To meet the additional consumer demand, Harrogate Water Brands needed to install a second bottling line. Harrogate Water Brands was the first company in the United Kingdom to opt for an ErgoBloc L and thus for the finest that Krones currently has to offer for water bottling.
Founded in 2002, the independent family business Harrogate Water Brands is enjoying significant growth. For decades, the potential of selling mineral water from Harrogate had previously remained untapped. Yet the town of springs has a centuries-old tradition. Visitors from all over the world came to the town to enjoy the waters. As early as 1571, Queen Elizabeth's personal physician discovered the first mineral spring here and publicised its health benefits and healing properties. Harrogate became known as „the English spa“ and visited by wealthy guests, including the Russian Tsar's family, who found great favour in the Yorkshire town and the British bathing culture.
In 1740, water of the Harrogate brand as the first mineral water in England bottled. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Harrogate was the largest exporter of bottled water in the UK, supplying British troops as far away as Bombay with water from home. Although water extraction continued uninterrupted until the 1970s, demand for bottled water generally began to decline, bringing production in the town to a standstill.
Treasure under your feet
The town fathers of Harrogate recognised that the rich past offered an excellent opportunity to bring Harrogate back into the spotlight. They identified a spring in the conservation area that provided top quality water. In a formal tender, they offered the commercial use of the water and the trade mark rights. The contract was awarded to Tony Cain, The father of the current managing director of Harrogate, and in 2002 bottling began in the newly built fountain plant on a combined glass and PET line with an output of 18,000 bottles per hour. In 2006 his son James Cain who was at home in retail logistics and had made a career at the large department stores' chain ASDA Walmart. A perfect combination.
Bottle sparkles like a gemstone
The Harrogate Spring Water brand has a unique brand identityt. Black, white and silver symbolise the brand, which has positioned itself in the premium segment. The classic design of the bottles reflects timeless elegance and style. This is also continued in the website and the print materials - everything stylishly reflects the illustrious origins. Even though the labels have been changed from paper to plastic, the iconic design remains the same with a black label and black cap for still water and a silver label and silver cap for sparkling water.
At the same time as commissioning the new Krones ErgoBloc L, which quadrupled the bottling capacity, Harrogate initiated a relaunch of the brand and a redesign of the bottle range.
„I began to notice that many other water brands seemed to neglect bottle design. If you look at the supermarket shelves, apart from the labelling, you don't see many differences between the brands. We wanted a bottle that represented our brand, that symbolised quality for consumers. Our idea was also that the bottle would be recognisable as Harrogate water even without a label,“ explains Head of Marketing Nicky Cain.
Classic, premium, unconventional and authentic - these were the framework conditions under which, together with the Krones container design development team, the new diamond bottle was created. Thanks to its full-surface cut, it really does sparkle like a gemstone that catches the light and develops an incredible individuality. An absolutely successful combination of marketing and functionality.
„Right-Weighting“ instead of Light-Weighting
At the same time, Harrogate envisaged possible light weighting thanks to the ErgoBloc L technology, but according to marketing manager Nicky Cain, this was more of a „Right-Weighting“ The aim was not to achieve extreme weight reduction at the expense of functionality and the premium standards of the product, but to achieve a reasonable level of material savings without compromising stability. After all, Harrogate Spring Water in the „still“ and „sparkling“ versions is the number one premium spring water in England. This iconic brand relaunch brings the origins of Harrogate Spring Water to life in a very contemporary way that consumers can identify with.
Once the new diamond PET containers had been introduced together with the launch of the new line, Harrogate Water Brands decided to switch the glass bottle to the diamond design in order to ensure consistency in the brand image. The new diamond bottle in glass was unveiled in autumn 2014. It is filled on the „old“ line. The proportion of glass bottling is currently around 20 per cent.
Harrogate extended a hall by 2,100 metres for the new PET filling line2and thus doubled the previous area. Of this, 1,500 m2 used for the new line. „We were in the fortunate position of being able to plan the building around the new line,“ explains Managing Director James Cain.
Flagship line with all the technological highlights
The result is a line with all the technological highlights that modern bottling has to offer. In March 2012, Harrogate embarked on the project in order to better meet the increasing demand. The company then acquired permission to extend the existing factory buildings to make space for the new line and a warehouse, with the aim of using as little floor space as possible from the existing bottling and warehouse for the new line. The aim was also to simplify the operation and maintenance of the line, to achieve a high level of efficiency with the new line and to enable the future bottling of flavoured waters.
Krones fulfilled these objectives thanks to the space-saving ErgoBloc L. Its compact design made it possible to accommodate all the planned system components in the new space without having to take up space from the existing factory. The line begins at the transition to the warehouse. The preform infeed and the capcade sealing infeed for flat caps and sports caps are positioned next to each other here. The raw materials for the PET containers can therefore simply be fed from the nearby storage area using a forklift truck.
The preforms are then transported across the new production hall to the ErgoBloc L at a height of around five metres. This consists of a Contiform 3 blow moulding machine, a Prontomodul labelling machine with the new Contiroll unit and a Modulfill VFJ filler with 84 filling valves. The ErgoBloc L offers a whole range of system-inherent advantages: Labelling is integrated, which results in a further reduction in buffer distances. Fewer operators are required and the block can even be operated by a single employee. The ErgoBloc L requires up to 50 per cent less floor space than conventional systems, requires fewer consumables, materials, energy and maintenance and works more efficiently.
The Contiform blow moulding machine is equipped with a PET-View control system for PET containers. The Prontomodul labeller is equipped with a Contiroll unit of the latest generation. The Contiroll HS labelling station in the new design is much more ergonomic, simpler and easier to access. It also utilises existing potential for reduced air, glue and energy consumption and requires less maintenance. The design makes operation easier for the operator thanks to the clearer arrangement of the functional units.
36,000 containers per hour
The ErgoBloc L is supplied by a Contiflow mixer for still, carbonated and flavoured products. The entire block is cleaned by a VarioClean CIP system. Downstream of the block, a corresponding buffer section ensures a smooth flow of the line. The finished containers are then fed into a Variopac Pro TFS, which produces both shrink packs and tray shrink packs. The layers are then prepared in a Robobox and placed on the pallets by a Modulpal 2A.
The line is designed for an output of 36,000 containers per hour, based on the 0.5-litre bottle, and fills still or carbonated water. It is also equipped for 330-ml, 750-ml, 1,000-ml and 1,500-ml PET containers. A line documentation system (LDS) records the operating data for filling and packaging. The line, which is equipped with the very latest technology, is operated in two shifts by three employees at a time.
