Isklar, a premium still Norwegian Glacial Natural Mineral Water, is make waves as it breaks into the U.K. market. The launch is the result of a close collaboration between Isklar and Sidel, one of the world’s leading suppliers of beverage packaging equipment.
The strong partnership was born when Isklar asked Sidel to conduct an engineering study from line layout to piping and electrical specifications. Delivered in late 2007, the line began production in February 2008 to fill the first product orders in March. Isklar’s CEO Peter Krogh comments: “We had complete confidence in Sidel’s experience, the quality of its equipment, and its ability to supply complex line solutions.”
With a layout covering two floors, the line will initially produce still water at a rate of 36,000 bottles per hour. The line’s versatile Combi 20 Select BV will also accommodate sparkling water products. The Rollquattro labeler is another key component of the line and can apply both adhesive and band labels.
Meaning simply “ice-clear” in Norwegian, Isklar remains untouched by human intervention as it emerges from a mountain spring, deep underneath a glacier. The glacier, the source of Isklar, sits between two national parks in the pristine Hardanger region of Norway, the second least polluted country after Finland. “This uniquely filtered premium water, with no additives or processing, is captured at the source of 6,000-year-old glaciers,” says Krogh. “This ‘ice clear’ purity literally lends the water its name—Isklar.”
The Isklar bottle is inspired by the diamond-like qualities of a glacier and mimics nature by refracting light through its facets. “Sidel played a major role in validating this bottle’s technical performance and in guaranteeing the bottle’s mass production at high speeds,” says Krogh. Isklar believes that exceptional purity should not cost the earth and is committed to being the most environmentally responsible mainstream water brand in Europe.
The bottle is made from recyclable PET, and the state-of-the-art group recycling facilities ensure that Isklar has the capacity of reprocessing 700 million bottles per year, or the equivalent of recycling 10 bottles for every one sold. The Isklar bottling plant is powered by hydro-electricity and was created by “recycling” an existing empty warehouse and incorporating energy-efficient practices and state-of-the-art equipment. The plant is located directly next to the Hardangerfjord, so bottles can be loaded straight onto a container ship and their carbon footprint is minimized further by piggy-backing off existing shipping routes, adding minimum extra weight to the load.