Regular participant Roca Sanitario will be back again at the Big 5 show this year with its new aesthetic bathroom and wellness collections in a bid to demonstrate that it is at the cutting edge of design and technology.

The company will be displaying its sanitary ware designs by David Chipperfield (UK), Rafael Moneo (Spain), and Schmidt and Lackner (Germany), faucet designs, bathroom furniture and shower kits, says Victor Schoone, regional manager, Roca Sanitario Middle East.
“The attention to design that is evident in every Roca product line has been rewarded through numerous acknowledgements and awards both in Spain and internationally,” he adds.
Its target audience includes consultants, architects, interior designers and developers.
Roca has been participating at the Big 5 every two years since 1994, through its distributor for the Northern Emirates, Hamad Rahma Abdulla Al Shamsi General Trading, but intends to exhibit exclusively as Roca, “most probably every year from now on”, he says. “This is because the Middle East market is of great importance to us.”
The company, whose turnover last year amounted to €1.6 billion ($2.25 billion), offers complete bathrooms solutions and tiles including sanitary ware, bath tubs, faucets, shower kits, spas, saunas, whirlpools, sinks, shower bidet and trays, bath and shower enclosures, bathroom furniture and accessories. It is active in 115 markets worldwide.
With production of its range taking place in 18 countries around the globe, Roca Sanitario is meeting the worldwide needs of many five-star hotels, resorts and residential complexes all over the Middle East, Iran and Pakistan, says Schoone.
In the ceramics field, Roca Sanitario has manufacturing facilities in Spain, Brazil and Peru.
“The total worth of these projects undertaken by us in the Middle East region would be probably about $10 million for 2007 alone,” he says.
“The Four Seasons, Le Meridien, Hilton, Radisson SAS, Holiday Inn, Sheraton, 21st Century Tower, Grosvenor House, The Tower and many villas in the region are among our clientele,” he adds.
A wholly Spanish-owned company, Roca Sanitario is currently a world leader in the sanitary ware sector and has seen a surge in demand for its products, the greatest increase in sales last year having been in China, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, Turkey and the European Union.
The company’s current strategy focuses on a consolidation of its presence in China, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia and the Balkans, besides India — where Roca bought a 50 per cent stake of the company Parryware as part of a joint venture.
Roca has secured its leadership position primarily through responding and even anticipating market needs. Some of the fields it has focused on are design and innovation, technology and environment.
“Roca places great importance to nature and energy as all our products are equipped with water- and energy saving devices,” says Schoone. “We take the environmental issue very seriously and as a leader we need to set the example to the industry. Our factories ought to become zero per cent waste facilities and our products are designed to use less water and energy each time they are used while maintaining optimal usage and pleasure.
Demonstrating its commitment to the environment, Roca has signed as the main sponsor of the ExpoZaragoza 2008 international exhibition on water and sustainable Development which runs from June 14 to September 14 next year.