The South African National Bottled Water Association (SANBWA) has announced the dates and venue for its second industry conference – July 16, 17 and 18 at the Gallagher Estate Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng.
The association's first conference, held in 2010, proved highly successful and generated considerable interest in the industry. This year's event intends building on that success by offering delegates the opportunity to listen to international speakers with expertise not readily found locally as well as local experts who will be able to share pertinent, 'on the ground' information.
The formal speaker programme will occupy delegates on July 16 and 17. The agenda will include discussions on market trends and challenges facing the industry (local and international); industry technical development; packaging progress; and environmental issues such as PET recycling; design for recycling and sustainability; and protection and stewardship of resources. The last day will offer a half day excursion to a cutting-edge facility which will expose delegates to new technologies and improved standards in the local bottled water industry.
Training sessions (achieving SANBWA's environmental requirements, SANBWA standard and operator training) will be offered in parallel to the the talks on 18 July. That afternoon will be devoted to SANBWA's annual general meeting.
Charlotte Metcalf, SANBWA's technical manager, urges association members to diarise these dates and to communicate them to other interested parties.
She is also currently finalising speakers from Coca-Cola International, Nestlé International, certification body NSF International and the European Federation of Bottled Water. Details on this will be announced shortly.
