7
Spanish honour for
Heineken employee
CagGari modernisation
progressing well
Mützig in Rwanda
Hugo de Sitter, brewing consultant for Greece and Italy:
Bottling lines in Pedavena and Massafra also being renewed
Heat wave
He's a familiar figure at our breweries in Italy and Gree
ce. He can regularly be seen strolling through the entire
brewery and taking a good look at all aspects of the bre
wing process. Hugo de Sitter is one of the brewing con
sultants working for Heineken Technical Services
(HTB). What does he do exactly and how does he go
about it? A portrait of a biochemistry graduate whose
work for Heineken often takes him into other specialised
fields.
J ack-of-all-trades
Visits and samples
A little bit of everything
Mr. C. van Es, head of Legal Affairs at Heineken Nederlands Beheer B.V.,
was presented with a major Spanish royal distinction on 12 October by the
Spanish Ambassador in the Netherlands. He was awarded "la
Encomienda de la Orden del Mérito Civil" as proof of gratitude for his
contributions to the good relations between Spain and the Netherlands.
Over the past fifteen years Mr. Van Es has represented the Heineken
organisation in Spain on several occasions. "As an interpreter and
negotiator" is how he 'describes his work there. In the 'seventies Mr. Van
Es conducted negotiations with several Spanish sherry houses on behalf of
the Dutch Spirits and Wine Group. From 1983 onwards he was closely
involved in arranging Heinekeris participation in the Spanish El Aguila
breweries.To put the new organisation "on the right track", Mr. Van Es
lived and worked for a year in Madrid as secretary to the Board of
Directors of El Aguila S.A.The King of Spain awarded the official Order
of Merit to Mr. Van Es as a token of appreciation for his work.
The large-scale modernisation of
Birra Ichnusa near Cagliari (Sardinia)
is progressing wellAt the moment the
workmen are busy renovating the
machines and equipment.The
brewery's office section is now ready.
Next year an extension of the cellars is
planned, "but the final results of the
facelift will in fact not be visible until
two years from now", says Mr. L.
Mengoli, Dreher's production
manager.
In Pedavena, too, there's plenty of
refurbishing work going on.The
bottling line for one-way bottles has
been demolished and a complete new
filling line is currently being installed.
Testing of the line is planned to start
early next February, so that the line
will be ready for the busy season which
begins in March. From that month
onwards all the Dreher breweries will
be operating at full capacity to keep
abreast of the growing demand for
Dreher and Heineken beers during
the summer months.
The bottling line for returnable bottles
in Massafra is also being tackled. A
fortnight ago bottling operations were
stopped on this line. Two-thirds of the
line will be overhauled this coming
winter. The upgrading of this line is
likewise scheduled for completion in
February, which is when the peak
(summer) season also starts for
Massafra. The remainder of the line
will be modernised next year.
During the past summer the^^th of
Italy in particular sweltered through a
prolonged heat wave. Did that hot
weather have any consequences for
the production? "We were able to
continue production as usual. Our
brewery in Macomer (Sardinia) did
have some difficulty for a few weeks
because of a shortage of water, but
that was soon solved, thanks in part to
the willingness of the local population
to cut down on their water
consumption", explains Mr. Mengoli.
And yet Dreher did have to import
Heineken beer from Holland, though
not because of production problems
arising from the heatwave. "Demand
exceeds our maximum brewing
capacity every summer, so we simply
have to import Heineken beer", says
Mr. Mengoli.
"I try to think along with them"
De Sitter: "You could say that 1
act as an agent of HTB in
Zoeterwoude for our Greek
and Italian breweries. I give advice on
problems in all sorts of fields, as long
as they relate to the production of
beer. My work ranges from raw
material to finished product, and that
also coverssay, packaging materials"
Twelve years ago Hugo de Sitter
graduated from university as a
biochemist. After his military service
he joined Heineken (in August 1977).
A training course of some eighteen
months taught him all the tricks of the
brewer's trade, not forgetting the skills
of the craftsman. "Part of that training
Hugo de Sitter (far left) on a visit to the
Dreher brewery in Cagliari on the island
of Sardinia. The test panel is assessing a
Heineken brew.
course involved, and still involves,
working as a trainee for two to three
months at a small brewery in West
Germany. I was a jack-of-all-trades
there and worked my way through all
the departments in the brewery. That
gave me a great deal of on the job
experience and taught me that it's
wrong for a graduate to live high up in
an ivory tower and look down on how
a brewery operates."
After his training one of De Sitter's
first assignments was the practical
implementation of the Amstel Light
brewing process. ("Anice job, but one
that took up a lot of time."). He also
served as consultant to the breweries
in the Pacific and the Middle East.
After that he worked for a year as
quality control manager for the Tiger
and Anchor brewery in Singapore. As
brewery technological controller his
next 3Vz years were spent working for
Nigerian Breweries Limited.Today he
is a brewing consultant, his principal
countries being Italy and Greece. De
Sitter also handles special projects,
such as the technological
consequences of the launch of Amstel
beer in Norway.
It's Hugo de Sitter's job to look round
the breweries in Massafra, Popoli,
Macomer, Cagliari, Pedavena, Patras,
Thessaloniki and Athens and identify
problems which might have an
adverse effect on the quality of the
beer (both Heineken and Amstel, as
well as the local brands).
De Sitter doesn't merely sit at his desk
in Holland and look for solutions to
these problems. "Once a month at
HTB we receive samples of the
various products from each brewery
and we can gather a lot of information
from them on the basis of taste tests
and analyses. However, it's very
important that each brewery is visited
by the consultant once or twice a year,
with the result that on average, I travel
for about one week in every month."
Whilst at the brewery, De Sitter tries
to solve problems and give advice on
quality improvements. "Perhaps I'm
sometimes seen as an intruder
meddling in their affairs. In such cases
it's up to me to make it clear to them
that I'm there to find solutions to their
problems. I can't know everything,
but I do try to think along with them"
"A brewing consultant knows about all
facets of the brewing process. He must
be able to judge the quality of the malt
or the standard of the installations in
the brewhouse, but his areas of
attention also include aspects like a
good adhesive for the labels and the
quality of the crown corks. If the
problem is really tricky, we can always
call in the help of the many specialists
at HTB", says De Sitter, who finds
that the great diversity is one of the
most interesting features of his job. "If
I come across something in a relatively
unknown area, I really delve into it,
digging up old reports and having a
chat with the specialists. And if in the
end I'm able to give a useful
recommendation that leads to good
practical results, that gives me a lot of
satisfaction. What's more, a
recommendation like that can
sometimes be put to good use in other
countries as well.That's why effective
communication is essential between
the consultants in our department".
"Basically, Irepresentthe Greek and
Italian breweries at HTB in
Zoeterwoude".
Mützig beer has been available in the
African country of Rwanda for the past
6 months. The brewery in that country
decided to introduce Mützig to give
consumers an alternative choke
besides Primus beer. Sold as a
premium beer, Mützig is obtainable in
the 65-cl bottle. The launch was backed
by publicity in the form of radio
commercials and big posters.