BlueTriton Brand’s Ice Mountain® Brand celebrates 20 years in Michigan and reflects on “Michigan strong”
Written by: StoryStudio
With a mission to produce high-quality bottled water products with industry best practices in workplace safety, environmental protection and sustainability, packaging innovation, and community engagement, Stanwood-based Ice Mountain® Brand this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Michigan.
Company officials say its future looks strong because its foundation is strong.
“From the very beginning, we set out to have Ice Mountain play a positive, meaningful role in Michigan,” says Brendan O’Rourke, who led the decision to locate Ice Mountain in west central Michigan and served as the facility’s first plant manager. “Looking back, I’m especially proud of our efforts to create a workplace where people want to come to work each day, and our focus on enriching area communities in real ways.”
Today, Ice Mountain® 100% Natural Spring Water, primarily bottled in Stanwood from select natural spring water sources located throughout the area, is among the Great Lakes region’s most recognized bottled water brands and a Midwest consumer favorite.
O’Rourke says employees and leadership embrace the idea that a prosperous planet and the long-term success of Ice Mountain® both depend on making decisions that will have a positive and lasting impact on communities. That’s why and how the company’s people have endeavored to do things differently from day one.
A clean, safe workplace and dedicated workforce
West Michigan is a great place to raise a family and enjoy a fulfilling career.
Careers with the company’s Ice Mountain® brand afford the company’s 285 workers, drawn from the area immediately surrounding its operations, growth opportunities in the areas of advanced manufacturing technologies, innovation, quality assurance, and sustainability.
“We pride ourselves on being the employer of choice in this area, offering exceptional pay and maintaining a safe, clean, work environment,” says the current plant manager of Ice Mountain®, Mitch Plosz. “Our focus is on providing opportunities for our employees to utilize their talents to grow and develop their careers and career mobility potential, but we also appreciate the dedication of our team members who have been with us from the start, helping us grow, meet customer needs, and deepen our ties in the community.”
Long tenures at the bottling facility are common. Take Paul Blanzy, who was among the company’s first hires, helped launch operations, and remains a key leader on the production floor twenty years later. Paul’s daughter, Lindsay, joined Ice Mountain more than five years ago and remains a valuable member of the team.
Quality assured for confidence, trust, and good taste
Bottled water is among the most regulated food and beverage products available.
Locally sourced and continually tested, Ice Mountain® 100% Natural Spring Water consistently exceeds standards for safety and quality. Science and technology play a dual role in a multi-step quality process that assures that Ice Mountain® brand bottled water earns consumer trust in its highest quality standards. BlueTriton Brands, owner of Ice Mountain®, publishes on the Ice Mountain® brand website the detailed, certified laboratory studies conducted regularly for quality and safety control.
Naturally good and carefully protected
Every bottle of Ice Mountain® contains naturally filtered water derived from groundwater flowing naturally to the Earth’s surface to create a fresh tasting water. Ice Mountain® brand is sourced from closely monitored, naturally occurring springs located in west central Michigan and other select locations in America’s heartland.
“We are delivering on a commitment to source safe, clean, naturally-refreshing water for people to drink,” says Arlene Anderson-Vincent, natural resources manager and professional hydrogeologist for Ice Mountain. “We fulfill our promise to safety and quality by carefully protecting the water sources that become Ice Mountain® brand bottled waters. Because nature and other people depend on these same sources, we believe strongly in maintaining a shared responsibility for water resource protections and a conservation mindset. It is fundamental to our business and the way we think, and it is the best part of my job at Ice Mountain.”
Resource sustainability is Anderson-Vincent’s primary responsibility. She and her team of scientists carefully monitor climate, precipitation, and land use — and have built an extensive 20+ year data record that informs water use decisions at Ice Mountain.
In Evart, the company through its Ice Mountain® brand and community partners created a 27-acre nature area to protect water sources that feed the municipal water system and provide an outdoor learning environment for students and residents. The Twin Creek Nature Area is collaboratively managed by multiple local community groups and has become a shining example of the company’s efforts to build community ties and expand water resource protection values. The initiative recently won green infrastructure honors from the Wildlife Habitat Council.
Inherent sustainability
With a passion for sustainability, the Ice Mountain® brand manufacturing facility employs state-of-the-art technology that reduces and minimizes energy and raw material use. Recycling and reuse are emphasized throughout the operation.
The Ice Mountain® brand facility was designed and built to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification. It was among the nation’s first manufacturing facilities to earn accreditation.
Additionally, BlueTriton for its Ice Mountain® brand has reduced plastic in bottles and caps, paper labels, and energy at every step of the production process. In fact, Ice Mountain® brand became one of the first U.S. bottled water brand to use “lightweight” bottles; the most popular Ice Mountain® brand 0.5-liter bottle is over 50% lighter than it was 20 years ago.
Most recently, Ice Mountain® brand received the Alliance for Water Stewardship’s platinum certification, which is AWS’s highest level of recognition for water stewardship. AWS is a global organization founded by NGOs that guides water stewardship measures for industries.
It is currently the Ice Mountain® brand’s second year of AWS certification, and Anderson-Vincent says this year’s platinum achievement demonstrates Ice Mountain® brand’s never-ending quest for long-term sustainable operations and water stewardship excellence.
Economic boon in rural Michigan
Manufacturing drives Michigan’s economy, and Michigan’s $15.4 billion food and beverage manufacturers feed more than three percent of the state’s annual economic output. Through its Ice Mountain® brand, the company has striven to do its part in Michigan’s economic security.
Michigan economics and policy firm Public Sector Consultants recently calculated Ice Mountain’s economic contributions at over $76 million in revenue to Osceola and Mecosta counties and more than $179 million to Michigan’s economic strength. Providing a crucial renewable resource for investment in the state of Michigan, the company through its Ice Mountain® brand continually supports local businesses by purchasing local goods and services while funding important public services through tax payments.
Dedicated to giving back
The Ice Mountain® brand team is committed to doing its part and giving back to support surrounding communities. The Ice Mountain Environmental Stewardship Fund, managed by the Fremont Community Foundation, has funded nearly $1 million in conservation projects to nearly 30 community groups to enhance, restore, and improve the Muskegon River Watershed. Projects have included dam removals, river clean-ups, habitat restoration, trail creation/improvements, and a host of educational initiatives.
In times of crisis, nothing is more important than access to safe, clean drinking water.
For the past 20 years, the company through its Ice Mountain brand has supplied Michigan’s food banks, community and emergency relief organizations, and national relief agencies in their work to provide drinking water to distressed populations. Supporting Flint’s families during that community’s water crisis led the company through its Ice Mountain brand to maintain a seven-year weekly supply of bottled water to Flint’s community outreach organizations that distribute bottled water, food, and other necessities to Flint families affected by the crisis.
Michigan strong for 20 years
For the past 20 years, BlueTriton Brands and its Ice Mountain Michigan operations have supplied Michigan’s food banks, community and emergency relief organizations, and national relief agencies in their work to provide drinking water to distressed populations. Supporting Flint’s families during the community’s water crisis led Ice Mountain to maintain a seven-year weekly supply of bottled water to community. Ice Mountain coordinated bottled water supplies with community organizations that distribute bottled water, food, and other necessities to Flint families affected by the crisis.
