4 Murphy's sponsors musical and historical pageant Primus holds crown cork campaign Around 8.30 each morning in Cork the Murphys lorries pass out through the brewery gates fully laden with kegs of Murphy's Stout and Heineken lager. One of those lor ries is manned by driver Eugene Fitzpatrick and his mate Christy Mullane. Delivery notes in hand, they plan their route for the day.From pub to pub, big ones and small on es, sometimes offloading 25 kegs, sometimes just three. And at every stop doing all they can to ensure the custo mer is satisfied. A day out on the road with Eugene and Christy. Paperwork Car Tyre Patience New lorry V SIXTY MILES FROM PUB TO 1The replica of the mediaeval galley "Dim Riv" sails up the Thames to Greenwich as part of the folklore pageant which preceded the concert. 2) Accompanied by bagpipe music, Murphy's special guests walk through the streets of Greenwich on their way to the concert. Murphy's recent sponsoring of the "Granuaile", the top-of-the-bill concert at the Greenwich Arts Festival in England, turned out to be a spectacular success. This was the first time that Murphy's had sponsored an event in England and it clearly reflected the growing popularity of Murphy's Stout on the U.K. market since its launch there in 1985. The Granuaile concert consists of songs telling about the life of Grace O'Malley, the famous Irish head of state, who sailed from Ireland to London in 1593 to meet Queen Elizabeth I.This exceptional meeting is recalled in the concert.The sailing voyage by Grace O'Malley along the Thames was re-enacted by a replica of the galley "Dim Riv", complete with the Murphy's Stout logo on the mainsail. The concert was a tremendous success.The composer of Granuaile is Shaun Davey, who also composed the music for the Murphy's TVspot. Very aptly, the orchestra played the jingle from the Murphy's commercial during the encore. Primus beer was the centre of great interest in Zaïre in the first half of this year thanks to a large-scale promotional campaign which attracted much consumer interest. Pictures were printed on the insides of the Primus crown corks and people who collected enough of the same set of pictures could win superb prizes. The main prizes were four cars, plus competitors also had a change to win a colourTVset or a motorcycle. The aim of the promotional campaign was to strengthen brand loyalty amongst existing Primus drinkers and to persuade those who had never tried the beer to sample the Primus taste.The campaign lasted several months and was a great succes for the Bralima brewery. It's a dull day at the end of July. A steady drizzle makes the countryside around Cork seem rather cheerless. And yet the raindrops cannot mask the beauty of the landscape. Rain and Ireland go hand in hand, it seems. At least until the afternoon, when the sun breaks through and reveals the superb countryside in all its glory. For us the day's work starts at 8.45 a.m.The lorry has already been loaded with 158 kegs and we've picked up all the paperwork we'll need on the journey. At the brewery gate there is a brief stop for a check by the porter. Without his signature on the waybill to say that the kegs are securely loaded, we wouldn't get off the site. Eugene pulls out on to the road, and turns eastwards on the start of the route that the two of them cover once every fortnight. More than 60 miles, mostly along narrow roads, through the rolling hills to the east of Cork. Not a person to be seen for miles and miles. Luckily, there's no oncoming traffic, as the road is just wide enough for the lorry. It is three quarters of an hour later before the first pub appears in the distance and Eugene and Christy pull on their working gloves for the first time that day. "Being out and about and being indepent, that's what we like about our work. We can decide for ourselves what route we'll be taking. We know it's no use calling at certain pubs before 10 a.m., so we make allowance for that when planning the route", says Christy Mullanewho has worked for Murphy's for ten years. This method of route planning might perhaps raise some eyebrows at other Heineken operating companies. Michael Murphy, traffic manager at the Irish brewery, explains: "Of course we've considered other working methods, but we found each time that our present system works best in Ireland. The lads on the lorry know exactly when they have to call at a certain place and they themselves work out the most efficient route. Besides, we think it's very important for them to be independent, as that gives them job satisfaction." But it's not all a bed of roses. The job also has its less pleasant aspects. "It's not much fun when it rains, which is fairly oftenWhen you're busy loading and unloading you get hot and sweaty and that's uncomfortable when it's raining", says Eugene, who swapped The new DA F1900 can carry a maximum load of 160 kegs of 50 litres each. The outstai Bralima's Mr. Kruidenier hands over the car keys to a happy winner. his job as a thatcher for a place behind the big steering wheel of a Murphy's lorry two years ago. To unload the heavy kegs Eugene and Christy use an old car tyre.TTie tyre is placed on the ground next to the lorry and the keg is deftly turned and allowed to drop.The car tyre cushions its impact with a dull thud.Then they roll the kegs along to the shed next to the pubApart from kegs the lorry can also carry C02 cylinders. Cylinders of carbon dioxide for the dispensing unit can be supplied to the landlords free on request. After that the empty kegs are loaded on to the lorry and we move on to the next pub where the performance is repeated. A total of twenty delivery addresses are planned on that day's route. Most pub owners receive their invoice from Murphy's by postbut some want to pay the deliverymen on the spot. This often means that driver's mate Christy Mullane has to be patient, for it always takes a while before the delivery has been checked and the cheques signed.Time goes by and, after a glance at the remaining stack of delivery notes, I begin to wonder Eugene Fitzpatrick inspects the load: a good distribution of full and empty kegs is crucial to the lorry's road handling. Many pub Eugene Fitzpatrick (left) and Christy Mullane with the whether we'll be able to complete the route on time. Even though Christy has still not returned after ten minutes, Eugene still seems quite relaxed as he waits: "It's all part of the job. We simply allow a little more time for these customers". Their ability to make an accurate estimate of the time needed is demonstrated at the end of the day. Their forecast that we'd be arriving back at the brewery by about 5.30p.m. proves correct. It's 5.20p.m. as we turn into the entrance, just in time for the monthly get-together for personnel inThe Kiln, the brewery's reception building. Eugene drives a DAF1900. On the day that we went along the lorry had only been in use at Murphy's for one and a half weeks. Eugene is enthusiastic about his new truck. "The newness still hasn't worn off and the gearbox in particular feels a bit tight, but that will disappear as it gets run in Otherwise it's a fine lorry." Michael Murphy is doubly pleased. "It's important that the people are content with the equipment they have to work with. Besides, the big advantage of this DAF is that we can load more kegs on to it, whilst the lorry is smaller, which makes is easier to handle.That comes in handy, especially in the narrow streets of Cork."

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Heineken International Magazine | 1987 | | pagina 4