Industry News
The following releases have been provided by Breck Speed, CEO and President, Mountain Valley Spring Co. If you would like to be added to Breck's regular Press Release distribution list, feel free to contact him as follows: Breck Speed, bspeed@mountainvalleyspring.com, office 501-624-1635.
Winn Dixie sells beverage facility
Jacksonville Business Journal - by Christian Conte Date: Thursday, April 28, 2011, 12:22pm EDT
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. has completed the disposition of its non-core assets with the sale of its Deep South beverage manufacturing facility, according to a company press release.
Soft drink bottler Polar Beverages of Worchester, Mass. is acquiring the facility in Fitzgerald, Ga. in the center of the state effective April 29. Polar Beverages will continue manufacturing Winn-Dixie's Chek brand soft drinks as part of a five- year contract.
There will be minimal change to existing employees or their wages and benefits, the press release stated. The 100 employees of the facility will become employees of Polar Beverages.
The facility is 200,000 square feet and 61 different varieties of soft drink are bottled there. Winn-Dixie (Nasdaq: WINN), based in Jacksonville, operates 484 retail grocery stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.
Winn-Dixie began the strategy to dispose of non-core businesses in 2005, the same year the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Winn- Dixie emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2006 and has since embarked on a system-wide store remodeling program.
EBWA changes its name to ʻWEʼ
Bill Bruce
17 Apr 2011
EBWA, the European Bottled Watercooler Association, has changed its name to 'Watercoolers Europe'.
'WE' will lead the water cooler industry by promoting high quality standards and enhancing our members' brand.EBWA/ WE chairman Jeroen Peters EBWA's journey to 'WE'
EBWA was established in Europe in 1993 as the European chapter of the International Bottled Water Association based in the United States. The establishment of the Brussels office in 1998 was the first turning point for the European industry and for the association.
At that time, the association's activities were directed at easing the restrictive regulations which impacted bottling in 19 and 22 litres for companies and suppliers active in the emerging bottled watercooler markets.
Another step EBWA's development took place in June 2000 when it became a founding member of ICBWA – International Council of Bottled Water Associations – consisting of member associations in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America and United States.
While direct company membership was the tradition, in 2000 the association changed its structure to become an association of associations – co- ordinating the formation in each country of a national association. This restructuring is keeping up with the representational structure required of regulatory policy- making bodies in Brussels.
When the European industry began, the market for watercoolers showed the dynamism of mostly young and small start- up enterprises. In recent years most Western European markets have matured, there has been an increased acceptance of coolers in Eastern Europe and new requirements for alternative solutions such as POU.
So far EBWA has focused its activities on laws and regulations governing the industry, being able to serve as the authoritative source of information concerning watercoolers at country level as well as in Brussels. EBWA created and promoted the highest standards of quality and hygiene through self- regulatory instruments including the Codes of Good Hygiene Practice and a large number of training courses for its members. The yearly Trade Fairs organized by EBWA were, and remain, the meeting places for the industry.
In recent years it became clear to EBWA that its members need to follow the changing of the markets, particularly in Western Europe. And EBWA reacted rapidly, supporting the process of integrating Point of Use into its associations according to the market requirements.
Watercoolers Europe
On 25 October, at the General Meeting in Prague, it was decided to change the name of EBWA to 'WE' – Watercoolers Europe. The process of finding a logo for the new self explaining name was finalised at the Annual General Meeting on 12 April in Paris.
The association's vision is: 'WE' will lead the water cooler industry by promoting high quality standards and enhancing our members' brand. WE chairman Jeroen Peters said: "At the Annual General Meeting on the 12 of April in Paris 'WE' started the journey towards a more open and dynamic organisation. But what does this mean for our members? It is too early to reveal all our plans, but you can be assured you will see 'WE' more often. 'WE' is now working on a new website and this website will be our key communication pillar. Our members will get relevant updates, access to unlimited knowledge databases, webinars, forums and much more. This means for our National Association members they will have access to data that allows them to keep the high standards, to deal with legislative issues, to promote the key benefit of our industry (healthy hydration) and to be able to ask for support when needed. "For our supplier members 'WE' will offer different membership levels and different kind of advantages. 'WE' is very aware that suppliers have been relevant in supporting our organisation in the last years and by executing our vision 'WE' will provide added value for them in return.
"'WE' will acquire new members, 'WE' will build new national organisations and 'WE' will fight obesity with the best weapon, namely our product: water. "'WE' is looking forward to meet you.
Source: EBWA/ WE
IBWA reports plastic bottles reach 31% recycling rate
April 18 -- The International Bottled Water Association reports PET plastic bottled water containers are among the most recycled items in curbside collection programs, and called for increases in recycling of non-beverage bottle plastics. Citing a recent bale study conducted by the National Association for PET Container Resources, IBWA said plastic bottles, including bottled water containers, reached a recycling rate of 31%, a small increase from last year ́s rate of 30.9%. In 2004, the study reported a recycling rate of 16.62% for the bottles, IBWA said.
"We are really proud to have expanded bottled water ́s PET plastic recycling leadership position, and want to recognize the millions of thoughtful bottled water consumers for taking an extra second or two to put their empty plastic bottles in the recycle bin," said Joe Doss, IBWA president and CEO.
Light-weighting, or using less plastic in the production of the bottles, has also continued to increase, the organization said.
"These are clear signs of improvement but far more needs to be done with all plastic products and containers," Doss said. "Empty water bottles comprise only 1/3 of 1% of the U.S. waste stream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. So even if bottled water containers were to hit a 100% recycle rate, there would still be far too many plastic containers of all kinds in the landfills unless more is done."
Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Amanda Smith-Teutsch at 330-865- 6166 or asmith-teutsch@crain.com
Nestle's First-Quarter Sales Exceed Analyst Estimates on Emerging Markets
By Tom Mulier - Apr 15, 2011
Nestle SA (NESN), the world's largest food company, reported first-quarter sales growth that beat estimates and said profitability will improve in the second half as it raises bottled-water prices and sells more premium pet food.
So-called organic revenue gained 6.4 percent, the Vevey, Switzerland-based company said on its website today. Analysts expected a 5.9 percent gain in the measure, which excludes acquisitions, divestments and currency shifts, according to the average of 17 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Organic sales rose 12 percent in emerging markets, where the company gets about a third of revenue. That surpassed growth of 3 percent in developed countries. Price increases added 1.5 percentage points to revenue growth, Nestle indicated, adding that pricing should "tick up" over the course of the year. Nestle said it expects full-year margins to improve at constant currency rates, fueled by the second half.
"It's a strong set of figures driven by emerging markets, but Europe and North America were better than expected and not just driven by pricing," Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Capital Markets, said by e-mail.
Nestle rose as much as 1.6 percent in Zurich trading and was up 50 centimes, or 0.9 percent, at 53.75 francs as of 11:13 a.m. The shares are little changed in the past year, compared with Kraft Foods Inc.'s 6.1 percent gain and PepsiCo Inc.'s 0.7 percent advance.
'Solid as a Rock'
The volume of goods sold increased 4.9 percent in the quarter, Nestle said, beating the 3.7 percent average estimate of the analysts. Higher pricing may lead to a deceleration in volume growth, Roddy Child-Villiers, head of investor relations, said on a conference call. He declined to give a forecast for margins in the first half.
"Nestle was solid as a rock in the first quarter, and is guiding for more of the same in the balance of the year," Andrew Wood, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in a note.
Nestle increased prices on bottled water in emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia in the first quarter, and probably will increase pricing for the entire unit in the full year, Child-Villiers said. The Swiss company owns the world's largest bottled-water brand in Pure Life.
Coca-Cola's Give It Back racks a nod to sustainability commitment
APRIL 6, 2011 | BY ALLISON CERRA
ATLANTA — Coca-Cola has developed 100% recyclable display racks for use in U.S. grocery and convenience stores.
The new Give It Back racks are stand-alone units made of easily recyclable corrugated cardboard, Coca-Cola said. The soft drink giant said the merchandise displays expand its commitment to sustainability. The racks currently are being tested in select markets and are expected to become widely available in late 2011.
"Coca-Cola recovered 400 million lbs. of cans and bottles in the U.S. in 2010, yet we want to do more," said Gary Wygant, VP business development of Coca-Cola Recycling. "By creating a 100% recyclable merchandise display rack, Coca-Cola is asking grocery and convenience stores to join our sustainability efforts by returning or recycling our racks, just like we ask consumers to return or recycle our product packaging."
Mountain Valley Spring Water, Sending Water To Japan
Updated: Apr 05, 2011 4:30 PM CDT
By Michelle Rupp
Hot Springs - One Arkansas company is doing it's share to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Mountain Valley Spring Water in Hot Springs is sending more than ten thousand cases of it's bottled water. These green bottles have been to the White House, featured in movies and soon will be on their way to the other side of the world. Mountain Valley Water has been exporting to Japan for several years. A few weeks ago however, their orders got much larger. "Certainly after the tsunami and the need for good, clean, premium water, we got the call and as we speak we are actually loading ocean going containers." says Taylor Cranor, of Mountain Valley Spring Company.
The bottles will be shipped from Hot Springs, to Memphis, Tennessee. Then loaded on a railcar and sent to Southern California then onto Yokohama, Japan. "We're pleased nature has dealt us with the capacity to supply them. Certainly Hot Springs is in not in any proximity to Japan but they fact they called on us we're very proud of for the state of Arkansas and for Mountain Valley" More than a thousand cases will be filled by the end of the day. Every bottle on the line Tuesday is ear marked for Japan. Even down to the label. "If you look at the translation on our bottle, all though I cannot translate it for you, is very much in detail to keep the Japanese consumer very informed of the quality of our product."
It'll take about 6 weeks for these bottles to reach Yokohama, Japan. They will then be distributed to retailers throughout the region.