With the conference theme Clear opportunity, the three-day event included plant tours, conference sessions, workshops, a gala dinner and the presentation of the 2011 Water Innovation Awards.
The event was organised in collaboration with Abinam, the Brazilian mineral water trade association, and sponsored by: Aptar, Bericap, ColorMatrix, IDS Borjomi International and NSF International.
The Congress was held alongside the 20th Brazil Mineral Water Congress.
The first day began with a choice of two plant tours.
The first plant tour was to the Minalba bottling plant. Owned by Grupo Edson Queiroz since 1985, the Minalba source rises from under the De Campos de Jordão mountain range.
The plant is considered to be one of the country’s most modern bottled water production sites, demonstrating a clear commitment to sustainability and environmental protection.?
Minalba operates seven bottling lines with a total production capacity of 100,000 bottles per hour. Formats include 20cl and 30cl plastic cups, a range of PET sizes from 25cl to 10-litre, 30cl glass and 20-litre home and office delivery.?
The second tour was to the EcoVita bottling plant. Deep within the Mata Altântica rainforest, EcoVita is located 135 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro in the municipality of Nova Friburgo.
Completed in 2010, the plant was designed to ensure minimum environmental impact, using solar panels as its principal current source of energy.?
The main production line fills a range of bottle formats, with a capacity of 7,500 bottles per hour for 33cl and 51cl PET, or 4,500 bottles per hour for 1.5-litre PET. There’s also a 20cl PET cup line.
Delegates not taking part in the plant tours were able to visit the Expo-Abinam, which features 50 bottled water industry exhibitors.??
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