The day included a tour of the Blenheim Palace Mineral Water bottling plant on the palace grounds.
Blenheim Water is part of a centuries-old tradition that began in the 12th century when Henry II built a pleasure pool for his mistress, Rosamund Clifford, at Blenheim Palace. The pool was fed by an ancient spring, which, legend maintains, has never dried. Rosamund’s Well can be seen to this day, and the water has been highly valued ever since.
The plant produces thousands of bottles a day, with around 5% for the export market.
Following the bottling plant visit, delegates also enjoyed a full tour of the impressive Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and one of the UK’s most historically important buildings.
After a buffet lunch and opportunities to network, a short afternoon conference kicked off, with BWCA chairman John Dundon addressing the difficult issue of service and how it’s interconnected with productivity.
John Loosemore from Bluefin Insurance spoke about upgrades to its product recall insurance, and BWCA auditor Ken Driver talked about POU filter standards. He looked at what the objectives of filtering are and how the association needs to develop high and consistent filtering standards.
The mood was high among association members. Despite a rather poor summer in the UK and continuing uncertainty in the economy, the BWCA is maintaining its competitive advantage for members, including environmental accreditation, WRAS POU installer courses and qualified advisor training.
The BWCA also announced plans for its 2012 conference and trade show, Competing to Win. Named with the London 2012 Olympics in mind, the event is planned for 28-29 March 2012 at the Chesford Grange in Warwickshire.
Hannah Oakman is editor of Cooler Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024