5
Extra free time a great advantage
Enjoying a Heineken beer
in the sunny Canary Islands
Quarter
century
Heineken
agent in
Québec
Opinions differ about shiftwork
Whilst most of us are getting ready for a good night's
sleep, a small group of people is setting off for work. On
ce every three weeks they alter their biological clocks and
spend the hours of the night working for their employer.
Sleeping during the daytime, working at night. Some
may find it difficult to adjust to, others simply shrug their
shoulders and can see no problems at all. What do the
employees on three-shift duty themselves think about
working on alternate shifts?The views of four employees
of the Dreher Brewery in Popoli.
Report
Gran Canaria
Heineken and Aguila
- -C
Fulvio Cafarelli has been with
the brewery since 1970,
employed there even before
Dreher acquired the business from
Moretti. As a rule Fulvio can be found
in the brewhouse and that means that
for the greater part of the year he has
to work three shifts. "I've been on
shifts now for 17 years. As a youth I
had no problems but now, with a
family at home, I find it less easy. I've
got two children at home and I miss
out on some of my family life because
of working nights". Besides, he
sometimes feels a little cut off from his
social life. And yet Mr. Cafarelli can
also see some good points in working
on shifts. "I enjoy having a lot of
independence and it's a fact that on
nights you're left much more to
yourself
Guido Iacovone has worked for
E Cafarelli.
G. Iacovone.
Dreher in Popoli for the past four
years. Since two years ago he has been
working in the fermentation
department and working irregular
hours causes him no problems. "I
lived in Canada for a long time .There
I often used to put in days of 14 to 16
hours! So the shiftwork here doesn't
affect me."
"We did a test for a one-month period
two days on early turn, then two days
on late turn, followed by one night
shift. I didn't like that at all!The
system where you work the same shift
for a whole week is much better."
Guidotoovalues the feeling of being
independent. "That's what keeps me
awake", he concludes with a grin.
Boris Castricone, a Dreher employee
for 8 years, has always worked in the
bottling department. Even before
joining Dreher, Boris had already
spent more than six years working
night shifts. The bottling department
employee is moderately satisfied with
his present work on shifts. "Obviously
there are some drawbacks to
shiftwork. I prefer to sleep at night
rather than to work, and the late turn
is inconvenient for your social
contacts. But I think that the big
advantage of working shifts is that it
gives me a lot more leisure time.The
early shift is from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m.That
means that in the afternoon I'm free to
do other things. On the whole, I think
that the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages."
For the past three years Maurizio
Zaccagnini's job has been in Dreher's
B. Castricone
energy supplies building in Popoli.
During his first year he only worked
days; for the past two years his
working times have changed each
week. "But you get used to it. I can
imagine that it's somewhat tougher
physically for the older employees,
but it doesn't bother me at all. One
drawback, I think, is that you are on
your own during the night shift. The
advantages are that it pays better and
that you get more free time: in the
brewery the night shift only has to
work eight hours instead of nine. I also
enjoy my free afternoons after I've
come off the early turn."
In a number of respects the views of
the Popoli employees tally with the
findings of a survey that was
conducted several years ago amongst
the workforce at the Zoeterwoude
brewery. Scientists from the
University of Amsterdam looked into
the drawbacks of fully continuous
working (five shifts), as experienced
Heineken beer has been
available on the Canary
Islands for more than 25
years. Growth during all those years
has been steady. But that has changed
in recent years; the upward line is
becoming increasingly steeper. We
talked about the whys and wherefores
with Mr.P. Nitschmann, Heineken
area export manager.
In one single sentence he explained
how that sudden growth arose.
"Heineken beer became popular in
the Canary Islands because of
tourism. For the past two years we
have been active withTVadvertising
and since then there has been a much
stronger preference for Heineken
beer amongst the local population."
But it is not only the growing interest
shown by the inhabitants of the islands
that continues to create higher export
volumes. Tourism also remains an
important source of sales growth for
Heineken. And as far as concerns the
touristic possibilities on the Canary
Islands, the limit has not yet been
reached by a long way. The two islands
of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
which form part of Gran Canaria are
still 'undiscovered territory' for
tourists. But that will not last much
longer. "On those islands there are still
miles and miles of deserted beaches.
The aim is to give a strong boost to
tourism on those islands in the next
few years. Many hotels and blocks of
apartments are being built. And with
them come many discotheques and
cafés and therefore many
opportunities for Heineken"says Mr.
Nitschmann.
The Canary Islands are subdivided
into two provinces.The province of
Gran Canaria (including the islands of
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura)
accommodates most of the tourists
and is very important for Heineken
because of the many discotheques,
hotels and cafés.Thirty importers and
one distributor handle the sale of
Heineken beer in bottles and cans in
Gran Canaria. In this province
Heineken beer is obtainable at some
50 outlets. On Gran Canaria itself
Heineken and Amstel beer are also
sold on draught. The firm of Alecan,
run by the Dutchman W. Oomen, acts
as agent for our products.
In the north Heineken beer is as yet
not strongly represented.To change
this situation, a new depot has been
rented locally to make storage and
supply easier.
Recently activities were started to
reinforce Heineken's position in the
other province ,Tenerife. Our Spanish
operating company El Aguila has
opened a depot as a base for the
introduction of Aguila draught beer.
The depot is also used for the
Heineken brand. Imports forTenerife
are arranged via that depot, which
also handles the distribution.
Meanwhile some 150 catering
establishments in the province of
Tenerife sell Aguila beer on draught.
The number of draught outlets is
growing by the day. "The proprietors
of hotels, bars and restaurants have
noticed that we offer them service by
taking charge of the maintenance of
the dispensing installations for them.
That good-quality service makes
many businesses decide to serve
Aguila or Heineken beer."
Tourists leaving the plane on Gran
Canaria cannot overlook this inviting
sign showing that Heineken has a strong
presence on the Canary Islands.
M. Zaccagnini.
by shiftworkers and their families.
On the evening or night shift most
employees see the lack of social
contacts (with family and relatives,
friends and neighbours) as a
drawback. Another disadvantage is
not being able to participate actively
in club and social events.
Such factors as tiredness and sleeping
problems are not clearly seen as being
all that bad by the majority; one
person may suffer from them, but the
other is not affected at all.
Just like the Dreher employees in our
intervieuws, those who work shifts at
Zoeterwoude enjoy the fact that they
are free to follow their own pursuits at
differing times of the day.
Jean Morissette: Heineken's distributor
in Québec Province, Canada, for the
past 25 years.
Twenty-five years as
Heineken's agent in the
Canada's Québec Province
was the reason for a small party given
at the Société CommercialeVille
Marie some time ago. Jean
Morissette, co-founder of the firm,
was honoured during a celebratory
dinner party.
Partly thanks to Mr. Morissette's hard
work, Heineken is doing well in
Québec. Up to 12 months ago that
province only allowed sales of bottled
Heineken. Mr. Morissette helped to
ensure that Heineken in cans and
Amstel Light are now obtainable
there.The Amstel Light introduction
was backed by a large-scale
promotional campaign with several
days of tasting and sampling sessions
on the premises of Québec's biggest
liquor stores.
