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The 100-year old Spanish laboratory Oliver Rodés has lent a sample of its 5,000 water bottles from over 120 countries to Expo Zaragoza.

When Dr Benito Oliver Rodés began analysing his first water bottles in 1902 he could never have imagined that over a century later, a large selection would be on display at an international event.

Laboratorio Dr Oliver Rodés currently works with hundred of companies throughout Europe related to the bottled water sector, pharmaceuticals and the control of residual water. Since its establishment in 1902, the centre has become a leading authority in the analysis of bottled and medicinal mineral waters.

Throughout its 106-year history the company has analysed many bottles and a sample of those containers are kept in a museum at corporate headquarters. In total, Laboratorio Dr Oliver Rodés has more than 5,000 water bottles from more than 120 countries worldwide. Now, a significant part of this collection will be present at Expo Zaragoza.

The show features around 500 exhibitors from 120 countries. The bottles on show are from 1950 to the present day including containers made of glass, plastics (PVC, polythene and polycarbonate) and even tetrabrik. Many are unique examples, whether due to their shape, embossed marks or special characteristics. They also feature different types of water: still and sparkling, medicinal mineral water, water with natural minerals, and treated drinking water.

The Laboratorio Dr. Oliver Rodés collection will be shown at the entrance to the Catalonia pavilion in the form of a waterfall, so that visitors start their tour of the exhibition with the water bottle display.

Grandson Rodés Jordi Oliver Rodés, great grandson of the founder and General Manager of the laboratory commented: "Some months ago, the Generalitat asked us to take part in the display within the Catalan pavilion at the Expo and, taking into account the fact that water is the event’s main theme, we are very pleased to be taking a considerable part of our museum to Zaragoza.”

The complete collection can be visited at the headquarters of the laboratory in El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona). While all of the company’s bottles can be found there, some of them are especially significant, such as the first five-litre glass bottle and bottles containing water from spas worldwide.

The Laboratorio Dr Oliver Rodés works with hundreds of companies throughout Europe related to the bottled water sector, pharmaceuticals and the control of residual water. The laboratory currently analyses more than 100 different springs all over Spain, as well as many others in Europe and on the other continents.

On a national level, the laboratory has worked with the Environment and Health Ministries and with a range of autonomous governments, while outside Spain it has worked with such prestigious organisations as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Safety Foundation (NSF), the European Federation of Bottled Water (EFBW) and European Bottled Watercooler Association (EBWA).