Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Nestle Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For: Bloomberg Businessweek
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-21/nestl-makes-billions-bottling-water-it-pays-nearly-nothing-forBloomberg Businessweek:
?September? ?21?, ?2017? ?4?:?00? ?AM,.. By Caroline Winter
_______________________________________________________________________________________
In rural Mecosta County, Mich., sits a near-windowless facility with a footprint about the size of Buckingham Palace. Its just one of Nestlés roughly 100 bottled water factories in 34 countries around the world.
Inside, workers wear hairnets, hard hats, goggles, gloves, and earplugs. Ten production lines snake through the space, funneling local spring water into 8-ounce to 2.5-gallon containers; most of the lines run 24/7, each pumping out 500 to 1,200 bottles per minute. About 60 percent of the supply comes from Mecostas springs and arrives at the factory via a 12-mile pipeline. The rest is trucked in from neighboring Osceola County, about 40 miles north. Daily, were looking at 3.5 million bottles potentially, says Dave Sommer, the plants 41-year-old manager, shouting above the din.
Silos holding 125 tons of plastic resin pellets provide the raw material for the bottles. Theyre molded into shape at temperatures reaching 400F before being filled, capped, inspected, labeled, and laser-printed with the location, day, and minute they were produceda process that takes less than 25 seconds. Next, the bottles are bundled, shrink-wrapped onto pallets, and picked up by a fleet of 25 forklifts that ferry them to the plants warehouse or loading docks. As many as 175 trucks arrive every day to transport the water to retail locations in the Midwest. We want more people to drink water, keep hydrated, Sommer says. It would be nice if it were my water, but we just want them to drink water.
Nestlé SA started bottling in 1843 when company founder Henri Nestlé purchased a business on Switzerlands Monneresse Canal. Ever the curious scientist, [he] analyzed and experimented with the enrichment of water with a variety of minerals, always with a singular goal: to provide healthy, accessible, and delicious refreshment, reads Nestlés website. Today there are thousands of bottled water companies worldwidetheres even Trump Icebut Nestlé is the biggest globally in terms of sales, followed by Coca-Cola, Danone, and PepsiCo, according to Euromonitor International. Nestlé Waters, the Paris-based subsidiary, owns almost 50 brands, including Perrier, S.Pellegrino, and Poland Spring.
___________________________________________________________________________________
If you hit the link, there is a picture of the production line...quite a show, and quite a con!!
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
7 replies, 2470 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Nestle Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For: Bloomberg Businessweek (Original Post)
Stuart G
Sep 2017
OP
mikeysnot
(4,757 posts)1. socialized costs.
Privatized profits...
kacekwl
(7,021 posts)2. Nestle certainly taking advantage of the FREE market system.
I wonder if I can start digging up top soil from the forest preserves by me bag it and sell it . Could make millions right.
Chipper Chat
(9,687 posts)3. Nestle ,pure life, water has an aftertaste.
Never liked it.
DK504
(3,847 posts)4. Has anyone seen the propaganda ads from Coca-Cola / Nestl
claiming they care and help save America's water sources. Yeah, you'll wanto to puke.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)5. Yeah, I remember my dad calling this out many years ago...
They_Live
(3,239 posts)6. Why can't something be done about this?
I mean really?
dalton99a
(81,570 posts)7. Kick.