On the water line with the company AIRWATEC31/05/2019

The Walloon company AIRWATEC is based in Eupen and specialized in the design and manufacturing of a wide range of water filters and UV'S for industrial & residential use. The filtration system, called CINTROPUR®, is patented and has proven its high quality for more than 40 years. It’s meant to remove solid particles such as earth, sand and rust from water supplies. A second part of the range makes it possible to treat waters with activated carbon or polyphosphates-silicophosphates.

The export manager for Bulgaria, Pierre Maréchal, has been working for the company since 2002. He travels regularly to Bulgaria where he has several importing/distributing partners for CINTROPUR® products now. We took advantage of one of his business trips to Sofia to ask him some questions.

Since when have you been prospecting Bulgaria? What is the typical profile of your Bulgarian partners?

When I went to Bulgaria the first time, it must have been in 2007 after a new customer decided to work with us. His first order was quite consequent and I decided that it was my duty to pay a visit to his company, just with the idea to get to know the people, the country and the mentality. I almost fell in love with the country and it was the beginning of a very exciting adventure. I accepted that Bulgaria is a potential market, different from the other markets as well as later I will learn to know better Serbia, Finland, Hungary, Macedonia, ... The typical profile of the Bulgarian customer for AIRWATEC, is the company specialized in the treatment of water. It is more precisely the distributor of devices or products aiming at improving or making profitable the quality of water. This distributor, since we do not work under any circumstances with the end customer, represents various products such as our water filters but also devices such as softeners, reverse osmosis units, pumps,… The typical distributor is an importer of water treatment products and specializes in supplying products to local installers or small distributors.

What are your impressions of the country and its evolution since you came here?

Bulgaria, even though it is a small country, remains an important customer for AIRWATEC, with a constant annual evolution. We offer quality products for professional customers and, by travelling, prospecting and meeting our partners regularly, confidence settles permanently. 2018 was the best year for AIRWATEC even though the evolution of a market is continually dependent on local economic trends. My impressions of the market evolution are only positive after more than ten years of regular visits to the country.

Will you be at Aquatech 2019 in Amsterdam? Why is this fair important to you?

AIRWATEC will obviously be present at AQUATECH 2019. This is the international trade show par excellence where all water treatment stakeholders set appointments months in advance. All the latest technologies are presented. AQUATECH remains to this day a source of new customers coming from the 4 corners of the planet for CINTROPUR, especially as at each edition we reveal new products there.