BOTTLED WATER PLANTS - CHAPTER ONE
BOTTLED WATER PLANTS – THE BEGINNING
Liquid Packaging Solutions receives a number of requests for pricing on bottled water plants. With packaging equipment options from water treatment systems to pallet wrappers for packing, there are numerous variations on the bottled water plant. If you are near a water source and dream of bottling water, the following is a checklist of items and resources to get you started! This checklist will be presented one step at a time over the next few days, so be sure to check back often for more information on bottled water plants.
WATER SOURCE
Before you can fill, cap, label and package water, you need to FIND that water! Whether you have a lake, an ocean, spring or simply municipal water, you need to determine your source and the feasibility of bottling from that source. To determine what type of water treatment is necessary for your bottled water plant, you will need to have a water analysis completed using your water source. The water analysis will determine, among other things, the hardness of your water and any impurities in the water. The first link below is an IBWA list of several companies that provide water analysis. The other links provide additional detail on water analysis:
http://www.bottledwater.org/buyersguide/categories.php?cid=156
http://www.walrus.com/~gatherer/interpret.html#Introduction
http://www.ausetute.com.au/waterana.html
http://www.bottledwater.org/public/Bottled%20Water%20Regulation%20Overview.htm
http://www.bevnet.com/news/2008/04-01-2008-UL.asp
BOTTLES, CAPS, LABELS AND SPACE
Now you have your water source, you have completed your water analysis and have had the analysis explained to you. You have some idea of what water treatment will be necessary for your plant. Are you ready to start purchasing your packaging equipment? Not quite yet. You must take into account the types of bottles you are going to use, the caps you are going to use and the labels you want to put on your bottles. All of these decisions can have an effect on the packaging equipment necessary.
If you choose to package a number of different bottle sizes and shapes, you will want to insure that your packaging equipment has the ability to handle the range chosen. Fillers, cappers, labelers, even conveyors, will probably need some adjustments made to run different sizes and shapes of containers. This takes away from production time! And keep in mind that you can only run one bottle size at a time on a given line! Some companies set up multiple packaging lines in order to run different size bottles or perform maintenance on one line while running production on the others! A simple internet search will provide a number of bottle, cap and label suppliers. A few examples are listed below:
Finally, you must keep your building size and packaging space in mind when initially setting up a bottled water plant. A fully automated packaging system manufactured to help you compete in a global marketplace will obviously require more space than a tabletop bottled water packaging system for someone looking to break into a local market.
Now you have your water source, you’ve decided on bottles, caps, and labels and you know what market you are initially looking to break into. NOW can we look at the packaging equipment?
Yes! check back in the coming days for more information on setting up a bottled water plant, including all necessary equipment for your packaging system, such as bottle rinsers, fillers, cappers, labelers and more!
OR, if you just can’t wait, give Liquid Packaging Solutions, Inc. a call, toll free, at:
1-888-393-3693
Posted: May 7, 2008
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