With the goal of providing safe and high quality water for drinking as of utmost importance, RWGS Corp. president Sung Moon Cho said he knows that Rota is just the right source for pristine and high quality water suitable for drinking.
With this in mind, Cho said that his company did not hesitate to shell out $2.3 million initial investment to come up with a water manufacturing plant on Rota last year.
“Rota’s pristine water comes from a water cave and from wells with water percolated from the cool mountains of Sabana,” Cho said.
He added that Rota water is in fact regarded as having one of the best tasting waters in the region, and they wanted to make this water available to everybody.
“What makes Rota water different from the other brands manufactured in the CNMI and the region is it comes fresh from Rota which is an ancient volcanic island. As rainfall percolates, it brings with it the minerals and then accumulates below to become a fresh body of underground water,” Cho said.
Since it ventured into the market in August last year, Rota Water has been supplying bottled water for a number of hotels and other establishments on Saipan including the Coral Ocean Point, Grand Hotel, World Resort, Fiesta, Hyatt Regency, Aqua Resort Club, and major stores and retail outlets, including LSG Lufthansa that distributes bottled water to a number of airlines serving Guam and the CNMI. On Guam, they supply bottled water to Hyatt Regency, Holiday Hotel, Westin, Fiesta Resort and other hotels and major outlets. Cho said that they are finalizing deals with other consumers who will be using Rota Water in their establishments soon.
“Deliveries to Saipan and Guam for now is every two weeks, and with this time frame, our consumers are assured that they receive very fresh, newly manufactured bottled water,” he said.
“You can tell the freshness from its taste than if you buy bottled water that has been at sea for months, and at the store shelves for more months,” Cho added.
Looking Back
Back in 1940, the high quality water of Rota has prompted the sugar factory to produce sake which they branded as Minami No Homare and Nanko.
The sake was highly consumed in Japan because of its fine taste using the high quality Rota water but during that time, the potential of this water remains untapped until recently, when a well from Rota Resort was discovered to contain minerals which have a lot of health benefits. Encouraged by this finding, the owner of the Rota Resort decided to put up a water bottling plant, and thus was born the Rota Mineral Water Company.
Assurance of quality
Rota Water contains calcium, magnesium, kalium, selenium, and vanadium. Cho said that unlike other water bottling companies, Rota Water includes the mineral compositions in their labels because “we are that sure of the mineral contents of our water.”
Before a bottle of Rota Water reaches your hands, it has undergone several steps to ensure it is fit and safe for drinking. Cho said that the quality of natural mineral water undergoes a series of testing and monitoring as it comes into the plant and throughout the bottling process. Rota Water also screens their water with over 100 possible contaminants through Environmental Protection Agency approved laboratory to conform with U.S. Safe Drinking Water Standards.
Cho said that the bottles are marked with date, time and plant code so consumers are ensured that they are getting the freshest product possible.
Cho said that on July 1, they will be submitting their annual Consumer Confidence Report as required by the EPA.
He added that Rota Water bottling plant can produce 3,600 bottles of water per hour. They also produce their own bottles for the mineral water. Rota Water is available in four sizes — 350 ml, 500 ml, 900 ml and 1.5 liters.
Vision
Cho said that currently, they are providing bottled water to an increasing list of clients including major airlines, hotels and major retail outlets on Saipan and Guam.
“Our goal is to provide residents of Guam, the CNMI, and eventually off island markets such as Korea and Japan with the taste of our treasured Rota Water,” Cho said.
Cho said they are targeting to export Rota Water to Korea and Japan sometime next year, and eventually to the U.S. mainland, Europe and the rest of the world.
He said that as soon as they establish markets in more countries, they will be expanding their water bottling plant to accommodate the increased demand.
“Our target is not in getting more profit from our product but to bring the taste of Rota Water to the rest of the world.
For more information, call 322-0350 or email [email protected].{jcomments off}
