Sustainability: Winkels Group counts on new glass plant
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Consumers are once again increasingly turning to glass bottles for mineral water and expect sustainability in production. As the largest mineral water bottler of glass bottles in the southwest, Winkels wants to further strengthen its position in this segment. For this reason, the family-owned company built a new glass bottling plant at the location of alwa Mineralbrunnen GmbH, which not only bottles its own products but also performs contract bottling for third parties. The new plant was put into operation in December.
The trend toward glass has been observable for quite some time. Already in 2018, Winkels' own brands achieved a 4 percent increase in sales of the environmentally friendly container. In 2019, the family-owned company sold another 7 percent more products in glass. The introduction of the new 0.75-liter glass container from the German Fountain Cooperative for the alwa brand in spring 2018 contributed significantly to this positive development. In 2019, sales here increased by 50 percent, and in 2020 the weight-optimized bottle again saw double-digit growth. "It is not only for consumers that the topic of environmental and climate protection is becoming increasingly important. We, too, are aware of our responsibility and want to further advance the issue of sustainability with the new glass plant and the introduction of new, environmentally friendly containers," says Gerhard Kaufmann, managing partner of the Winkels Group.
The Winkels Group has already had a certified energy management system in place since 2014. This guarantees constant further development in the areas of energy saving and sustainability. The new glass plant, which is being built to the latest standards, will also make a major contribution to the savings: energy consumption can be reduced by a further, more than 14.2 million kilowatt hours as well as 4,800 tons of CO2 per year as a result.
The returnable pool bottles that Winkels uses for its own brands are also sustainable. Not only can they be reused up to 50 times, but transport distances are also saved when returning the empty bottles. This is because reusable pool bottles are used jointly by several mineral springs and are therefore particularly environmentally friendly. In addition, alwa Mineralbrunnen GmbH produces with 100 percent green electricity and, like the entire Winkels Group, uses fuel-saving trucks for transport.
Working together towards sustainability
Products of the fritz-kola brand are also bottled on the new glass line. The Hamburg-based company is known for its sustainable strategy: for the sake of the environment, fritz-kola has relied on returnable glass bottles since its founding and is steadily expanding decentralized filling close to consumers. Winkels ensures that transport routes in southwestern Germany are also as short as possible. "We are pleased to bottle a great brand like fritz-kola with its high-quality products with us. Through this cooperation, we have found a partner with whom we share common values," Kaufmann is pleased to say. alwa also fills the glass range of the bitter lemonade brand Thomas Henry on the new line. For both national brands, the Sersheim mineral water bottler has also set up a ramp for collectors.
Winkels will continue to rely increasingly on the environmentally friendly container in the future: In 2020, the alwa love brand and the trendy drink Brewed Soda Lime-Ginger already launched a product in the iconic 0.33-liter longneck glass bottle. And an exciting new launch in the sustainable container is also planned for 2021.
