INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE s
Straight through
the jungle ?5i
Profit figures
Heineken N.V.
New Pedavena bottling line operates
to full satisfaction
w w
Number 19
APril 1989
Contents:
Hydrofoil
launched Q
Jan Koop, BralimaShead of logistics,seeks adventure g
"I've always enjoyed off-the-road driving and right from
the moment I started working in Kinshasa I felt I wanted to
make a trip like this." By the time this issue of Heineken In
ternational Magazine is published. Jan Koop will be back at
his desk again in Kinshasa after a journey of thousands of
miles by jeep from Holland to Zaïre.
Obstacles
Dangerous
The Board of Directors of Heineken N.V. recently
announced the profit figures for 1988. The net profit
amounted to 290.8 million guilders, which meant a
slight increase compared to 1987 (286.7 million guil
ders). Consolidated net turnover increased from 6,659
million guilders in 1987 to 7,291 million in 1988.
The higher turnover was attributable to the realisation
of higher selling prices and an increase in sales volume
as well as to the inclusion of more interests in the con
solidated results.
The operating result went up from 511 million to
537.3 million in 1988, which is equivalent to an in
crease of 5.1 per cent. The improvement in the result
stemmed from the increased sales volume, which
helped to offset a slightly lower net margin.
In the next issue of Heineken International Magazine
the 1988 results will be discussed in more detail on the
basis of the annual report.
In August 1987 employees
of Dreher in Pedavena, to
gether with technicians from
Heineken Technisch Beheer,
started work on a major pro
ject, the construction of a
new one way bottling line
with the special feature of
being able to fill two differ
ent types of beer at the same
time. Installation of the new
line took a total of eight
months! Both the manage
ment and the personnel are
pleased with this ingenious
example of modern technol
ogy.
Heineken
fflfbratedjubi,ee O
udining course-
International personnel magazine. Published six times a year in Dutch, English, Spanish and Italian by: Corporate Public Relations, Heineken N. V., P.O. Box, 28, 1000 AA Amsterdam. Tel. 020-70.22.68. IDProo
^^"^jmportant f
We talked to Jan Koop. head of
logistics with Bralima in Zaïre, on
1st March, just one day before his
departure from the Netherlands.
He was all set to tackle the adven
ture, together with his brother. An
adventure that started in Holland
and ended in Kinshasa. Via Bel
gium, France, Spain, Morocco,
Niger, Nigeria and Cameroun.
The journey was preceded by
lengthy preparations. One of Jan's
previous leave periods in Holland
had been spent sorting out the or
ganisational paperwork. He and
his brother had also chatted with
teams who had made similar trips
in the past. They picked up some
useful tips, for instance about driv
ing through inhospitable terrain.
Just before they left, the duo
stocked up enough food and drink
for 24 days and made sure they
had sufficient spares for the vital
parts of the jeep.
Jan Koop has reckoned in ad
vance on having to cope with two
major obstacles: the border for
malities in Africa ("I've heard that
you sometimes have to wait for
days to get permission to drive
into a country") and the second
stretch of the route through the
Sahara where there's no proper
road. "It's then a matter of keeping Jan Koop in his jeep. One day after this photo was taken, Bralima's head of logistics set out for Zaïre.
a sharp look-out for the signs, like
a cairn of stones. If we miss those
landmarks we'll have to backtrack,
as otherwise you can get
hopelessly lost. We also hope to be
able to follow the trail of people
who've taken the same route be
fore us", explains Mr. Koop.
The two brothers allowed thirty
days for the journey, although it
should be possible to make the trip
in 24 days. None the less they've
included some extra days in their
time schedule. "Naturally, we
want to take in some of the scen
ery as well".
The two of them intend to sleep
in the car at night. A folding bed
construction was specially built in
the jeep for this trip so that they
can enjoy a good night's rest. Jan
Koops feels that sleeping in a tent
wouldn't be safe: "Especially once
we're through the desert and get
into the tropical region, sleeping
in a tent would be dangerous be
cause of all the creepy-crawlies.
Anyway, we think this should also
reduce the risk of things being
stolen from the jeep."
In a next issue of Heineken In
ternational Magazine we hope to
bring you a full report on Jan
Koop's experiences during the trip.
Just like several other European
countries, Italy also has the return
able bottles system. But the return
system is not compulsory. The bre
weries in Italy have been con
fronted in recent years with a de
clining interest for returnable bot
tles and a growing demand for the
one way, or disposable bottle. At
the moment the employees of the
bottling department spend only
one and a half days working on the
line for returnable bottles. During
the other working days they can be
found at the new one way line
which can fill a total of 50,000
bottles of 33 cl each per hour. At
the end of the bottling line six
machines are installed alongside
each other to handle the packing
into outers. Dreher in Pedavena
produces beer in twelve different
pack forms.
During the winter period the
bottling department works a five
day week in two shifts. As the
summer approaches (bringing with
it a significant increase in beer
consumption) the brewery
switches over to three shift work
ing so that a stock can be built up
for the busy season.