Locals of bottled water rage DEMAND RISES FOR CANADIAN SPRINGS WATER DURING THE 3%-years of its existence, Canadian Spr- ings Water Co. has roared like a geyser to the top of B.C.’s business. By SURJ RATTAN News Reporter And Glenn Bailey and Cam Falconer, the two 28-year-old North Shore residents who own the Vancouver-based company, are riding atop that successful geyser, which is now pumping out aimost two million gallons of bottled Ca- nadian Springs water per year. Both Bailey and Falconer were born and raised in West Vancouver and attended Sentinel Secondary Schooi. Before siarting Canadian Spr- ings, Bailey worked for a Van- couver-based venture company while Falconer was UBC student with ambitions of entering law school. Bailey said he came up with the Canadian Springs idea during Ex- po 86. bottled water “When we started out everyone said we would be a flop.” — Canadian Springs Co-Owner Glenn Bailey “*I looked at the business (of selling water) and it was such a big hit in every other place in North America and everyone (Expo tourists) thought B.C. had good water,’’ Bailey said. ‘“‘When Expo started, they increased the chlorine level in the water (in Vancouver).”’ **I went out and compared tap water to pure waier and I was just disgusted in the quality of the tap water,’’ added Bailey. The bottled water business, he decided, had a lot of potential. After convincing Falconer to leave UBC and join him, Bailey set out to buy a company that was in the business of selling water. ‘*There was a company operating for 10 years in Van- couver before we started out, but the guy was a flop at it,’’ said Bailey. ‘‘But I was intrigued by his company and I put in a bid for it, which was in receivership at the time, and I got it.”” One month after taking over the company, Bailey and Falconer managed to double their accounts. According to Bailey, the major difference between Canadian Spr- ings bottled water and tap water is the quality. He said recent reports show that Vancouver's tap water is not as ‘lily-white” as it once was, and its natural acidity can dissolve trace levels of metals used in water pipes and asbestos in concrete water- mains. But Bailey said Canadian Spr- ings water eliminates those factors, thanks to a four-level filtration system. “Our water is 99.9998 per cent pure and our spring water is ex- tracted from a natural source in Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Crow? Mortgage rates become less important as the size of the mortgage decreeses. Example: $150,000 down on a nice home in Deep Cove will leave you with a payment of over $1000/monih. $150,000 down on a nice home in Valleycliffe will leave you debt-free and with something left over for a world tour. Pad advertising by The frend bf Squarmsh 8 - Friday, April 6, 1990 - North Shore News ENRICH YOUR FAMILY LIFE Host an overseas student. Remuneration for room and board. Short or long terms available. ride the wave CALL STUDENT HOUSING COORDINATOR 683-1199 Pacific Coast Lanquage School #200 - 535 Howe St. FREE HENCKEL KNIFE SHARPENING AT ‘Tools and Techniques THE STORE FOR COOKS HR S_- SATURDAY April 7th 1:00 to 3:00pm 20% OFF Alt Fourstar and Professional Knives }-—! SALE ENDS SATURDAY APRIL 14TH Tools and Techniques THE STORE FOR COOKS 925-1835 250-16th St., West Vancouver NEWS photo Mike Wakefield REACHING FOR a coo! glass of Canadian Springs water are Canadian Wh j le the Boss j Ss away Springs owners Cam Falconer (left) and Glenn Bailey. The two North Shore natives have tapped into a very successful water delivery company and offer their customers fresh mountain spring water. the Fraser Valley and lightly filtered,”’ said Bailey. ‘‘It’s the healthiest thing known to mankind. “Our water is checked for quali- ty. Our equipment is worth over $100,000 and it has automatic shut-off systems. Apart from the Fraser Valley source, Canadian Springs also gets its water from the North Shore’s Capilano reservoir. Bailey said most of the businesses that have Canadian Spr- ings water-coolers, a majority of which are on the North Shore, report that their company’s coffee consumption has dropped since the coolers were installed. Canadian Springs has now ex- panded its water-cooler distribu- tion from commercial outlets to a host of residential customers, who learned about the company from people who would drink the water in offices. The company now serves about 1,0C0 residential customers and 5,000 commercial customers on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. While Canadian Springs has become a success story in a short time, Bailey is quick to point out that it was hard work that got the business off the ground. “The success of the company is that we went out and banged on a lot of doors and let people taste and compare the difference of Ca- - REFORM PART Yiu nadian Springs water to that of tap water,” said Bailey. ‘*When we started this company we borrowed all the money we could. We're growing at a very rapid rate.”’ Bailey and Falconer were ihe sole employees of the company when they started their business. They now have over 40 employees, two offices, four divisions and 20 trucks. The company sells almost. two million gallons of water a year. And despite warnings from friends that the two North Shore entrepreneurs were making a mistake by going into the water trade, Bailey said he was always confident they would make a suc- cess of the business. ‘*When we started out everyone said we would be a flop. But I was always optimistic about the com- pany. We checked out the market, but we never thought it would be where it is today and where it is going tomorrow,” said Bailey. Bui he added that the company would not be the success it is today if it were not for the ‘‘team”’ ap- proach of its employees. ‘We're a really people-oriented company. Everyone works as a team. If there’s any big heads or anyone who is not flexible, they don’t last,’’ said Bailey. ‘We would never have been able to get to where we are today without the employees’ enthusiam and ideas.”’ GST*MEECH LAKEe FEDERAL DEBT If you don't like what 's happening to Canada and to Canadians come to Brunch at Forster’s and hear the Reform Party’s alternatives. 11:00 a.m. Sunday, April 8, 1990 350 East 2nd Street, North Vancouver $10.00 985-4924, 988-0456 i'm in charge and! say... DEALS! DEALS! 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