By William “Skip” Deegans
This story begins in the mid-1980s at Bones Diner in White Sulphur Springs. The Quibell family (father Ronnie and sons, Steve and Derek) had spent some six years searching all over the United States for a spring to tap for a bottled water business to compete with the French Perrier water. A chance encounter with a customer at Bones led the Quibells to a spring on Jack Spellman’s farm in Sweet Springs. The spring had a history of producing 2 million gallons of water a day since 1935, and geologists confirmed the quality the Quibells wanted.
The Quibells, who had lived in South Africa, England and Australia, were international concert promoters. The idea of starting a domestic water bottling company came about after watching the large number of cases of Perrier water performers consumed to stay hydrated during a performance. Financing the venture came from Ronnie Quibel, a successful South African developer with a history of bucking apartheid. In 1963, he built the first multiracial theatre only to be shut down by the government. Operating as the Quibell Brothers, Ronnie and his brother brought shows and performers, including African Americans, to South Africa.
The Quibells set up a bottling plant in Roanoke, Virginia, trucked water from Sweet Springs to the plant, and began selling bottled water in 1987. In 1990, Perrier water was recalled after being contaminated by benzene. Quibel was able to capitalize on the adverse publicity affecting Perrier and was even contracted by Perrier to bottle for them. In 1995, Quibell sold 1.5 million cases of bottled water. As competition increased with larger companies entering the market, it became difficult for Quibell to capture shelf space in stores. The company incurred a lot of debt and declared bankruptcy in 1996. The Quibell company was sold to Matrix Capital Markets Group in Richmond that subsequently sold controlling interest to two Martinsville, Virginia, businessmen. Quibell’s headquarters were moved to Martinsville, and the bottling plant shifted to Independence, Virginia. The company, however, failed to rebound. Perrier, now owned by Nestle, sells nearly one billion bottles annually.
Sources: The Roanoke Times, Cape Times, CNN, Martinsville Bulletin.
