Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Sunrise Springs Water Co. Expands with Acquisition
HOWLAND TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- The decision by the owners of Howland Springs Water Co. to retire created an opportunity for Newbury-based Sunrise Springs Water Co. to enter the Mahoning Valley market.
George Lanesky, president of Sunrise Springs, founded the company in 1990 when he saw a need for bottled water in his area. “People in our area were having problems with serious iron and odors in their water,” he recalled. Sunrise Springs had been doing most of the bottling work for Howland Springs “so it made sense ... for us to take over that business,” he said.
Sunrise Springs took over Howland Springs in March, acquiring its assets, territory and customer base. The company celebrated the move of the Howland office, which has five employees, to a site on state Route 46 that formerly housed an automobile service center with a ribbon-cutting Thursday morning.
Supplied from its private water source in Geauga County, Sunrise Springs sells bottled water, water in bulk, coolers and water treatment systems to commercial, residential and industrial customers.
The Howland location joins the company’s headquarters in Newbury, Geauga County, and a third location in Rootstown, which opened three years ago, Lanesky said.
“We see a growth opportunity” in the Mahoning Valley due to investments by steel companies operating in the area as well as growth in the Niles-Howland area, remarked Darrell Langford, vice president. “We wanted to be a part of that growth.”
Sunrise Springs sells about 1.2 million bottles annually in the five-gallon bottle market and upwards of 15 million gallons of water including bottled and bulk sales, he reported. The company has grown to 5,000 customers today from its start in 1990.
Americans drink more bottled water per capita than anybody else in the world, Langford said. “The reason people are buying bottled water is they want a great solution for themselves, for their health, for their family. They’re not sure of what’s coming out of the tap,” he said.
Additionally, people tend to drink more water if it’s in front of them. “Bottled water happens to be a product that we can put out there and it’s convenient and it’s easily accessible for customers,” he continued.
“More people want a good source of water. They want a good, quality product,” affirmed Leesa Langford, office manager for the three locations and Darrell’s sister.
Sunrise Springs is experiencing growth of up to 20% annually, due not to acquisitions but expanding business from existing customers and new business. Industrial customers, several of which Sunrise Springs has added from the Howland location, represent about 20% of its business now, he reported. Residential and commercial customers each represent about 40% of business.
Growth in the Howland location “has been very good,” Lanesky said.
With the addition of the Mahoning Valley market, which Langford acknowledges is “very competitive” due to the number of existing players, Sunrise Springs’ footprint now covers all of northeastern Ohio, from Westlake to the Pennsylvania line and south to Columbiana County or Canton, he said. The Howland location covers the Mahoning Valley down to Columbiana County and west to Akron, he said.
The company has already spent about $500,000 on the Howland site and Langford anticipates spending another $1 million there over the next year. Those investments include renovations, signage, new trucks and additional employees, he said.
Pictured: Sunrise Springs employees cut the ribbon at the company's new Howland office. From left are Shawn Jeffco, Kevin O’Neil, Leesa Langford, Darrell Langford, George Lanesky, company president, and Derrick Rentz.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our free daily email headlines and to our twice-monthly print edition.