Challenge
When a plant expansion prompted one of the world’s biggest soda bottlers to look for a service partner who could deliver a high level of service, they chose Evoqua Water Technologies. Evoqua’s service network blankets the nation with offices within two hours of most major installations. Evoqua’s Indianapolis office, with a full staff of service management and field technicians, is even closer: it’s less than ten miles from the bottling plant.
The customer’s need for service was triggered by a major expansion that would double the capacity of the plant and improve its ability to switch rapidly from one beverage and package style to another to meet customer demand. The company commissioned a new 500 gpm ingredient water system from Evoqua, including green sand filtration for iron removal, dechlorination, reverse osmosis filtration, pumps, controls and storage tanks. The system also included recovery RO filtration for backwash water supply and ingredient water, in line with their corporate sustainability standards.
In operation, water is pumped to the system from on-site wells into a well water storage tank. Chlorine is added for disinfection and to help reduce iron. The well water is then pumped through green sand filters for filtration and additional iron removal, carbon towers for chlorine removal, and then on to the reverse osmosis units to meet the water quality requirements for carbonated beverages. The reject from the primary RO system is sent to a recovery RO, where the permeate can be sent to a backwash holding tank or production tank.
Their operating strategy is to remain lean and flexible, which means service partners play a significant role in keeping the new system as well as other existing systems in the plant operating with zero downtime.
" Water is everything. No water, no product, no revenue. "
The expansion in capacity meant an expansion in service needs … not just in coverage, but in responsiveness as well. That made Evoqua — a company with a national reputation, a hundred-year history of technical leadership, and a local service presence — a solid fit.
Solution
Installation of the new system was the first significant test of Evoqua’s service commitment. Performed by facility installation technicians supported by Evoqua staff, it was the first major Evoqua project for this bottler in a decade. It posed a bigger than-usual learning curve that took close collaboration between the two organizations.
“This is when it’s critical to have folks on the ground, on call, committed to respond,” says Dan Guiser, Technical Sales at Evoqua’s Indy office. “When things came up, whether it was day, night, weekend, or whenever, we were able to show up and work through it, because we had permanent people in the area.”
Results
The new ingredient water system went online in the winter of 2014 and has been operating with zero downtime since then. Thanks to the recovery RO system, more than 90 percent of the water used goes into the product.
" We’ve been there since the beginning, from installation to the monthly preventative maintenance and periodic membrane changes. We work with the customer to maintain the RO system and guarantee quality water. "
Evoqua’s service agreement with the facility covers not just the new equipment, but a large installed base of third-party water treatment systems as well. Evoqua services include ongoing maintenance and RO membrane replacement, all managed through the responsive, convenient Indianapolis service office. In addition to on-site service, Evoqua’s remote-monitoring technology gives service technicians real-time information on system status and keeps them ahead of the game.