Expansion at privately owned mid-tier Australian company Nu-Pure Beverages sees the company investing in a new water bottling line at its Melbourne plant.
The bottled water company has two filling plants, one in Brisbane and one in Melbourne, and each currently house 12,000 PET container-per-hour Kosme filling lines (pictured).
Now, the Melbourne facility's capacity will expand with the addition of a Krones 27,000 PET container-per-hour line, able to handle both still and carbonated water.
MD of Nu-Pure Beverages, Mark Holmes, told PKN the decision to scale up its bottling capacity was prompted by “increased domestic and international market demand for Nu-Pure's bottled spring water products” (both branded and private label).
The company bottles Australian spring water under its own brand Nu-Pure, and for private label customers who can choose customised branding, a service Nu-Pure also facilitates.
Holmes said the main driver for both domestic and international bottled water category growth is a consumer shift to healthier ‘on-the-go’ convenience beverages.
“Bottled water is easily accessible, convenient and affordable (low cost) through most retailers,” he said.
The company has also made sustainability an important part of its business philosophy.
“Nu-Pure cares about the environment and we focus on ensuring our spring water sources, packaging materials and manufacturing processes have minimal impact on the environment,” Holmes said.
“Our bottles are manufactured using rPET and/or oxo-biodegradable additives to ensure minimal environmental impact.”