By the time bottles and product water meet in the filling phase, they have already been properly sanitized. Source water would have been purified and pre-treated, and the bottles properly sanitized and washed according to standards generally accepted throughout the industry, as well as by governmental agencies.

But the bottling process itself must occur in “clean rooms,” rooms in which ambient air and equipment are maintained in a sanitized condition.

Some operations build air-filtered clean rooms in which their bottled filling lines operate. Others use washing and bottling equipment that have built-in filling chambers as an integral part of the equipment.

Following is a look at three basic types of fillers currently available on the market.

Manually operated fillers
Start-up businesses with limited capital or companies that simply want to add bottled water as an extension of their product line often choose the simplest, least expensive equipment. This allows them to test the market and determine demand for products in their operating areas before investing in larger or more sophisticated equipment.

Manually operated fillers fit this purpose. Designed specifically for small operations and start-ups, these single-bottle units can handle up to 60 bottles an hour, with one operator required.

The best fillers are easy to operate. The operator simply places the washed bottle directly under the fill head, and then opens the ball valve to initiate the filling process. When completed, the operator closes the ball valve.

In addition, some fillers also come with a cap applicator to finish the process. The best of these machines are constructed of stainless steel for durability, easy maintenance and cleaning, which contributes to general plant sanitation and water quality.

Semi-automatic fillers
For larger start-up companies that need to produce a higher volume of bottled water, there are a variety of semi-automatic fillers available that can process several bottles at a time.

Several important factors should be considered, but high among them, of course, is choosing the filler that best meets your business’s needs for the immediate or foreseeable future.

You must have adequate filling speed and capacity to meet the demands of your clientele (sidebar, page 55).

Automatic fillers
Automatic fillers are designed generally for larger operations that require a significantly higher quantity of filled bottles per day. Again, selection should be consistent with a realistic assessment of the volume of business you have projected.

Some equipment can produce 1,000 or more large bottles an hour. If you are planning to include a higher-volume automatic filler, you probably should consider a self-contained production unit that includes a washer, filler, and capper.

It is best to acquire all elements of your production line from one manufacturer to ensure maximum component compatibility for production efficiency.

The more automatic the system, the fewer the personnel who will be required to operate it. The best systems can be handled by one, or at most two operators.

Other automatic filler features
An automatic filler should have:

• Adequate speed and capacity for your needs
• Built-in product water supply tanks of stainless steel
• A unit that does not recycle unused or spilled filler water back to the supply tank, to eliminate the possibility of product contamination.
• In the best units, a lift-and-hold function during the filling process, to minimize wear on bottle bottoms and increase their service lives
• Stainless steel construction: This is a must to minimize maintenance, increase effective sanitation, and provide longer service life.
• An effective clean room environment: Higher-quality automatic filler lines will provide clean, pressurized filtered air chambers as an integral part of the equipment. If not, the entire operation must be housed in a clean room with a controlled filtered ambient atmosphere.
• Automatic fill levels, for consistently uniform bottle fill levels
• A versatile capper system, to be able to accommodate a range of bottle sizes.

Production rates that work
The most important consideration is a bottle-filling unit’s production rate. This rate must be consistent with the requirements of your business at start-up or in the foreseeable future. You don’t want to be under-equipped, making it difficult to serve your clientele well.

On the other hand, you don’t want to choose a larger-capacity filler than you need, because of the potentially higher overhead and a smaller bottom line.

Of course, you should also have confidence in your equipment supplier, to ensure that you are obtaining quality equipment and after-sale support.