Entrepreneurs Create Jobs Out Of Water

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By John Singleton

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Severna Park. Opportunities can be found even in a slow economy provided they offer potential customers a better way of doing business.

In the bottled water business at least four competitors dominate the market – Coca Cola, Nestle, Pepsi, and DS Waters. When Randy Morris of Metropolitan Meat Seafood and Poultry noticed that his commercial client’s couldn’t get a good deal on bottled water from the big boys the wheels of commerce started to spin.

“Small and medium sized restaurants and grocery stores can’t do the volume of the larger chains,” said Randy Morris. “They pay higher prices to the large bottled water distributors. What we came up with is a business model that works for small and medium sized businesses.”

That business model includes taking advantage of the existing distribution network of Metropolitan Meat Seafood and Poultry. With a fleet of trucks and clients running up and down the east coast from Philadelphia to Richmond the Landover-based company is a natural fit for bottled water distribution.

“We purchased 28-acres in Brandonville, Pennsylvania for our bottling plant right at the bottom of the mountain,” said Ray Mullady, whose children attended Severn School. “We’re also leasing 1,500 acres which includes the mountain itself and the source of the springs.”

Morris and Mullady were longtime neighbors in Shipley’s Choice before embarking on this business venture. Randy Morris is a former PGA touring professional golfer. Ray Mullady is an attorney with the DC-based law firm Blank-Rome. Together with a small group of partners they convinced Pasadena-native Bill Voelp to be their Chief Operating Officer. Voelp’s experience in the bottled water industry makes him a perfect fit to run day-to-day operations.

“Signature Springs water is the purest water you can find. It will be bottled and capped at the source,” added Voelp. “Signature Springs water will never taste air until you open the bottle.”

Private and custom label water will be another selling point for Signature Springs. For example, a restaurant and catering business like Gary’s Grill in Severna Park will be able to offer bottled water at parties and receptions with their brand on the label. A small grocery chain like Lauer’s in Pasadena can do the same ringing up a dose of free advertising along with their bottled water sales.

“Bottled water is a highly-commoditized low-margin business,” said Voelp, who also doubles as the Green Hornets Baseball Commissioner. “We’re counting on being smarter and nimbler than our larger competitors.”

By the end of September the floors will be poured and the roof will be set on the 55,000 square foot bottling plant in Brandonville. If all goes according to plan the Signature Springs brand is scheduled to hit local markets by January of 2012 and will employ up to 40 people.

“When you’re on the PGA tour the business is to stay out of the water,” summarized Morris. “Now it’s my business to stay in water.”

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