4 March 2008 - French mineral water producer La SA des Eaux d'Alet is building a new plant in the Aude department with a view to cater for a growing demand of its products.
The new 3,000m2 facility will be built near the current bottling plant in Alet-les-Bains, near to the town of Limoux. It will be equipped with solar panels, which should enable the plant to better cope with energy costs.
A company spokesman confirmed to FLEXNEWS that the new facility is expected to open as soon as February 2009 if all goes to plan. However, if there are delays in the construction works, the company would only transfer its activities at the end of the summer, as the mid-March to August period is considered as its high season.
The growing demand for its bottled water over the past years has boosted the company’s performance with double-digit increases in turnover since 2005. Moreover, Les Eaux d’Alet sold about 12 million bottles in 2007 and is seeking to increase its sales again this year.
The spokesman also said that the ongoing growth in turnover is all the more significant given that the French bottled water market is declining by 5-6% per year, according to his estimates.
The company enjoys an established presence in the Midi-Pyrénées region as well as in neighbouring Languedoc-Roussillon. However, the firm is also developing in the Aquitaine region, and to a lesser extent in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and in Charentes.
Moreover, although export markets are difficult to secure, the company has occasional contracts with customers in Sweden and even in the Caribbean Islands, added the spokesman.
Company president Olivier Sadran acquired Les Eaux d’Alet from local dairy products manufacturer 3A in 2005 for an undisclosed sum.
Since then, the company has been injecting between 500,000 and 700,000 euro in marketing, communication and various partnerships, which helped to put the firm back on track after it had been struggling during its previous ownership.
Sadran, also president of the Toulouse Football Club, developed a partnership between the club and the 120-year-old-mineral water brand.
The company also jumped on the 2007 Rugby World Cup bandwagon by putting 75cl oval bottles on the market. It also plans to launch 95cl PET football-shaped bottles prior to the European 2008 soccer championships in May.