The first bottles of Buxton Natural Mineral Water and Nestlé Pure Life left the factory in mid-May, heralding a new era for Nestlé Waters bottled water business in the UK.
The new factory is the culmination of many years of research and development and for the first time, combines the bottling facility with warehousing capability with the new lines allowing Nestlé Waters UK to significantly reduce its total energy output and the packaging used in its bottles.
The construction company was tasked with sourcing both procurement and labour from a tight circumference of the building site, ensuring contractors and materials wouldn’t have far to travel and more importantly adding a boost for the local community and employment.
By the end of February, 67% of the labour on site was from within the area and 76% of the materials had been purchased within a 50-mile radius.
The new facility has also given Nestlé Waters the opportunity to promote sustainable development practices and the factory is hoping to achieve an ‘excellent’ grading in its BREEAM Certification later this year.
This certification takes into consideration the site’s energy and water use as well as its transport infrastructure and its ecology.
Paolo Sangiorgi, managing director Nestlé Waters UK, said: “I am delighted to see the first bottles of Buxton Natural Mineral Water and Nestlé Pure Life come off the lines less than 12 months after we started building our new factory.
“Waterswallows has enabled us to pursue our ambition to promote sustainable development practices in both the construction and production processes operated there.”
A wave-shaped roof enhances the buildings’ visual appeal and a sustainable drainage system manages the rain water that runs off from the new site. A heat recovery system also transfers heat generated from the bottling lines to provide heat to the warehouse and offices has also been introduced which significantly reduces additional heating requirements and reduces carbon output.
Working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the local Butterfly Conservation Group, students from Derbyshire University ‘Skills for Life’ course planted a wild flower meadow within the factory grounds with the aim of attracting many species of butterfly back to the area.
Paolo added: “Using butterflies as a symbol of a healthy and thriving eco-system, one of our biodiversity targets is to see year-on-year increases in both the overall number of butterflies attracted to the site and the variety of species recorded there.”
Additionally, to create shared value with the local community, schools in the area were also included in the project and pupils teamed up with archaeologists to investigate the foundations of the new facility and created and buried a time capsule in the main entrance.
Start of production also saw the launch of an innovative lightweight range of bottles. These new bottles are the lightest bottled water bottles produced in the UK and have a shorter neck and a sturdy, ergonomical shape that requires less plastic and fits comfortably in the hand. Through their redesign Nestlé Waters has achieved an average 25% reduction in the use of PET in their production with a 46% reduction in PET for the smaller 25cl and 33cl bottles.
Innovation in production continues with the launch of a new sports cap that includes a tamper evident seal that stays within the lid when opened. The new sports cap will be available on the Buxton Natural Mineral Water 25cl, 75cl and 1ltr formats and the Nestlé Pure Life 33cl formats.
Source: Nestlé Waters
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