Intitirta produces mineral water

Intitirta produces mineral water

JAKARTA (JP): PT Grahamas Intitirta, a subsidiary of the Kodel Group, entered into the competitive mineral water business by launching its first mass produced packaged drinking water, manufactured in Kuningan, West Java.

The company said that the company's plant is capable of producing 18 liters of mineral water per second.

It said the construction of the water processing and bottling plant, worth Rp 6 billion (US$2.6 million), was financed with loans from the state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia.

The company's president, Boedi Rahardjo, was quoted as saying that Grahamas produced mineral water under the brandname of Batavia for the domestic market -- with distribution in Jakarta and West Javanese cities -- and Mount Blanc for exports.

He said Grahamas plans to cooperate with Cameron Spring, an Indiana-based mineral water corporation in the United States to market its products worldwide.

Data from the Indonesian Bottled Drinking Water Association show that competition between packaged mineral water producers has been growing tighter.

Pioneered by one company in 1973, the number of mineral water producers grew to three in 1983 and to 125 in 1991. There are now 195 bottled mineral water companies operating in 19 provinces.

Big cities like Jakarta are the most lucrative markets with stiff competition among producers with various brands.

Big cities, therefore, are very vulnerable to counterfeiting. Last week, for example, police smashed a syndicate of producers and distributors of fake mineral water.

The alleged producers of the fake mineral water admitted that they had distributed bottled water to both street and household consumers in Jakarta and its surrounding areas. (kod)