CPL Transport Services and Multiaxle step in to shift 10 oversize vessels for Fosters larger production in Manchester’s historic brewery
By David W Weston
PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID W WESTON
Fosters may be Australian for ‘larger’, but did you know the amber nectar is actually produced near to the centre of Manchester? The water in the Moss Side area has been regarded as being of exceptionally good quality for a great many years – in fact, a report in the 1880s commented: “The water at the brewery is of exceptionally good quality, containing all the necessary elements for the producing the finest ales which cannot be surpassed in the district for their brightness, purity and flavour.”
The Royal Brewery was taken over by Heineken in 2008 for the production of Fosters larger. Currently, 1.2 billion pints are brewed per year in Moss Side, most of which are drunk in the UK – making it the second best-selling larger behind Carlsberg. The Royal Brewery has recently undergone improvement works, and part of this has been the installation of 10 new vessels, each weighing 33 tonnes, with a length of 28.5 m and a diameter of 6 m.
Manufactured in Germany, they were first moved by road before being loaded onto barges to be moved down the Rhine – which is not the easiest of tasks, as there are many bridges for the large vessels to pass under on their journey to the coast. Once the vessels had arrived at Europort, they were transferred onto a pair of cargo ships for their voyage around England and into the Mersey Estuary.
As featured in the October 2014 issue of Trucking. Buy the magazine here
