Celtic Pure have invested in state-of-the-art technology to cater to increased demand for their products from both Ireland and the UK markets. This choice gave the award-winning water company both the flexibility to tackle strong market growth and the ability to handle new product launches.
The family-owned Irish water brand is the largest independent water company in Ireland, featuring over 35% growth in 2017. It is set to revolutionize its production management with new equipment, which includes the new Sidel PET complete line.
Padraig McEneaney, CEO Celtic Pure, explains: “Celtic Pure prides itself on its high-quality products backed by friendly and reliable customer service and expertise. It is vitally important we meet the demands that strong market growth is realizing, while developing added value products, to take further advantage of new business opportunities”.
Following the 18million Euros investment announcement last year, a 115,000 square foot warehouse and offices have been built on Mr McEneaney’s land, adjoining the existing facility, allowing a huge growth in production capacity from 120 to 250 million bottles per annum. Housing a technologically advanced management and tracking system with new bottling lines, the recent move has doubled the production line outputs since March 2018, satisfying increasing customer demand.
Michael Quinn, Sidel Account Manager for the UK and Ireland, comments: “In a relatively short period of time, Celtic Pure has grown from humble beginnings to become the leading privately-owned brand of bottled water in Ireland. With the company now signalling its intention to move further into overseas markets, where billions of litres of bottled water are consumed every year and the potential is huge, the new Sidel line will help them gain the efficiency, flexibility and extra production capacity it so badly needs to meet its ever-increasing demand.”
The final stage of the investment will be completed in 2019 with an exciting new robotic warehousing system and smart storage, making Celtic Pure the most advanced water bottling company in the country. The entire management of the warehouse will completely transform the way the company works, promoting speed and efficiency.
Quinn adds: “The Sidel Combi is efficiently bottling and filling still and sparkling water with the utmost precision and hygiene. Offering high flexibility and modular design, it will enable Celtic Pure to produce different bottle shapes and sizes alongside multiple beverage SKUs, all within one system. It delivers reduced downtime, 30% less maintenance downtime and lower consumption - for lower costs - with up to 98% efficiency and up to 12% reduction in total cost of operation. Output speeds of 23,000 bottles per hour for still water and 22,000 bottles per hour for sparkling water, will substantially help increase Celtic Pure’s productivity.”
The new Sidel PET complete line was installed in January 2018, with the first PET bottles planned for launch in April. It comprises a Sidel Matrix Combi, complemented by a mixer and a CIP unit, a Sidel Rollquattro labeller, plus various bottle conveyors and accumulation system from Gebo Cermex.
Bottled water is the fastest-growing segment within the soft drinks category, as it continues to take consumers away from other beverages, posting off-trade current value growth of 2% in 2016 and volume growth of 3% - to reach sales of 178 million Euros and 175 million litres respectively .
Ireland’s best tasting spring water is sourced locally from deep beneath the Drumlin Hills in Co. Monaghan and continues to win awards from the British Bottler’s Institute for its best–in-class still and sparkling water range. Celtic Pure is a proud supporter of Irish Sport and is the Official Hydration Partner to the FAI and to the Monaghan GAA team.
