Napa Valley may be known for wine, but it’s also the home of Crystal Geyser Water Company, a producer of bottled sparkling mineral water sourced in the US. Crystal Geyser needed more space—150,000 square feet, to be exact—for its bottling plant in Calistoga, California. The warehouse expansion not only needs to be large—it needs to house multiple systems for various bottling and water treatment processes. The new facility will also feature an elegant water tasting room similar to the world-famous wine tasting rooms throughout the Napa Valley and the surrounding wine country. As a big undertaking, Crystal Geyser trusted Alston Construction as its partner for the project.
The expansion takes place in two phases. The first phase focuses on blowmolding, water processing and facility operations. This entails not only purchasing and installing the equipment but also relocating process equipment from their facility located in Shasta California and ensuring that all systems communicate correctly with each other. Because Crystal Geyser makes their PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles onsite, blowmolding equipment from French manufacturing company Sidel will be shipped to California. It is installed in one building along with a process equipment yard and tank farm for water treatment. A high-pressure compressor will be installed in the newly constructed maintenance building on the south side, and a filler unit is renovated in order to fill and cap the water bottles.
Phase Two is a new 100,000 square foot warehouse, complete with a canning system, a semi-automated racking system, and room for a possible glass bottling system. Made using stucco embossed insulated metal panels (IMPs); the warehouse houses additional systems that are crucial as Crystal Geyser pivots from plastic bottles to more sustainable materials, such as aluminum and glass.
But planning the new bottling plant expansion was only a small part of the project. In Calistoga, such building plans don’t only have to go to city planning commissioning review and approval—they’re also subject to public hearing and input. Through its partnership with the project team consisting of VR Design Architecture, Alston Construction and Crystal Geyser, we have received approval from the City of Calistoga planning and building department for phase one following several successful meetings. Crystal Geyser also had the opportunity to ease any concerns from neighbors during a public forum hearing. The approval process for large projects can be arduous, but thanks to collaboration from the project stakeholders, Crystal Geyser is on track to complete its plant expansion on time in February 2021.