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Arctic Chiller Gave the Water Bottle a Serious Upgrade – and Corporate Clout

By Nerissa McNaughton

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Happy 20th Anniversary, Arctic Chiller!

hat do you get when you mix the humble water bottle with ingenuity, taking a standard design to the next (award winning) level? You get Arctic Chiller, a company that has been innovating the idea of bottled water for 20 years.

Arctic Chiller was founded by Dave Hygaard in 1996 to tap into the enormous potential of the emerging bottled water industry. Dave had already made a name for himself in the packaged food industry by starting a family business called Hygaard Fine Foods. You are likely familiar with this line of packaged subs and sandwiches that allows hungry people to grab a quality meal at convenience stores and gas stations.

Dave’s interests in Hygaard Fine Foods were sold to raise capital and finance Arctic Chiller. He was banking on the future success of the bottled water industry. Even though the industry was still in its infancy at the time, Dave’s instincts were spot on. He knew that taking advantage of technological advancements in innovative packaging would set his brand apart – and it did.

Today you can enjoy a crisp, cold bottle of Arctic Chiller’s (seven-stage reverse osmosis filtered) house brand water in convenient sizes ranging from the two litre spout top to the mini 296 millilitre screw cap, or you can promote your own brand by providing your clients, golf tournament participants, concert guests, etc., with your own custom labeled

Tom Hygaard, President of Arctic Chiller Ltd.

water bottle. You can take advantage of Arctic Chiller’s award-winning diamond patterned bottle as well as their eco-friendly bio-degradable design.

“In sourcing a biodegradable bottle option for our customers, it was important to select one that offered the best case for the environment,” says company president Tom Hygaard.

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Arctic Chiller Team: Jake Hygaard, Jeff Tomlinson, Ashley Stoik, Roxalana Dobransky, Tara Hygaard, John Marineo and Amanda Hygaard.

Tom, Dave’s son, was involved with all facets of the Hygaard business, before joining Arctic Chiller. “Our biodegradable bottles utilize the Reverte™ additive contained within the plastic, which allows for the plastic to biodegrade over 10 years – unlike a conventional bottle, which will not break down at all. Since these bottles are also compatible with recycling at local bottle depots, the additive works like a safety net in case a bottle is not recycled. It will biodegrade rather than pollute.”

when prospects would call us and ask for our diamond pattern bottle, having seen it around at many places and wanting to put their name on a diamond bottle too,” smiles Tom. “Clearly they liked what they saw and our market presence was growing by leaps and bounds.”

One of the biggest draws of the company is their custom bottle labeling. Water is provided at all corporate and entertainment events so having an established company using digital technology to quickly, affordably and expertly produce custom labels skyrocketed Arctic Chiller’s appeal across North America and into emerging overseas markets.

“Arctic Chiller knew it was established in the industry

“Our most notable project was achieving NSF Certification,” informs Tom. “NSF stands for National Sanitation Foundation. They are an internationally respected testing and inspecting organization. While we have always met local and national guidelines for water quality, we have set the bar higher. In following the NSF bottled water guidelines, we have an added measure of consumer confidence that cannot be understated. To earn NSF Certification, we developed a formal HACCP plan (Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Points), documented our food safety plan, formalized our good manufacturing practices, submitted to annual unannounced plant audits by the NSF inspector, and submitted finished products for comprehensive laboratory analysis, in addition to a number of physical upgrades made to our bottling facility to meet this challenge. All of this is over and above what is required by local/federal guidelines. Due in part to holding ourselves to a higher standard, Arctic Chiller has become western Canada’s leader in high quality, great tasting water.”

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The award-winning diamond patterned bottle is just one of their many achievements.

Tom knows the keys to success go beyond innovation and best practices. A strong team and community involvement complete their corporate culture.

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In addition to great bottled water and custom labels, Arctic Chiller is your one-stop shop for other promotional items such as: • Beverage display coolers, fully customizable with corporate logos on the front and sides • Bottle tags • Recycle bins • Peel & reveal labels for contests, coupons and more • Kosher COR certifications at no extra cost

Harvey Lang, Plant Supervisor, performs quality control checks.

“The ideal employee at Arctic Chiller is customer focused and someone who recognizes that a reputation for customer satisfaction will do more than anything for earning repeat business and obtaining new opportunities,” confirms Tom. “Leadership at Arctic Chiller is privileged to see the dedication, loyalty, determination, and integrity of our staff. In witnessing these qualities, it allows management to provide empowerment. We view the staff as the real asset that our company possesses.

“Our partnership program allows our clients to participate in giving back to the charity or non-profit organization of their choice. Essentially, the client donates a percentage per bottle and Arctic Chiller will match part of the donation. We work with about 100 charities at present and if the client commits to 50,000 or more labels, they can add their own charity if we don’t happen to be set up with it yet.

“Where we’ve seen the most impact with this program is with our camp catering clients up North. They generate funds for the communities where the work is being performed, using the proceeds to give back to the First Nations and often targeting support for youth or elders. It is just one example of where we’ve made a huge impact.

• Coroplast signage and pop up banner stands “We have seasonal water bottles at Sobeys and select retailers that go to support seasonal charities, such as Make-AWish Canada®.

“Collectively Arctic Chiller and our valued clients have raised over $30,000 for charity and non-profit organizations.”

It should come as no surprise that Arctic Chiller is the proud recipient of a 2015 Consumer Choice Award (Northern Alberta) and while Tom is happy to have this award, he feels the true reward comes from seeing happy customers and earning their repeat business and referrals.

Arctic Chiller was at the forefront of an emerging industry and used innovation, customer service and going beyond best practices to raise the bar. The company looks forward to adding bottling facilities in key markets where they are anticipating significant growth and also looks forward to continuing to challenge and change the water bottle industry, one sip at a time.

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Congratulations Arctic Chiller on 20 years!

We wish you many years of continued success.

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ARCTIC CHILLER • 20 YEARS • 3

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Congratulations to Arctic Chiller. For 20 years you've been getting it right, and we're proud to be helping you unlock your potential for growth.

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