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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Tundra Transfer, a local provider of hot and cold beverages and supplies, has undergone some significant changes lately, and there are some more changes on the way, according to owner Peter Austin.

Peter Austin, owner of Tundra Transfer on Old Airport Road, stands beside an automatic water bottling machine he said has allowed his company to speed up its delivery process to customers. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

When the Sears catalogue store moved out of the eastern portion of the building in which Tundra Transfer sits on Old Airport Road, Austin, as he had long planned, snatched up the additional space to help him realize his plans.

Those plans included the installation two months ago of a machine that automatically fills five-litre water bottles - the types placed in water coolers.

The machine is like an assembly line unto itself and is a vast improvement over Tundra's previous system of having people manually fill up the bottles.

Austin said his company couldn't keep up with demand because the previous process could be slow going. The new machine changes that.

"We couldn't get it all done in a 12-hour day," he said.

Tundra also revamped the way it ships up water to exploration companies and communities throughout the NWT.

For those customers, water is now packed in bags, which are in turn packed in another bag, as opposed to shipping water up in jugs.

The jugs were often a problem as the cold temperatures would often cause the jugs to become deformed, necessitating that they be returned to Tundra.

But with the bags the water freezes, remains safe and actually takes up less space than the jugs, said Austin.

"Now we're bagging three-gallon bags," he said.

With the extra space, Austin has been able to move his coffee supplies - which used to share space with water jugs - to the former Sears location, creating a lot more room for his employees to wade through.

"It's a lot easier to find things," said Austin.

"Things were sort of cramped before."

With all the additional space, Austin said he wants to double the size of Tundra's storeroom, where it displays its various selection of coffee, tea and supplies.

He said he hopes to have a bistro, where people can buy coffee and a snack, up and running by the spring.

Austin said the current economic climate will force him to cut back on spending until things calm down.

While some customers in town have cut back on their demand for coffee, Austin said it hasn't been enough of a decrease to significantly hurt his business.