Isklar, the Norwegian bottled water producer, increased capacity at its production facility by adding a combined bottling line for non-carbonated and sparkling water. This not only made it necessary to convert the existing PET bottling line, but also required Isklar to design and test a new type of bottle capable of withstanding the high pressure of carbonated water. Working in cooperation with Sidel, Isklar completed the production line conversion in just two weeks.
Sparkling opportunity
Non-carbonated water accounts for roughly 80% of global sales in the mineral water segment, while sparkling water accounts for 20%. These percentages vary from one country to the next. While Great Britain is close to average, Norway and Germany deviate significantly from the norm. Sparkling water accounts for 70% in Norway, while in Germany – the world’s largest market for premium bottled water – the share is close to 80%. A huge potential market for Isklar’s newly launched sparkling water.
This was only one of the reasons why the Norwegian water producer decided to market the water from a 6,000 year-old artesian well beneath the Folgefonna glacier in both still and sparkling versions. This water, which is filtered through layers of glacial ice and rock, has a low mineral content. Consumer surveys conducted by the company indicated that both carbonated and non-carbonated products would have excellent market potential. “We knew that with its low mineral content and 7.7pH, our water would also make an outstanding sparkling water. Modern, soft, lightly sparkling and with a hint of sweet, it goes very well with wine and good food,” says Helge Valeur, chief operating officer of Isklar, explaining the reason for adding the Isklar Sparkling product.
Customers in the hotel and restaurant trade are key buyers of Isklar products and ultimately convinced the company to include sparkling water in its product portfolio. Many restaurant guests prefer sparkling water with their meals. In most cases, hotel and restaurant buyers want to order sparkling and still water from the same supplier. “Had we continued to supply still water only, we would have fallen behind our market competitors,” explains Valeur. The market launch of the new natural mineral water product needed to take place before 1 February due to the inventory and product range cycles common in Norway. “If you miss this deadline, you lose a whole year,” said Valeur. Together with the Sidel Group, the manufacturer of the new production line and a subsidiary of Tetra Laval, the global market leader for liquid product packaging, Isklar started work immediately on the new project. The first bottles of the new sparkling water needed to be quickly produced in time for a scheduled taste test to assess the carbon dioxide content.
Maintaining brand design
To ensure brand recognition, it was important for Isklar to keep as many design elements from the existing bottles as possible. The Isklar Still bottles feature a multifaceted design that replicates crystalized ice – symbolic of the product’s glacial origin. This same shape was to be used for the new Isklar Sparkling bottles – which also had to withstand the increased pressure of the added carbon dioxide. All 174 facets on the new bottle were continuously tested, analysed and modified by engineers and designers until they met the requirements for bottling mineral water.
To make sure that the labels are properly attached to the front of the asymmetric bottles, it is very important to rotate the bottle into position in the labeling machine. For Isklar Still, a notch on the bottom of the bottle is detected by a mechanical sensor and the bottle is rotated into the correct position. But a notch is not sufficient for determining the right position of a sparkling water bottle with a five-point petaloid base. To solve this problem Sidel engineers developed the world’s first optical recognition system for PET bottle positioning.
No margin for error
Another important factor for the bottling line conversion was to ensure that Isklar production operations would be interrupted as briefly as possible. During this time there was no margin for error, because any problems would prolong the shutdown. The good and close cooperation between Isklar and Sidel made it possible to complete all of the necessary modifications to the bottling line within a very narrow time window of just two weeks. The combined production line for still and sparkling water was ready for operation immediately afterwards. “In the meantime, the Isklar bottle has won several international design awards, and – even more importantly – consumer demand for the new product is outstanding,” said Helge Valeur.
Source: Sidel
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