L’Eau L’Eau L’Eau – What’s Going On Around Here?

Almost seven years on from when French ‘bottled water’ multinational CG Roxane made its first foray into the UK market, HBPW is poised to help the company expand its operations in Lichfield, Staffordshire once more.

Roxane opened its £20m facility at Fradley Park in Summer 2012, drawing water from a spring in the village of Elmhurst, 3km away.

Now, its simple tipple has become such a favourite – Roxane bottle under the water brand Cristaline – that it has prompted another major expansion at the eight acre West Midlands site.

Senior HBPW engineer, Shaun Strugnell, has been working with contractor Jarvale Construction, to make design and build drawings a tangible reality.

He said: “At the outset the original plant was producing somewhere in the region of 68,000 bottles an hour which is a huge figure in itself, however, seven years on that will most likely triple, or come close to it, as we build a 10,500 square metre extension to the existing bottling plant.

“We are producing engineering drawings for the floor slab foundations and external works which include drainage and hard standings.”

Roxane has 40 production sites across Europe, a presence in 70 countries and 43% penetration of the French spring water market with its Cristaline brand. The company produces in the region of four billion bottles a year.

“It is already a huge operation in Lichfield,” added Shaun, “and much of it centres around a series of old aircraft hangars, which leaves little to the imagination in terms of scale! This is a hugely successful operation in both UK and global terms and, once up and running, it has to bode well for the UK.” ffffffffffffff