In the clouds with
Buckler
Almost three-quarters complete
Slowly but surely the Ichnusa brewer)' in the Sardinian capital
of Cagliari is starting to take on its final shape. Completion of
the new brewhouse and the installation of fermentation and
bright beer cellars (completely automated) and new beer filters
signalled the end of a major phase in the refurbishing operation
at the brewery.
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO. 33 PAGE 6
Renovation at Ichnusa
brewery nears finishing line
The overall renovation project
spans a total of four years and is aim
ed at boosting the brewery's annual
capacity from 250,000 to 800,000
hectolitres, with prospects of future
expansion to one million hi.
Over the past eighteen months the
outward appearance of the brewery
flow of smaller projects. But every
thing is planned to be ready in 1993.
The personnel will then have the sa
tisfaction of working in a modern
brewery and using the best installa
tions currently available on the mar
ket.
Operating panels in the brewhouse
show what effect automation has had
on the nature of the work. Right, the
automated controls, left the old-fas
hionedones. Just over a year from
now this set-up will be replaced by vi
sual display units.
has also undergone a total facelift.
The brewhouse is now twice its ori
ginal size (and capacity) and new sto
res have been built for finished pro
ducts and stocks.
Pressure
All these building activities bring
heavy pressure to bear on the shoul
ders of the employees. It's not easy
having to work in a place where ma
chines are constantly being moved
around because they're standing on a
spot which has to be cleared for
another (definitive) installation. And
despite all this, normal production
must not be interrupted.
The long road of renovations at the
brewery is now almost three-quarters
complete. Mr Capra, brewery ma
nager, feels that it is up to the staff
who have the finishing line 1993) in
their sights to put that message across
to those employees who can some
times no longer see the wood for the
trees. They have to reassure the other
personnel so that the remaining plans
can be implemented smoothly.
Dreher. The number of different pack
forms has increased enormously, cal
ling for great adaptability on the part
of the brewery workers. Previously
each employee in the brewery had his
own working method, geared to the
old equipment. The arrival of new in
stallations has brought considerable
changes in working practices.
house Birra Dreher called in special
ist help from Heineken Technisch
Beheer. The assistance provided by
HTB in Cagliari is more an exception
than a rule; most of the projects are
supervised by Birra Dreher's central
engineering department in Milan.
Further extensive projects are a
bottling line for non- retumables (ear
ly 1992) and the automation of the
old brewhouse in the autumn of 1992.
And, in between, there is a constant
Adaptability
Those plans are becoming more
and more ambitious. Four years ago
only one brand of beer was brewed:
Ichnusa. Meanwhile four brands are
produced, including Heineken and
Valencia
As Nico Nusmeier, production
manager at the brewery, explains:
training courses have started to play
an ever more important role in recent
years. 'Take, for instance, the auto
mation of the new brewhouse. For
that work we recruited young, techni
cally well skilled people. Then we
sent them to Valencia in Spain for a
month. The automated brewhouse at
the El Aguila brewery in Valencia is
very similar to ours. Those lads spent
a month there training and so they
were already able to operate the con
trols here during the installation of
the new brewhouse. To show our peo
ple the ins and outs of the fermenta
tion process we sent them to Aosta.'
The changes at Birra Ichnusa have
also resulted in a drop in the number
of seasonal workers. It's now become
less possible to use temporary work
ers because they do not have the tech
nical know-how needed in the opera
tion of a more highly automated
brewery production unit.
Help
For the extension of the brew-
Chantal Jacques, personnel manager oflbecor in Brussels and already with the
business for 27 years, has a major passion: flying. For many years she has en
joyed flying with her husband, a pilot and vice-president of the international
private pilots' association, and helping him with the navigation. During a
meeting of Belgian and Dutch pilots in Lelystad (Holland) Chantal couldn't re
sist the opportunity of flying a banner advertising Buckler.
