The international growth has had its last chapter written in Qatar, a market they entered in 2007 and that in a short period of time has become one of the main drinking fountains exportation sources of revenue for Canaletas. However, the biggest market outside of Spain for Canaletas is France that accounts for over 40% of their international business.
Expansion 01-03-2010
In 1964 Josep Maria Morera was able to design the first industrial water cooler. One year later in 1965, Morera registered the Canaletas brand to accommodate their designs. After this point, the company was determined to better their drinking fountains and in 1973 opened a
branch in Madrid.
The first years of the company are summed up this way by the son of the founder and current director, Josep Morera "ever since the first moment we had a specific department that was dedicated to research and development because we wanted to improve the water coolers we offered every year" says Morera. These innovations have resulted in the creation of
a sparkling water dispenser introduced last year. "It's designed for the central European market, but we expect our Spanish clients also to show an interest" assures the managing director of Canaletas. The company has more than 60.000 water coolers, water dispensers and drinking water fountains installed in all of Spain.
Morera calculates that 70% or the R&D is used to improve their water coolers; while the rest is dedicated to finding new and innovative products "we try to offer water coolers with new features every year but we aren't always able to" admits the managing director of Canaletas. At the headquarters of the company two employees work is solely dedicated to constant tests of the water coolers and to make sure the new feature works to perfection.
Eight years ago the company moved their main offices to El Prat De Llobregat, very close to the local river with the airport only a few kilometers away. The three floors of the building include offices, a storage warehouse, the research laboratory and a production plant, in which a German machine is in charge of shaping sheets of stainless steel. "This machine is the crown jewel", says Morera excitedly.
International sales
Given the bad situation of the local economy, Canaletas in 2010 is looking to increase the water coolers percentage of exports from last year's 30%. To adapt to the fall of the Spanish market, Canaletas has put into place a water coolers maintenance service for their clients "it's a good way to increase costumer loyalty, and to adapt to the increasing tendency of the market towards offering maintenance directly to avoid having to go to a third party" explains Morera.
The international growth has had its last chapter written in Qatar, a market they entered in 2007 and that in a short period of time has become one of the main drinking fountains exportation sources of revenue for Canaletas. However, the biggest market outside of Spain for Canaletas is France that accounts for over 40% of their international business. Last year Canaletas won the contract to provide water coolers and drinking water fountains for the French administration. The production plant is now busy at work manufacturing the products soon headed to France. Morera tells us that the contract doesn't have a set value, instead the French government places water coolers orders as they are needed.
Other countries in which Canaletas does business are Finland, Germany, Austria and Denmark, as well as Portugal, a market in which the Catalonian company has designed a special water cooler to fit the most popular size of water bottle sold in the country. The non-European areas which Canaletas has set their sight because of their possibilities are in the Middle East and North Africa. Morera remarks that Canaletas´s drinking fountains , thanks to their specific system or refrigeration, can work in countries whose temperatures routinely sail above 40 degrees celsius.
