Proactive investment policy
This is why last year Muszynianka launched a significant investment initiative. “We went straight to Krones in Neutraubling, without inviting other manufacturers to submit alternative quotations,” says Ryszard Mosur. "The major basic reasons for our decision were the top-level quality of the Krones machines, and above all the service support provided by Krones. During the 13 years when our first Krones line was running, it happened three times that some spares were really urgently needed. Even though these parts were not in stock at Krones Poland, they were each time supplied to our plant from Neutraubling within 24 hours - thus enabling us to resume our production. That’s what we appreciate Krones for - quality, reliability, prompt service support."So Muszynianka placed an order with Krones for another bottling line, this one rated at 24,000 PET containers an hour, to be installed at its plant in Muszyna - and needless to say featuring block technology once more.
The mineral water bottler now has a total bottling capacity of 52,000 containers an hour – quite a different figure from the 1,500 bottles per hour the firm had started out with.
Follow-up order: a combined line
After the new line had successfully started operation in late 2017, Muszynianka has continued to rigorously pursue its expansion thrust. At the beginning of 2018, the mineral water bottler placed an order with Krones for a combined line. "It’s above all the sanatoriums and health spas in our region that want to buy our healthy water in glass bottles as well," says Ryszard Mosur. “More and more consumers are likewise in the market for this type of container, so we decided to put in place some capacities for glass bottles too." This will make Muszynianka one of the first Polish bottlers to offer water in glass containers nationwide. Up till now, just a few producers had included those in their portfolios. Muszynianka chose an embossed 0.3-litre bottle with a neck-around label as the first container size, which is ideally suited for the catering trade as well.However, the location of the facility in Muszyna - with a railway track and a road on one side and a river plus neighbouring Slovakia on the other – did not offer enough space for installing further lines here, which was why Muszynianka decided to build its third plant in Krynica Zdrój, just a few kilometres away from its main facility in Muszyna. It’s there that the new combined line will start operation in the autumn of 2018.
“Like a mid-tier family firm”
For this third location, too, Muszynianka will stay true to its corporate philosophy: concentrating on just one brand. The water filled here will likewise be called Muszynianka, with “Zdrój” being added, which is quite simply part of the place’s name.And it looks highly likely that the company, organised as a cooperative, will see further expansions in the future. “Our plans include increasing the diversity of our bottle range, by adding both a larger glass bottle and a medium-sized PET container,” says Ryszard Mosur. “We are a small company, but hugely successful. We don’t have a large sales and marketing department; we work more along the lines of a mid-tier family firm. It will be crucially important for us in future to be better able to meet demand in the peak season.” The two Krones lines, installed in quick succession, are intended to be instrumental in achieving this goal.
Source: Krones
