6
Heineken coach
is a crowd-puller
Mailcoach race
HEAVYTRANSPORT
THE FAR EAST
New structure for
Sogébra
Hard work
Two years
Twelve mail coaches brought
back a thrill of nostalgia to
Holland in the autumn of last
year. A crowd estimated at over
200,000 people gathered in the
Northern part of Holland for a brief
glimpse of bygone days as they
watched a dozen mail coaches pass by,
each drawn by four horses. Mr. Van
Peski had a very good view of the
event; he was sitting in the Heineken
beer coach. "It was an incredible
sight. A really unforgettable
experience", recalls the employee of
Heineken Holland's advertising
services department.
Not surprisingly, the Heineken beer
coach in particular drew many
admiring glances.The other eleven
coaches were adopted (sponsored) by
various firms, whilst our coach
(owned by the brewery) had
Heineken written all over it. During
the journey picture postcards of the
brewer's dray were handed out. They
were eagerly snapped up by both
young and old.The coaches and
horses took part in a handicap race
from Groningen to Leiden.ITie route
of more than 250 kilometres had to be
completed in a period of seven days.
Each day the drivers had to complete
a special assignment. The programme
included a time trial, tilting at rings,
driving round an obstacle course, a
'concours d'élégance' and 'klünen' (a
Frisian word used to describe the
clown-like movements of ice-skaters
as they walk on their skates over 'dry
land' to the next good stretch of ice).
The latter part of the contest was the
most spectacular. The passengers in
the coaches had to roll out carpets
across the cattle grids on top of a dyke
embankment and then the coach had
to be driven across them.The team
with the fastest time got the maximum
number of bonus points.
The Heineken brewery coach, pulled
by four Shire horses, finished up third
in the overall placings. "It was very
hard work for both the drivers and the
horses", says Van Peski.To make sure
that the horses were not being
overworked, they were given a
medical check every morning and
evening.The other drivers had some
doubts about the condition of the
Heineken shire horses.They thought
that this big English breed was not
suitable for working with a mail
coach. But reality proved the sceptics
wrong. Despite a slight loss of form on
The transport and installation of
storage tanks is always a spectacular
event. This was proved yet again in
Singapore where five new tanks were
put into position last year to replace
the old cellar stores. The tanks have
meanwhile been installed at the
Anchor brewery and are in use for
both fermentation and lager storage.
The tanks were made in Malaysia.
During production of the tanks
Heineken provided technical support.
The transport of the tanks met with
quite a few obstacles. Atypical feature
of Singapore are the footbridges that
are built across most of the roads.
Since the heavy-lift convoy was too
high to pass under the bridges, it was
only possible to get the tanks to the
brewery by making lengthy detours.
In due course these tanks will have to
be moved again. Once construction of
theTuas brewery is completed, the
tanks will be transported there.The
Tuas brewery will replace the old
breweries ofTiger and Anchor.
The Heineken beer coach in Haarlem. The journey often took the procession of
coaches through very narrow city streets.
the third day, the Shires did their work
excellently and proved that they were
in first-class physical shape.
The mailcoach race was organised as
part of the festivities to commemorate
the Relief of Leiden in 1574 and the
100th anniversary of 'The 3 October
Association' which organises these
festivities each year. Preparations for
the event had taken almost two years.
Heineken had a twofold reason for
entering the mailcoach race. Firstly,
there are Heineken's links with
Leiden, the city next door to
Zoeterwoude where Heineken's
biggest brewery is located. Secondly,
horses occupy a special place in the
brewery's heart. In former days
Heineken used horses and carts for
beer deliveries.To keep this memory
alive Heineken has two brewer's
drays, the beer coach and the six
Heineken shires horses which visit all
sorts of equestrian events. Besides,
both the Heineken and the Amstel
brewer's drays make daily rounds
through Amsterdam city centre. The
mailcoach race was an excellent
opportunity for Heineken to display
its beer coach. Perhaps the mailcoach
race will be held again some day. The
organisers are thinking of holding the
event once more in 1991. If it were up
to Mr. Van Peski, Heineken would
certainly be competing again. "It was
a unique experience, and definitely
worth repeating."
C.J. van der Klugt
Mr. C J. van der Klugt, president
and chairman of the Board of
Directors of N.V. Philips'
Gloeilampenfabrieken, was
appointed a Supervisory
Director of Heineken NV. at the
extraordinary general meeting of
shareholders held on 26
September 1986.
Mr. P.W.J.M. Kamphuisen was
appointed General Manager
Operations China on 1 st
October last year. He had
previously held the post of
Regional Coordinating Manager
Western Hemisphere.
In France an overall restructuring of the Sogébra Group has been in full swing for
some time now.The situation in France now looks as follows:The holding
company Sogébra S.A. has an operating company known as Franchise de
Brasserie S.A.This operating company is the result of a merger between
Heineken France S.A., Brasserie Pelforth S.A. and Union de Brasseries S.A.
The two French sales companies will in future be: Heineken Pelforth SNC and
Union de Brasseries SNC. Franchise de Brasserie S.A. also has a subsidiary
called France Boissons S.A.This company now comprises all the drinks
businesses that form part of the Sogébra Group.
