Primo Water North America Proudly Recognizes its International Bottled Water Association Award Winners for 2020

Rhea-AI Impact

(No impact)

Rhea-AI Sentiment

(Positive)

Tags

11/11/2020 - 04:30 PM

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Primo Water Corporation (NYSE: PRMW) (TSX: PRMW) (the "Company" or "Primo"), a leading provider of water direct to consumers and water filtration services in North America and Europe as well as a leading provider of water dispensers, spring and purified bottled water, and self-service refill drinking water in the U.S. and Canada, today announced that the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has awarded Primo Water North America employees Tom Condon, Director of Technical Services, with the IBWA/Kristin Safran Directors' Award, Jon Cleaver, Route Sales Representative, with the Route Salesperson of the Year Award, and Monika Morgan, Plant Manager, with the Plant Manager of the Year Award at the association's virtual 2020 IBWA Annual Business Conference and Trade Show on November 9, 2020.

Created in 2006, the IBWA Directors' Award recognizes members whose advocacy, commitment, and actions on behalf of IBWA—and the bottled water industry—have achieved clear and measurable results for both IBWA and the bottled water industry as a whole. Tom Condon is responsible for the design and troubleshooting of water processing equipment, spring water source evaluations, and technical improvement of processes and controls at Primo Water North America. Tom has also served on and contributed to several other IBWA committees and sub-committees, including the Virus/Microbial Subcommittee, Packaging Subcommittee, Audit Program Evaluation Team, Gray Areas Task Force, and Pilot Plant Task Force, among many others. He was instrumental in assisting the association in addressing complex technical and regulatory issues.

"We feel incredibly fortunate to benefit from the depth of knowledge from team members like Tom," said Dave Muscato, President of Primo Water North America. "With more than 40 years of experience in the bottled water industry, Tom has brought his expertise to every aspect of our processes and controls to ensure that our spring water is sourced in a sustainable manner and that our customers receive the highest quality water solutions and products. I can't think of a more deserving individual for this award."

When it comes to customer service in the bottled water industry, nobody exemplifies it better than route salespeople. They are truly on the front lines every day serving our customers – which is why the IBWA recognizes outstanding performance in this critical industry category. The determination of the award is based on performance in multiple areas, including revenue, volume, serve rate, stops per day, customers per route and penetration, among other categories. Jon Cleaver offers and sells the Company's full portfolio of products and consistently looks for opportunities to increase revenue on his route. A top performer in all sales initiatives, Jon is very proactive and strives to anticipate customers' needs.

Muscato commented, "Jon has a great rapport with his customers, managers and peers. With his calm demeanor, courtesy and professionalism, he is quick to participate in huddle discussions and share the knowledge he has accumulated as a 13-year Alhambra veteran. Jon treats his route as if it were his personally-owned small company, taking full accountability for all aspects of the business. He is a vocal leader, promoter of a strong safety culture, and an invaluable asset in the Sacramento branch."

The IBWA Plant Manager of the Year Award recognizes the hard work and dedication that plant managers exemplify for their companies and the bottled water industry. A plant manager makes a tremendous impact in achieving business goals and objectives. Monika Morgan manages both the Kent, Washington and Portland, Oregon plants and she has helped the Kent plant win the IBWA Excellence in Manufacturing Award for 12 consecutive years. In 2019, Kent was named in the top three large plants for quality and earned the best internal audit score for large plants, with 100% completion of follow-ups. Kent more than doubled on-time shipments in 2019 and rose to 95% in 2020.

Muscato added, "Monika is an exemplary member of our team and has become an influential and innovative leader at Primo Water North America. Since joining the Company as a production operator, Monika has held roles of increasing responsibility in production and quality during her 22 years with us and continues to demonstrate her commitment to Primo and our customers. It's the plant manager who ensures, on a daily basis, that our bottled water is a safe product for our customers. Her significant experience, varied background and track record of driving results make her one of the most effective facility leaders in our organization."

ABOUT PRIMO WATER NORTH AMERICA

Primo Water North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Primo Water Corporation, is a U.S.-based company providing bottled water, break room supplies, and equipment and services for water filtration systems. They provide products to over a million homes, offices, restaurants, food service organizations, convenience stores, and retail locations across the country. Among its best-known bottled water brands are Alhambra^®, Crystal Rock^®, Crystal Springs^®, Deep Rock^®, Hinckley Springs^®, Kentwood Springs^®, Mount Olympus^®, Nursery_® Water, Sierra Springs^®, Sparkletts^®. Learn more at https://www.water.com/.

ABOUT PRIMO WATER CORPORATION

Primo Water Corporation is a leading pure-play water solutions provider in North America, Europe and Israel and generates approximately $2.1 billion in annual revenue. Primo operates largely under a recurring razor/razorblade revenue model. The razor in Primo's revenue model is its industry leading line-up of sleek and innovative water dispensers, which are sold through major retailers and online at various price points or leased to customers. The dispensers help increase household penetration which drives recurring purchases of Primo's razorblade offering. Primo's razorblade offering is comprised of Water Direct, Water Exchange, and Water Refill. Through its Water Direct business, Primo delivers sustainable hydration solutions across its 21-country footprint direct to the customer's door, whether at home or to commercial businesses. Through its Water Exchange and Water Refill businesses, Primo offers pre-filled and reusable containers at over 13,000 locations and water refill units at approximately 22,000 locations, respectively. Primo also offers water filtration units across its 21-country footprint representing a top five position.

Primo's water solutions expand consumer access to purified, spring and mineral water to promote a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously reducing plastic waste and pollution. Primo is committed to its water stewardship standards and is proud to partner with the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) in North America as well as with Watercoolers Europe (WE), which ensure strict adherence to safety, quality, sanitation and regulatory standards for the benefit of consumer protection.

Primo is headquartered in Tampa, Florida (USA). For more information, visit www.primowatercorp.com.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL BOTTLED WATER ASSOCIATION (IBWA)

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.

In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.