Approved by Maria Theresa, enjoyed by Croatians

June/july 2006
PETplanet

In February 2002 construction started on a new filling plant in the green Croatian countryside. Five months later the plant was in production, filling the natural spring water found in the area around Jamnica. The filling company, also called Jamnica, has enjoyed runaway success with PET bottles for its mineral waters and fruit juices.

The Jamnica mineral water company, part of Agrokombinat of Zagreb, has a long tradition, dating back to 1772 when the Empress Maria Theresa had Jamnica water included on the approved list for use by the Austrian imperial court. The water was analysed more than 100 years ago by a biological laboratory attached to the University of Zagreb and recent analyses have confirmed that there has been no significant change in the water quality down the years.
In 2001 it was decided to enter the still beverages market as an extension of the successful mineral water business and, although tradition is important at Jamnica, the company could see that the future was in aseptic filling. As a result, in November of that year, Jamnica ordered a brand new aseptic line for installation in a new plant that was scheduled for construction early in 2002. A contract for a complete line, from syrup rooms to end-of-line packaging, was signed with the Italian machinery manufacturers Procomac for delivery in May 2002.
The priority at Jamnica, despite the installation of the new aseptic line for juices, was to commence mineral water filling at the new plant and so initially the line was used for still water.
At the end of September a switch was made to aseptic filling to validate the line from a bacteriological point of view.
100.000 0.5 litre bottles were filled and the line was successfully validated in December, at which time aseptic filling began in earnest.

The first aseptic line
The new filling line is supplied with empty bottles via a Procomac Packaging Convair 2000 air conveyor. The aseptic filling bloc consists of two Gripstar sterilising and rinsing systems and a Fillstar FX electronic volumetric filler. The bottles are handled by the neck throughout and there is no contact between bottle and filling nozzle.
The end of line packaging, also from Procomac, includes bottle and multi-pack conveyors and an Opera 1000 low level palletising system. For Marinko Plestina, responsible for production at Jamnica, it was a relief to be able to charge one single supplier with installation and commissioning of the whole line. “I must say I have very much appreciated the complete integration of all of the machines. It was the first time for us that we had only one supplier for the whole line, and this makes everything a lot easier to manage”, he said.

Second line soon needed
At the beginning the aseptic line was used for water and also for aseptically filled fruit beverages, but it soon became clear that the capacity was insufficient and as early as June 2003 a contract was signed, again with Procomac, for the supply of a complete line dedicated to filling water. At the time Jamnica were also making plans to export their pure, high quality water and fruit juices to the USA, where 1 litre and 0.5 litre bottles would be sold in up-market retail stores, and so within months the decision was taken to install a third line, once again for mineral water. The new water lines, whilst not validated aseptic lines, are nevertheless “ultra clean” lines with laminar air flow and contamination control. They include Convair 2000 air conveyers, a Gripstar ACE 2R rinser and a Fillstar SF-PET2 gravity filler.
By June 2004 all three lines were in operation and are normally running at full speed from May to the end of September. By 2005 yet more capacity was needed and an order was placed for a second aseptic line for installation in April 2006.
One of the water lines is dedicated to filling 1 litre and 1.5 litre bottles, whilst the other is used for 0.25 and 0.5 litre bottles with standard caps or sports caps.
T he second aseptic line is rated at 22,400 bph for bottles up to 1.5 litres, and is filling flavoured water, ice tea, and still fruit drinks.

100 million litres on the way
Jamnica are currently achieving production levels of 75 million litres per annum (35 million litres of aseptically filled beverages and 40 million litres of water). They expect to break through the magic 100 million litre barrier very soon.
A distinctive bottle makes Jamnica products easy to spot on the store shelves and the water itself has received several awards, including an “Eauscar” (Oscar des Eaux) at the 2004 Aqua Expo in France for the best flavoured water. Berislav Briški, the company’s production manager, believes that flavoured water is the key to growth in the still water business and Jamnica’s low sugar, low calorie preservative-free flavoured waters are expected to lead the way over the next few years.