Grove Rock Water - the natural choice

Unshakeable belief in the quality and purity of your product is often the only encouragement that’s needed to get a fledging business started.

“Quality, a competitive price, and good service,” are the pillars upon which Grove Rock Water, an exciting new family business making major headway in the Irish water supply market, is built.

“If you haven’t got those three things right, you may start over or start something else.”

There’s a wide beaming smile on Gary Goldrick’s face as he sits next to his son Josh who runs the nearly year old Grove Rock Water business.

Entrepreneurial spirit courses through the Goldrick family’s veins. One might even say ‘there’s something in the water’ that brings about such bravery.

“Foolhardy maybe!” says Gary, who started off in business as an early school leaver with his brothers on a mushroom farm, before buying and selling a pub, rearing chickens, and milking goats.

This time it’s Josh that laughs. The young man is the quieter of the two, but this belies a steely determination that has seen him put personal difficulties far behind him and set out on the road to make his fortune with this new venture.

“I absolutely love it. Every day is a new day. Every day a new customer.”

From the dashboard of his Grove Rock Water branded Transit, Josh is directed on a weekly basis to a growing customer base not just in Cavan, the North East and Midlands, but to Donegal and as far afield as Clare.

It’s no surprise as Grove Rock and Josh are capitalising on a niche in the market, supplying water dispensers and a fresh and delicious high quality source of water to households, schools, factories, and offices.

Gary remembers seeing his son at his lowest ebb. A vending machine supplier, Gary was “out on a run” when he was passing through a business and saw a gathering of workers standing next to the water cooler chatting. The Goldrick family had just sunk a well for water at their own home on the outskirts of Kilnaleck. Together, the trio of circumstance formed a singular proverbial light bulb moment.

Gary, like any parent, wanted more for his son, and didn’t want to see his huge potential wasted.

“That’s where it all started. As much to find a new focus [for Josh] as anything else. I’m not shy to admit it. He was in a bad place. But to see where he’s got to now is something else.”

Asked if he’s proud of how son Josh has seized the opportunity to run and make a success of his own business Gary says straight: “Of course I am.”

From a specially converted shed at the Goldrick home Grove Rock Water operate a state-of-the-art bottling facility, with more than 300 deliveries a week and growing.

Their long-term aim is to supply homes, businesses, schools and colleges throughout Ireland, and for the Grove Rock Water brand to become synonymous with success.

“We’ve put about €175,000 into getting the business off the ground. We did a lot of the work ourselves wherever we could but the water being used comes from a natural spring that has existed here for hundreds of years,” explains Gary of turning what he knew to be a relatively simple idea into what is fast becoming a thriving business.

Quality and standards

The modern and highly automated production facility where the bottled Grove Rock Water is produced is placed under a rigorous quality assurance regime, HACCP, and is monitored constantly to ensure full compliance with S.I. No. 225 2007 and other necessary health standards. It gives the business a keen edge in both production control and all important environmental credentials.

Recent investment in the Grove Rock Water facility means that capacity can increase further should demand require it.

“A big thing about our facility is that anyone can see it. It comes from the ground, we filter it and bottle it ourselves. It’s a straightforward process,” says Gary, noting there are many water companies that claim to be Irish but outsource the bottling end of their business.

The intuitive and hygienic hope interface means that Grove Rock Water dispensers are easy to use by all. Installation is “quick and easy”.

Grove Rock Water source their dispensing units from a Mayo based company also, so should a problem arise, getting a replacement is a fast and easy process, with minimal delay or impact to the customer, household or business.

Demand

Most days Josh loads up his van with containers of water to meet customer demand.

“It hard work, but when you’re enjoying yourself, it hardly feels like work at all,” suggests Josh, who also holds down a full time job at a local concrete factory and makes his water runs in his spare time.

He says the domestic market is often overlooked by bigger supply companies, giving opportunities to firms like Grove Rock to provide a fast, safe, and reliable service.

In the likes of Cavan, Josh says the high level of lime has played havoc with appliances in some households.

“A relative of ours was throwing out kettles every other week. The shower would be working one day and then the next it’d be clogged up and broken. We started supplying to them to start off with. Soon enough they were back again looking for another refill. Four weeks later they were back again. They’d been without and had gone back to what was coming from the tap and couldn’t take it.”

It was enough anecdotal evidence to convince Josh there was an even bigger market out there for his fresh and crystal-clean Grove Rock Water.

Through hard work and steadfast endeavour Josh has built up a loyal customer base. His passion for the new business venture is evident, and word-of-mouth has spread, extolling not just the quality, purity and overall taste of the water but the high standard of customer service also.

“Success will be down to how far he can push it,” muses Gary, already eyeing up a wide horizon for Grove Rock Water. “There’d be stubbornness involved as well. Once he sets his mind to something, a bit like myself, we’ll make it happen, hell or high water. We’d be hopeful that Grove Rock Water can become a recognised top Irish brand like anything else in the next five to 10 years. That’s our aim. Dream big! You have to.”