The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) will hold its annual Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Oct. 3-6. With the theme “Everyone’s a Winner,” IBWA will offer educational programming to help bottled water operators maintain certification, and recognize the top people in the business with the Aqua Awards, the Plant Manager of the Year Award, Route Salesperson of the Year Award, Bottled Water Hall of Fame Award and the new Directors’ Award. In addition, the trade show floor will feature state-of-the-art bottled-water specific processing, packaging and services.

Bob Janet will be a featured speaker at the convention, speaking the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 4. Janet draws on 30 years of experience as an owner/operator of multiple businesses for his motivational speaking and will present an interactive presentation on ways attendees can close sales faster for higher profits, become the buyer’s choice for bottled water and other services; attract high-volume; high-dollar customers; reduce the chances of hearing the word “no” when asking for the sale or increasing prices, and reduce marketing costs.

In addition, the IBWA Convention will feature opportunities to earn as many as 24.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). IBWA certified sessions provide the CEUs that are necessary for Certified Plant Operator accreditation and will provide innovative ideas and technologies specifically targeted to the bottled water industry. Topics will cover recycling, bottling, filtration, communications, marketing and safety, and some of the sessions include:

Emergency preparedness: Are you ready? (1 CEU) — Companies are often caught off-guard by disasters and catastrophic events. This session will identify the components of bottled water emergency preparedness and the unique differences and considerations for developing an effective response plan.  

All politics is local: A groundwater prospective (1.5 CEUs) — This session will teach how to identify beneficial alliances and initiatives supporting the future growth of companies in the bottled water industry. It also will provide instruction on how to influence positive change in the bottled water industry at its grassroots level.

Bottled water business roundtable: Making home and office delivery profitable in the constantly changing landscape (1.5 CEUs) — A roundtable discussion focusing on the newest best practices for the rapidly changing home-and-office delivery market, including new products, services and profits. Attendees will learn how to explore the necessary methods, processes and procedures in the bottled water industry without compromising revenue.

Handling consumer product complaints (1 CEU) — An interactive session on how to develop a consumer response policy for handling consumer product complaints. Procedures for handling consumer complaints, flowchart development processes, and data management and control will be discussed.

A bottled water technical and regulatory primer (2.5 CEUs) — A comprehensive review of bottled water industry basics. Perfect for those new to the bottled water industry and for those wanting a quick refresher course, this session is designed for Certified Plant Operators, owners, sales and marketing personnel.

WHO calcium and magnesium advice (2 CEUs) — The World Health Organization (WHO) has been advised to recommend that calcium and magnesium be reconstituted in drinking waters that have been treated. This session will discuss water softening and reverse osmosis water treatment and the differences between naturally soft and softened water supplies.

The awards presented at the IBWA show are highly anticipated by the industry, according to IBWA President Joseph Doss: “While the IBWA Trade Show and Convention bring together the best and brightest from the bottled water industry, nobody will shine brighter than the winners of these awards. They will be recognized for their hard work, achievement, and how they’ve been able to advance the interests of the bottled water industry as a whole.”

The 2006 IBWA Aqua Award recognizes outstanding contributions by IBWA bottler and supplier companies in the field of advertising, marketing and public relations. Award categories include television, radio and point-of-purchase advertising, public relations campaigns, Web sites and vehicle advertisements.

The Route Salesperson of the Year Award recognizes the person who has exemplified customer service in the delivery of bottled water. Only non-management route salespeople who work for IBWA member companies are eligible and all nominees will receive a certificate for being his or her company’s route salesperson of the year.

The Plant Manager of the Year Award is for those plant managers who impact the achievement of business goals and company objectives. All nominees must be employed by a company that has achieved recognition in IBWA’s “Excellence in Manufacturing” program. For more information or to register for the IBWA 2006 Annual Convention and Trade Show, visit www.bottledwater.org.