STILL OFFER
operating companies which have
draught beer operations and came
across remarkably big differences.
"Little uniformity exists in the instal
lations. In part that is due to the dif
ferent legal regulations in each
country. We calculated that standar
disation will bring us a major finan
cial benefit. Savings will run into mil
lions of euros per year!"
"Besides", adds Huub Maas, "we
found we had no suitable dispenser
system available for serving those
outlets that sell a low volume of
draught beer. So we are missing out
on a slice of the market". And, for a
commercial man, that hurts. Which
is why the Draught Beer Competence
From left to right: Huub Maas, Hans Schutt, Feo Martens and Robbert Rams.
Centre will be focusing its efforts on
innovation in the years ahead, so
that the bar owner with a low
draught beer turnover can also have
a dispenser installation fitted on his
premises. Together with the R&D
department of Heineken Technical
Services and in cooperation with
suppliers, work will be done to
create innovations that will benefit
both the brewery and the on-premise
proprietor.
"UNDER THE COUNTER"
For any other business it would be
absolutely the wrong expression, but
Huub Maas says the words very
plainly and clearly: "Everything we
do is under the counter". We frown
and raise our eyebrows: does this
mean shady dealings? Maas reas
sures us: "No, not at all. We concen
trate mainly on that part of the dis
penser installation that's fitted
underneath the bar counter. In con
crete terms, it means that we don't
deal with dispenser columns, drip
trays and things like that. Those are
the bar owner's responsibility, in
cooperation with the representative
of the brewery or the distributor."
INFORMATION CENTRE
The Draught Beer Competence
Centre is also intended to serve as an
information centre for operating
companies that have a draught beer
operation. They can ring the Draught
Beer Competence Centre's service
desk with any technical, technologi
cal or commercial questions they
may have. Previously, their main
point of contact was Heineken
Nederland. That was not surprising,
as there are few countries in the
world where draught beer forms
such an integral part of the on-prem-
ise trade as in the Netherlands and
where such a wealth of relevant
knowledge is available. But Heineken
Nederland's draught beer organisa
tion was not equipped to handle
such a big influx of questions. The
Draught Beer Competence Centre has
now filled that gap. The need for an
information helpdesk soon became
apparent, as the new department
regularly receives all sorts of
questions by phone.
The Draught Beer Competence
Centre got off to a flying start. Right
from day one the new organisation
had a substantial customer base.
Forty export markets in which
Heineken has draught beer opera
tions were immediately on its list of
customers. Via draught beer consul
tant Hans Schutt, the distributors
and their draught beer customers in
those export countries already receive
regular expert advice on matters
such as training, cleaning and tech
nical issues. From now on, therefore,
their needs will be met by the
Draught Beer Competence Centre.
BENCHMARKING
Though the importance of the trans
fer of know-how and the focus on
service-should not be underestimat
ed, the new organisation aims to be
more than just an information centre
for operating companies and distri
butors. In the years ahead, bench
marking and the introduction of best
practices should lead to the creation
of a centre of expertise, which will
draw up standards and instructions
and develop rules and guidelines.
Innovative ideas relate not only
to a dispenser system for smaller
volumes but also, for example, to
cleaning methods, the quality of the
beer and, more in particular, to new
packaging concepts. The kegs that
are now in use have a low economic
efficiency and their initial purchase
costs are high. The Draught Beer
Competence Centre will therefore be
making a detailed study of new pack
aging systems and concepts, work
ing together with suppliers and with
Heineken's R&D.
The list of subjects being addres
sed by the Draught Beer Competence
Centre is a lengthy one and so the
Centre will have plenty of work to do
in the coming years. What does
Huub Maas think that the DBCC will
look like five years from now? "At the
moment we still have some catching
up to do in the areas of cost reduc
tion and innovation. As time progres
ses, however, I can see a shift in em
phasis away from innovation and
cost reduction towards the centre of
expertise and support function."
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