A new bottling line for drinks opens in the Studenac factory in Lipik

On 2 March 2002, a new bottling line began operating in the Studenac factory in Lipik. The President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić, attended the opening ceremony. The new bottling line is valued at about 9 million kuna and has a filling capacity of 7000 litres per hour. The Studenac factory employs 14 new workers. The bottling line is designed to supply the catering industry with drinks in the well-known glass bottles, designed by Orsad Franković. The bottles will contain Studenac natural mineral water, natural spring water Studena, Studena with lemon, ice teas made from Studena natural spring water, and Deit Tropic. The new line is only one part of Podravka’s planned investment in the Studenac factory. In the next two years, Podravka plans to invest another 100 million kuna in the drinks programme.

In addition to Studenac, Studena natural spring water, and Studena with lemon, the range also includes Deit. Deit is a line of refreshing, low-calorie, soft drinks with added vitamins, which come in different flavours, such as lemon, grapefruit, berry, orange, and apple, multivitamin, and Deit A+C+E. As well as the current range of Deit carbonated drinks, several new drinks have been launched on the market, such as non-carbonated Deit Tropic, and ice teas with lemon or peach, under the brand name Studena.

Valent Vrhovski, executive director of Podravka’s strategic business unit – Drinks – said: “We are opening a new bottling line designed exclusively for the catering industry which demands products only in glass containers. The new line is very important for Podravka because it will complement the existing production range with ice teas and Deit Tropic. However, what is even more important, this line enables us to produce Studena in glass bottles which will affirm the brands Studenac and Studena on the Croatian market. The strengthening of these brands is a good preparation for the coming tourist season.”

In the first half of 2001, a revenue of 41.8 million kuna came from the sales of the drinks production programme, which represents a 3.4% share of the total sales of the Podravka Group. This means that 19% more revenue was made by selling drinks than in the same period of the previous year.