Before they are filled, all receptacles
going through the plant are
washed in line with international
food safety management
standards, such as ISO 22000. With
this in mind, Coca-Cola HBC
needed a water treatment system
that did not rely on the use of
halogen-based disinfectants and
was specifically designed to ensure
minimal disruption to operations.
Bringing ESG on board
Over the last 15 years, ESG, the UK’s
leading testing, inspection and compliance
company, has been working with CocaCola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland,
maintaining a range of ozone water
treatment equipment at its production
plant in County Antrim.
Two OCS 100 water disinfection units
installed in the plant currently provide
Coca-Cola HBC with ozonised, reclaimable
water on two bottle washing lines. These
highly reliable devices use state of the
art technology which results in minimal
oxygen demand and energy consumption.
Since the contract began in 2002, ESG’s
water treatment team, which specialises
in non-chemical disinfection methods,
has been carrying out regular, quarterly
maintenance of the ozone systems,
helping ensure uninterrupted operations
within the plant. Having been impressed
by ESG’s maintenance services over the
years, Coca-Cola HBC has made several
advancements on its original contract, the
most recent of which being the purchase
of a remote monitoring and control option.
The new upgrade to the ozone equipment
allows ESG to remotely access the system
from any location and make alterations to
the programming from offsite. By using
the machines, the company is also able to
save around 50 litres of cooling water for
every minute of operation.
Mick Pratt, commercial director, ESG,
commented: “Over the last 15 years, ESG
has worked with Coca-Cola HBC Ireland
and Northern Ireland to ensure a smooth
and reliable service. The recent upgrade
means the Water Treatment Team can login to the units from ESG’s office in Thame,
Oxfordshire, and monitor the system in
real time, making any changes instantly
and remotely if required.
“Due to the highly dependable nature of
the equipment, ESG hasn’t had a call out
to conduct emergency maintenance on
the system in over two years. Even so, its
service engineers are always at the end of
a phone if any issues need to be resolved
and can be on site to provide support
within hours of a call.
Jim McCambley, engineering services
manager, Coca-Cola HBC, added: “We
were very proud to be recently named
beverage leader in sustainability for a
third consecutive year, and locally we
are pleased to say that our efforts have
contributed to these results.
“In our Lisburn plant, we have reduced
water usage by 13% over the last five
years and are on track to achieve our
2020 commitments in this area. With our
advanced water treatment system, we
have complete assurance that products
are sanitised in the most efficient and
effective manner, without the need to
use any halogen-based biocides. As the
machines use reclaimable water for their
cooling systems, this helps us to minimise
consumption and continually achieve
these internal targets.”
For more information about ESG’s water
treatment services, visit www.esg.co.uk/
our-services/built-environment/
water-management
www.esg.co.uk
Issue 23 PECM
73