High Performing Manufacturing

Our plants are different from many industries in that they don’t carry out any heavy operations. In most cases, their role is merely to bottle water at the source exactly as it comes out of the ground. As simple as that may sound, preserving the original quality and purity of water from our springs, requires elaborate monitoring and quality control procedures to be implemented at every step of production.

The natural spring water we use is kept in a closed circuit all the way up to the bottle, in order to avoid any contamination coming from inside our production sites. It flows through stainless steel pipes and equipments that prevent any migration of undesirable substances into the water. The automatic cleaning procedures of the water circuits meet the highest hygiene requirements. The strict application of the highest standards for quality, safety and environment is certified by external Third Party Certification Bodies covering 80% of our plants. ISO 14001, 22000, and OSHAS certification will be fully implemented in 100% of our plants by the end of 2010.

What’s more, the criteria that we apply to the composition of our waters are often much stricter than what the regulations in force require. The quality of the water is controlled through sensory, chemical and microbiological analyses at every step of the production chain. In the United States for example, Nestlé Waters performs a quality test for about every 150,000 litres (40,000 gallons) produced, which is several hundred times more frequent than the major, national, public water suppliers do.

For Nestlé Waters, quality can’t not only rely on the original quality of the water. Throughout the entire production chain, from packaging to the finished product, every step is checked by a battery of tests to guarantee that it conforms to the highest standards before it is sent off to consumers.

All our production plants have their own laboratory, which allows them to carry out rigorous tests regularly. Some more elaborate tests, including a yearly verification of all quality parametersare carried out at our Nestle Waters Quality Assurance Centre in Vittel in order to profit from the latest, most high-tech equipment there.