Product technology centre

A significant part of Nestlé’s resources are dedicated to extensive R&D programmes. Located near the Vittel bottling plants in France, the Product Technology Centre Water (PTC Water) gathers Nestlé Waters' top experts under one single roof, making it one of the most important research centres in the World, dedicated to water and near-water products.

There, an international multidisciplinary team of 80 researchers –nutritionists, hydro-geologists, biochemists, microbiologists, experts in packaging and packaging materials etc. – pool their know-how to enhance their knowledge of water, its qualities and its nutrients and, in order to keep pace with changing consumer expectations, to develop packaging improvements and optimization of our production processes. One important focus surely is to further reduce our environmental footprint by reducing the water consumption in our factories, reducing energy consumption throughout our operations and using less and less packaging material or materials with a lower specific environmental footprint like for example recycled material or materials from renewable ressources.

The PTC also serves as a place for exchanging information and training by housing a unique bibliographic resource, a database containing about 25,000 publications or articles on water and the specific health benefits. The PTC Water is also proactive within the scientific community, sharing its expertise and knowledge in key international conferences and developing research-oriented partnerships with public and private organizations worldwide.

Innovation in the area of products, packaging, processes and technologies in compliance with Nestlé Waters' strategy is at the heart of our PTC. The Centre is equipped with two top-level laboratories, one dedicated solely to packaging, the other to product formulation. A "model factory", a large pilot plant, has been set-up and continiuously been equiped with innovative production equipment for packaging, filling and testing to research on all elements of our value chain and to validate all prototypes of new packaging and products before it is marketed to our consumers.

Last but not least, the PTC Water acts as a support centre for our subsidiaries. As such, the PTC is able to deliver worldwide quality assistance and technical guidance to all our factories and business units.