Boosting bottles backs business growth
A Wagga Wagga based, family-owned bottled water company has doubled production and added 14 full-time jobs, boosting local manufacturing and employment thanks to $240,000 in NSW Government funding.
For more than 140 years the Wilson family has called Big Springs Station in Wagga Wagga home and during the drought of 1994 the family decided to switch things up and thought it would be a great idea to bottle the pristine natural spring water from the family’s Station.
A true small business success story, from 1994 until 2004 the water was bottled on the family farm, by 2004 the high demand and increase in customers required a purpose-built factory and administration facility to be built in Wagga Wagga.
Big Springs Water now employs over 34 staff to deliver premium natural spring water to over 6,000 clients throughout southern NSW, mid-western NSW, the ACT and north-east Victoria.
The $240,000 in NSW Government funding allowed Big Springs Riverina to install the latest bottling technology to keep up with demand, improving bottling line speed and minimising the need for manual handling of bottles.
This efficiency has seen the company go from producing 250 bottles of its pristine spring water every hour to over 600 bottles an hour, increasing its projected annual revenue by 123 percent.
Big Springs Riverina Managing Director Angus Wilson said the funding has helped the company take a major step forward.
“This investment has been a game changer for us, it has allowed us to modernise our operations, meet growing demand, and most importantly, create more local jobs,” Mr Wilson said.
“We’re proud to continue the Wilson family legacy here in Wagga Wagga and deliver high-quality, locally sourced spring water to thousands of customers across the region, while continuing to support our local community.”
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Executive Director Harriet Whyte said the project is a great example of regional innovation and resilience.
“Big Springs Riverina is a fantastic example of how small business can thrive with the right support to grow the manufacturing sector in regional NSW,” Ms Whyte said.
“It’s inspiring to see a regionally based small business like Big Springs Riverina going from strength-to-strength, with their expansion a credit to their team’s hard work and innovation, creating jobs and making a positive impact in their local community.”
For more information on Big Springs Riverina, go to: bigspringswater.com.au