PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2011

BOTTLING / FILLING 26 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 10/11 www.petpla.net Conteno’s mobile containerised water-bottling plants can provide drinkable water, anywhere in the world. Water is life More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million – do not have access to a safe supply of fresh water, according to the WHO (World Health Organisation). In addition to this number, there is often a need for emergency water supply in areas hit by disasters, such as earthquakes, civil conflict, or severe weather. Conteno is a Belgian manufacturer of mobile water purification and packaging systems, which are complete factories built into ISO containers for PET bottling or on trailers for pouch filling. There are now several units in construction for Africa. Mobile water bottling plant Conteno’s self-sufficient and fully automated mobile water-bottling plants are installed within stand- ard 20ft and 40ft containers. The “AquaContainer Bottling” locally delivers a high-quality water supply in an appropriate package, whether a bottle or a sectioned pouch and can produce PET bottle size options from 0.2l to 10l. The automated stretch blow moulder is compact (1.1x1.2x 1.8m) and reaches an output of up to 1,600bph for a 1l bottle. The energy consumption is low, since the bottle is blown at low pressure. The plant has specific UV-treat- ment of water, bottles, caps and tear-off pouches and is designed for bottling according to strict IBWA and FDA regulations, with full automation from end-to-end in order to eliminate contamination risks. Filling and capping takes place in a sterile, positive air pressurised cabinet, without any human contact. The inner sides of the insulated and dust free container walls are resin hardcore, for ease of cleaning, and the production equipment itself is con- structed of stainless steel. Local supply purification For customers who also need local water supply purification, several container-based purification solu- tions are available for raw water to brackrish, integrated in the AquaCon- tainer Bottling. These can be based on ultra filtration, on reverse osmosis or, for special environments or areas where water is lacking, with solutions that extract water out of air (humid- ity/heat). Sea water desalination via reverse osmis requires a separate 20ft container. ‘Best practice’ logistics The company says that its self- contained local production plants can offer savings of up to 80% on the total logistic chain, including storage, when comparing transport of small lightweight PET preforms with tradi- tional filled water bottles transport. One truck filled with small preforms corresponds to the equivalent of 20 trucks of bottled water, which frees capital, storage, truck and ship space for other cargo. The mini factories are packed in with an onboard generator and com- pressor, and meet international food and beverage standards. Alterna- tors, engines and compressors are all recognised brands, which means that support is available across the world, through local branches or rep- resentatives. The container factory can be operational in less than an Conteno has developed 20ft and 40ft contain- ers comprising self-contained and fully automated mobile water bot- tling plants to provide drinkable water.