Deep in the Himalayan Mountains, 14,000 feet above sea level, the world’s newest and highest water bottling facility fills, seals, labels and ships water sourced from a remote glacial spring.
Krones, a manufacturer of packaging and bottling systems, brought the facility online this past summer for the Tibet Glacier Mineral Water Company Ltd., manufacturer of 5100 Glacial Mineral Water.
The Tibet Glacier Mineral Water Company Ltd., which plans on distributing bottled water throughout Asia and the United States, needed a bottling facility close to its glacial water source in order to protect the integrity of its virtually contaminate-free water.
According to Krones, altitude played a significant role during the installation process. Workers had a difficult time moving and breathing in the thin air, which made the experience physically challenging. Altitude sickness and fatigue also plagued many involved with the project.
Krones made several modifications and conducted multiple rounds of testing to enable its equipment to perform optimally at altitude. In addition, the water bottles themselves were specially designed to withstand pressure changes when shipping to lower altitudes around the world.
5100 Glacial Mineral Water, named for its source located 5100 meters (16,800 feet) above sea level, comes from thousands of years of natural rainfall and melted snow. The water runs into a deep underground terrene for eight years, and then surfaces in seven natural springs clustered closely in a V-shape valley called Qumaduo.
The springs were discovered in 1987 by Tibetan geologist Duoji, engineer general of Tibet Geology Prospecting & Development Bureau. Duoji and his team monitored the quality and flow of the springs from 2002 to 2005 and determined the water was of a quality and flow suitable for bottling.
