Heineken Will Start Using New Container Terminal

It will be the largest in-land terminal in the Netherlands, which supports the waterborne transportation of huge quantities of goods as an alternative for road transportation.

Oct 5 2010 --- Heineken became the launching customer of the Alpherium, the new container terminal in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. The Alpherium, which was opened, has the capacity to handle at least sixty thousand containers annually. It will be the largest in-land terminal in the Netherlands, which supports the waterborne transportation of huge quantities of goods as an alternative for road transportation.

For a number of years Heineken and the Van Uden Group which operates the terminal, have worked with the Province South-Holland, the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, ProRail and the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn to develop the area of Steekterpoort aan de Gouwe, South of Alphen aan den Rijn.

In the near future Heineken will transport its export-beer from the brewery in Zoeterwoude to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp through this in-land shipment terminal, reducing road transport by a hundred thousand trucks annually. The energy efficiency of a boat is roughly three times better compared to truck transport of similar goods. Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman/ CEO of Heineken NV, comments: “To start from tomorrow, about 6 million truck kilometres will be lifted from the Dutch motorways, amounting to a total CO2 emission reduction of 35%. This represents a considerable contribution to the sustainability of our logistical chain.”