At the British army's Camp Bastion base in Afghanistan, water is bottled under the most extreme conditions. Jill Park discovers how to run a packaging plant in the danger zone

If you thought running a bottling line in a recession was tough, imagine what it would be like to run one in a war zone. Well, this is something the Ministry of Defence has been doing in Afghanistan since 2008 when it installed a water bottling plant at Camp Bastion, the main British military base in the country.

Camp Bastion's bottled water plant was established in February 2008 to collect and bottle local water for distribution to Forward Operation Bases (FOBs), effectively fortresses in strategic locations situated within the vicinity of the camp. Doing so overcame the dangerous task of bringing in water from outside the camp by road.

When the MoD took the decision to install the bottling plant it was designed so that the site could be moved easily should the need arise. As Camp Bastion water bottling plant manager Colin Howell explains: "[The government] wasn't willing to put in anything that couldn't be removed quickly. The whole plant is quite portable". The plant's portability reflects the belief at the time that troops would be removed within months from Afghanistan. "The plant was designed for a Bastion that is much smaller than it is now, at a time when funding wasn't available," says Howell.

Source of success
However, nearly two years later the camp is still in operation - eight years after the UK joined the US invasion of the country. As yet, there are no signs of the UK pulling out and, therefore, Camp Bastion remains an integral part of the MoD's campaign.

Camp Bastion's 1,050m site contains four Kärcher WBP 700 bottling lines. Two Kärcher WTC 1600 drinking water purification systems clean the water, which is pumped out of the water table, before it is passed on for bottling. Each of the WBP 700s run to a capacity of approximately 600 litres per hour, equating to 24,000 litres per hour across the plant.

Prior to Camp Bastion, between 2003 and 2005, the Canadian military had a water bottling plant in Camp Julien in Kabul, in the east of Afghanistan. While the Camp Bastion plant was set up independently, Howell's plant deputy was recruited from the Canadian operation, which he used to run.

Global engineering, construction and services giant KBR UK won the MoD contract to establish and run the Camp Bastion bottling plant. Construction of the site began in October 2007, ready for the installation of equipment in January 2008 and production to commence the following month. Howell, his deputy and his line manager went to Germany, the home of Kärcher, to be trained for two weeks on how to use the kit.

"To teach a person to operate a machine would probably take a day, but to get them to do it effectively would take three or four weeks," says Howell. Due to security reasons he is unable to reveal how many people work at the plant, but he does say that only he and his deputy are UK nationals.

Robust container
Clear PET preforms weighing 33g are converted at the site. "Although we agree 33g is on the heavy side for a one-litre bottle, our product has to survive air drop by the RAF and the 33g preform provides a robust container that is able to withstand the rigours of military use," says Howell.

Blue or white HDPE bottle caps are used, while the label is self adhesive and made from paper.

The bottles themselves are square in shape so that they can be easily stacked and fit into military combat equipment. A 9mm polypropylene strap is used to wrap the bottles into six packs, with an extra loop to make it easier for them to be carried around camp. "The reason that strap was chosen in preference to polythene wrap is that it creates less waste," says Howell.

Afghanistan's changeable weather ranges from arid heat to extreme cold. Such extreme conditions, coupled with the danger of operating in a war zone, can make distributing the bottles to the various FOBs an arduous task. In certain circumstances it becomes necessary to drop the 1,200x800mm Euro pallets of 600 bottles by air.

Trial and error has taught the RAF to wrap the pallets three times more than standard pallets to ensure that the bottles survive the air drop. A Robopac Rotoplat 506, using 23 micron film, is used to do this.

Howell says: "When it rains here, it rains hard and tends to wash the roads away. Transport to and from these places can be very difficult so sending stuff down to them takes some time." Even snow is not unheard of in the region: "In the winter of 2007/8 we had snow blizzards sufficient to prevent the C-130 Hercules all-weather military transport planes from flying."

Apart from the severe weather conditions, the Camp operates under the constant threat of attack. Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan in the past year and as this magazine went to press the number of troops that have died in action since 2001 was 234. According to the BBC, more British troops were wounded in action in July 2009 than in the whole of 2006.

Howell says: "The plant is affected by the security situation in the same way as the rest of the camp."

Yet, despite this constant threat of attack, the plant has taken the time to consider greener alternatives for its water bottles. Currently all the materials used on the lines are recyclable and they have even explored biodegradable options.

"We have investigated polylactic acid (PLA), but believe it is probably too brittle to survive an air drop. We also have reservations about its temperature stability," says Howell. His reservations are unsurprising when you consider that summer temperatures soar to in excess of 50°C, but can drop to below zero during winter nights.

Oxo-biodegradable PET bottles and biodegradable PET, naphtha-based PET with an additive are also being investigated as well as buying preforms from nearby countries. "We are looking at reducing costs by purchasing preforms from neighbouring Pakistan and China," says Howell.

Plans have been submitted for a new plant in Afghanistan with four times the capacity of the Camp Bastion site. This is still subject to negotiations with the MoD.

The original Camp Bastion continues business as usual. Whether it is contending with the weather conditions or the war beyond the barracks, the camp continues to operate. Probably the only form of packaging operation to exist in such extreme conditions, it has endured nearly two years and even managed to explore green alternatives. Whether the plant will still be there in a year's time remains to be seen, but the lessons learnt here can only act to help it in its new location.

COURSES FOR FORCES
When you consider the British army has 9,000 soldiers in Afghanistan alone, it is clear ration packs are big business. Soldiers are given a 24-hour ration pack, which contains a variety of different foods and essentials. Tea and coffee sachets, sugar sachets, chocolate bars, matches and more are grouped together in a polythene bag in these kits.

Flexible bag packaging specialist Automated Packaging Systems in Worcestershire was contacted by the MoD because it wasn't happy with its existing packaging for ration packs at the MoD in Portsmouth - produced on a long flow wrapper. APS's solution was to replace this with three of its Sprint systems, from its SidePouch brand.

The result was to split production from 10 people on one flow-wrapper line to three people on each Sprint. Doing so minimised production risk by spreading the task over three systems rather than one. In addition the machines are easy to use and occupy less space than the original flow wrapper.

APS has since sold systems to the MoD's army operations in Bicester and Donnington and the RAF in Stafford. Some of its customers also supply the MoD, such as Rolls Royce, Lentern Aircraft and Amphenol, among others.

In February, the MoD began a trial of new ration packs, increasing its menus from 10 to 20, to be sent to troops in Afghanistan. The packs have been altered to accommodate changing tastes and the soaring temperatures experienced by troops.

The new packs include Thai chicken curry, sweet salmon pasta, mixed bean salad, paella, beef and cassava. Brown biscuits and fruit have been replaced with Oreo cookies and stem ginger biscuits.

Paul Carpenter, brigade catering warrant officer for 16 Assault Brigade, said: "The soldiers go from being at home to Afghanistan so they want to see what they eat at home out there. They're very brand orientated sometimes and what they see in their local supermarkets is now appearing in this ration pack."