Bottling plant eyes February start

A new water bottling plant in Marianna should be in full production some time next month, according to T.J. East, the plant manager for Ice River Springs’ local operation.
The Canada-based company will be drawing water from White Springs in Liberty County’s Bristol community, and Gainer Springs in Bay County’s Fountain community, as well as from the Floridan aquifer via a Marianna city water well.
The water drawn in Marianna will be bottled for an Ice River Springs customer, who will market it as purified water under its own brand. The water drawn from the springs outside Jackson County will be trucked here for bottling and distributed as spring water under the Ice River Springs brand.
East said all the equipment has been installed and the company is busy working with customers and potential customers.
“The customers come in and do their own evaluations, determine quality aspects, and review paperwork to make sure the operation is meeting the requirements of regulating agencies,” East said. “It’s a necessary and standard part of start up.”
They’re not yet producing bottled water for sales orders, but are already providing samples for the “customer validation” procedures described above, he said.
Local government provided assistance in the development of the business by obtaining grants which will provide infrastructure to serve it.
Jackson County obtained a state grant to improve sewer service, upgrade an existing 3-inch water line to a 6-inch line, and build a road that will serve Ice River Springs and a child care business in the Marianna Industrial Park, where both companies are also located.
And last week, a groundwater monitoring well required by the Northwest Florida Water Management District was scheduled for installation. It will also measure aquifer draw-downs by the company in Marianna.
According to paperwork from the county, the company can take an average of 300,000 gallons per day, and a maximum of 10.3 million gallons a month. East said, however, he doesn’t anticipate the company taking anywhere near the maximum allowed.
The well, measuring equipment and the installation cost $28,750, and was paid for by a community development block grant to the county.
East said the company will do all it can to be a good corporate citizen in its new host community.
Already, he said, Ice River Springs has made one long-term commitment to a local agency.
The company has promised to give Habitat for Humanity all the bottled water its crews need when they build homes in Jackson County, he said.
He said the owners of the business, Jamie and Sandy Gott, also have a commitment to the environment.
“They’re very dedicated to the environment,” he said, “and getting the plants as close to the customers as possible so that there’s as little waste of natural resources as possible.”
East said that’s why Marianna attracted the Gotts.
“One of the main reasons we brought the plant to Marianna is that its in a location puts us in a good position to most efficiently reach a broad base of customers in the southeastern United States,” he explained.
East was also directed by his bosses to use as many local vendors as possible in the start-up and over the long term.
Furniture was bought at Marianna Office Supply, and building materials came from places like Tatum’s Hardware, the Marianna Lowe’s and Fastenall stores, as well as other area merchants. Certain maintenance functions, he said, will also be provided by a local company.
The company also plans to sponsor Little League baseball, as well as teams on municipal-run football and softball programs, he said.
Currently, five employees are working full time, and East anticipates a minimum of 10 workers as full production gets under way. The payroll should rise, he said, as the company grows. Wages, he said, are above the local average.
“Our owners are concerned about family values, treating people right, and about our footprint on the environment. We recycle raw materials, and do everything we can to protect the environment and make our impact on it minimal,” he said.
“We believe in 100 percent recycling. Boxes and plastic bottles go into recycling, and if we get a can out of the soda machine or create a piece of paper, we place that into recycling as well,” he said.
Ice River Springs has plants in Moganton, N.C., a new one in Kentland, Ind., and other in Pittsfield, Mass. The company was formed about 15 years ago.
East said the Gotts started it in a small Canadian town with little employment opportunities and expanded it into one of the largest bottling companies in Canada.