My first stop at the latest Aquatech exhibition was the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) stand, where I discussed bottled water sector developments with vice president Robert R Hirst. He revealed that, according to preliminary numbers from Beverage Marketing Corporation, bottled water sales in the US in 2013 increased by 4.1% to $12.3bn, and consumption levels of bottled water in 2013 stood at 10.1 billion gallons, which is a 4.3% increase on 2012.
IBWA’s data sheets indicated that the bottled water market was the second largest product in the packaged beverage category, and predicted that bottled water would finally surpass carbonated soft drinks to reach the No 1 spot by 2020.
After digesting a few more factoids and trends from the bottled water industry, I ventured to the Oasis booth, which was showing a new all-in-one water cooler and single-serve beverage dispenser. As well as providing hot and cold water, the new device is capable of producing coffee and hot chocolate drinks by using pod technology.
Coincidentally, international water cooler brand MTN Products was displaying a new all-in-one beverage system called AquaCafe. It comprises the AquaHost system, which is a bottom-loading bottled water cooler, and the AquaCafe Brewer, a single-serve brewer capable of producing hot coffee and tea. Both systems can be used as individual products and feature sealed controls to keep spills from reaching any electronic components.
Waterlogic unveiled a new product to the US market too, in the form of its WL600 Firewall Sparkling machine. This design utilises the brand’s Firewall UV purification at the point of dispense to destroy microbiological impurities, and offers chilled (2-litre capacity), hot (1.6-litre capacity) and sparkling (1.6-litre capacity) water. Featuring a CO2 pressure regulator and a touch-sensitive user interface, the WL600 is just under 45in tall.
Another innovative creation being showcased at WQA was International H2O’s Econoline system, which is virtually free from electronics and contains no solenoid valve or IC board. Operated entirely through gravity, this new system was designed to radically reduce breakages often associated with electronic point of use water dispensing machines and includes a built-in pressure reducer, as well as a leak detector.
Bluewater founder Bengt Rittri was also on hand to shed light on his decision to expand the successful Blueair air purification brand into the water sector with the launch of Bluewater. He explained that he had always had a passion for water purification, but he was waiting until the brand had developed the right technology before delving into the water industry.
When asked what was on the horizon for Bluewater, Rittri said the company was looking to establish itself in the Asian market.
Jacobi Carbon Company’s product and marketing manager Andy McClure was kind enough to spare some time for me at the exhibition as well, and discussed his brand’s AquaSorb CX-MCA catalytic, high activity, granular-activated carbon, which is manufactured by steam activation of select coconut shell charcoal.
The carbon is used to treat a number of different sectors in the water industry, including drinking water, waste water and process water, and some of its benefits include taste and odour reduction, rapid dechlorination and chloramine removal.
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