rolf Lans did.
Setting out on such a journey is easy as
pieYou board the plane in Amsterdam
and land in Paris within an hour. But
there's a strike on in France, and that's
the start of the first delay. After a while
though, you succeed in getting
airborne again and fly direct to
N'Djamena, where you touch down
one day later. That city in Tchad is
about 300 kilometres away from
Mundu and there's no decent road
connection.
Rolf Lans was in luck, as a substantial
quantity of Heineken yeast had to be
transported to Mundu at the same time
and there were also other businesses
with freight for Mundu. So a Fokker
Friendship was chartered from Air
Tchad and, sitting in one of the only
four seats in the back of the planeour
man arrived in Mundu. For fourteen
days he went about his work there.
More than eight hours a day in
temperatures of 35° C in the shadeHe
slept in a guesthouse where he was also
served his meals. There are no hotels in
Mundu. Going out at night is not a very
wise move. From time to time he
cooled off by going for a swim in the
pool at a neighbouring cotton-
processing plant.
Did he return to Amsterdam by the
same route? No. he'd been asked to
travel via Douala in Cameroun,
because the brewery there in which we
recently acquired an interest of 34%
had just started operating its new
brewhouse. Samples of the wort had to
be picked up for control in Holland.
Not a simple trip, as you first have to fly
back from Mundu to N'Djamena.
There you get into a four-wheel-drive
pick-up truck. And off you go towards
Garoua, some 500 kilometres away.
Along a sand track full of potholes. It's
early afternoon. Driving is rather
difficult. The other drivers seem to
have the same problemsas oftenvery
Rolf Lans pictured with the pick-up truck that took him unscathed through his
African trip.
often you pass overturned vehicles
alongside the road. And you have to
watch out all the time for herds of
animals and solitary animals crossing.
There's another accident just
happened. People waving their arms.
The pick-up truck grinds to a halt.
Would Lans please take along a couple
of casualties? It's not advisable to do
this. You never know what may
happen. Luckily, some help turned up
the truck and his passenger as if they
were made of very fragile porcelain.
At last, there's Garoua and a hotel with
all the creature comforts. And there's
also an airport, from which a plane will
be leaving for Douala the next day.
That's the adventure over for our
employeeThe brewery is not far away,
the samples are soon collected
together. Then: into the plane which
leaves for Paris at midnight on
Saturday. At half past nine on
Wednesday night the plane carrying
Rolf Lans touches down in
Amsterdam. Mission accomplished.
One óf very many.
The proud team who undertook the
renovations in the Mundu brewery,
pictured with the operators of the new
equipment.
from the nearby village. And the
journey continued, without casualties.
Nightfall. You have to drive very
slowly; it's impossible to estimate the
width of the oncoming vehicles.
Constantly slowing to a halt until they
have passed. Lans is still grateful to his
very cautious driver for treating both
TCHAD
TSJAAD MUNDU
N'DJAMENA
MOUNDOU
DOUALA /lU,
KAMEROEN
Br#
CAMEROUN 1
Lyy U
GAROUA
V
Festive scene during commissioning of the new equipment.
At our Pedavena brewery in Italy we
spotted these signposts' on a wall.
They certainly put their message
across well, even for people standing
at some distance away. A good idea,
and original as well.
Tkarü rsAcforc li-u ;r> r\rnr;oH o r* rdot L r»rl/ I hp utArrlc Art tko cptYtnH nACfPT
These two posters have proved a great
success for our Murphy's Brewery in
Cork (Ireland).
The long arm holding the glass makes it
clear that Murphy's is a beer from
Cork. The words on the second poster
refer to the green Irish countryside.
"It wouldn't surprise us if the rest of the
country went green with envy".