PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2019

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 01+02/19 www.petpla.net 14 Bottling and palletising water right from its glacial source Cool filling When the Ice Age Glacial Water Company in Vancouver, Canada, decided to invest in upgrading its production pro- cesses, technologies and capacity, it determined that it required a solution that would be able to work with func- tional efficiency of at least 95%, across a range of different containers and formats. It was also expected to maintain the company’s position as one of the most automated bottling companies in North America and the world. Flexibility was also a key feature, in order that it could react immediately to even the earliest and slightest signal in the fast-changing water industry. A compact and flexible solution has been installed by Italian SMI Group. As its name suggests, Ice Age Glacial Water Company, based in Brit- ish Columbia (BC), Canada, bottles water exclusively from glacier sources on its doorstep, in the mountain ranges of western North America. It recently invested in a new, integrated SMI Ergon system for the bottling and packaging of its 100% natural water, using advanced technologies in order to ensure that it reaches the tables of millions of consumers in North America and meet rising demand with its purity and freshness maintained. Ice Age Glacial Water Company, which was founded in 1992 as Water- mark Beverages Inc., has grown rapidly in the bottled water sector and has earned a leading position in the North American premium segment. Ice Age Premium Glacial Water, the main company brand, has won many awards for its design and packaging quality, as well as the American Tast- ing Institute Gold Medal for its taste and the quality of its composition, in both 2002 and 2003. Ice Age water is sold in a range of different formats. Its bottling plant is located in Delta, a township within the metropolitan area of Vancouver, the principal city of BC. The company collects, bottles, transports and sells its product, which is kept scrupulously uncontaminated and pure during the production phase and is claimed to be 100% free of bacteria. Unpolluted source The water itself is collected from the Alpine Creek torrent in the Toba fjord, BC. The creek is fed by ice from the Hat Mountains in the Coastal Glacier Range mountain chain, about 200 miles north-west of Vancouver, far from houses and industry. The area receives over 175 cm (69 inches) pre- cipitation a year. The water that flows from its glaciers has very low mineral content, a characteristic associated primarily with snow or melted ice; the freezing of water vapour is itself a purification process. As a precaution, however, the bot- tling uses UV and ozone processes so that the unique structure and character of the water remain pure. Everything bottled at the Ice Age Gla- cial Water Company originates from glacier sources and are 100% natural; they are not subjected to any working process and have minimum filtration. The company’s Vortex 9.5 brand, introduced in April 2005 while it was still known Watermark Beverages Inc, is a premium alkaline water with a PH of 9.5 – hence the name. It is claimed to provide important benefits and contain natural antioxidants and electrolytes. New plant installed 2016 Ice Age Glacial Water Company’s cutting edge bottling plant has been operating since summer 2016. It com- plies with the most severe production standards and is claimed to allow consumers to drink bottled water as pure as if it had come straight from its glacier source. The solution installed for Ice Age and Vortex water packages in 0.5 l and 1.5 l PET bottles by Italian SMI is equipped with a latest generation automation and control system incor- porating ‘smart factory’ technologies. The integrated Ecobloc Ergon 6-24-6 HP VMAG stretch-blow moulds, fills with still water and caps both 500ml and 1,500ml PET bottles, at up to 12,000bph in the 500ml format. As a monobloc, it doesn’t need a rinser or