Away from the Tap

Before Cape Kennedy technicians fire a space vehicle at the moon nowadays, much of its inner workings has been washed in distilled water. Southern California orchid growers give their plants water supplied by bottlers because the chlorinated stuff that comes out of taps wilts the delicate flowers. Across the U.S., the growing pollution of water supplies and the increasing sophistication of manufacturing processes have uncorked a surprising industrial market for companies whose traditional field is supplying bottled water for homes and office coolers.

A decade ago, industrial uses provided almost no income for the nation's 500 water bottlers. Today, jet aircraft use purified water mixed with fuel in order to keep engines cooler during takeoffs; electric utilities use the stuff to wash insulators while the juice remains on--because the purity of the bath prevents dangerous sparking. Procter & Gamble uses millions of gallons for mouthwashes and similar items so that they will always taste the same. The builders of a new Inglewood, Calif., sports palace called the Forum fed their cement mixers exclusively with bottled water in order to provide a better-setting concrete.

Shriveled Taste Buds. By its own estimates, the bottled-water industry now sells $65 million a year worth of purified water, coolers, cups and allied equipment. About 40% of that business is concentrated in arid Southern California, partly because of the climate and partly because much of the local tap water, though safe enough to drink, would shrivel a mess sergeant's taste buds. The demand is spreading. Mountain Valley Water Co. distributes its green bottles of spring water from Hot Springs, Ark., to 40 states. And to cater to tastes brought home by tourists, President John G. Scott has added such familiar European mineral waters as Evian, Vichy-Celestins and Fiuggi to the company's line of products.

Last year Los Angeles-based Arrowhead & Puritas Waters Inc., the industry's front runner, increased both its sales ($15,650,000) and profits ($1,342,596) by 15%. In doing so, the 74-year-old company sold 43,325,000 gallons, partly from springs in the San Bernardino Mountains, partly from five distillation plants and partly from de-ionizing plants, which yield the mineral-free water favored by commercial customers. Runner-up Sparkletts Drinking Water Corp., a subsidiary of Foremost-McKesson, boosted its revenues from $12 million to an estimated $13 million.

Snob Appeal. Though prices vary widely (37-c- for half a gallon in Chicago, 45-c- in New York), many bottled-water fans seem more concerned with such qualities as low sodium content (for heart patients) or fluoridation (bottlers generally offer water with or without). "Let's face it," says President George Schmitt of Chicago's Hinckley & Schmitt, "bottled water has a certain amount of snob appeal--and a health image." To bolster his appeal to gourmets, Schmitt employs a full-time home economist to advise housewives and conjure up recipes for everything from soup to marmalade.

The bottlers are also branching out to supply such items as instant coffee, tea and soup for office consoles using their water. Arrowhead & Puritas recently expanded into Texas, and Manhattan-based Great Bear Spring Co. has stretched its territory by acquiring one New York City, one Washington, D.C., and two Boston firms. Lifting a line from the advertising of Teacher's Scotch, the company is also plugging its liquid asset in ads that insist: "Nothing improves the flavour of Scotch like Great Bear Water." Explains Vice President Robert Ward: "Since Teacher's brought up the subject, we feel they won't mind."

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