28 INSPIRA Since 1917, focusing on improving your bathroom Roca Galleries With the aim of sharing its history, transmitting experience its values and offering a real brand experience, in 2009 the company opened the Roca Barcelona Gallery, a building with an avant- garde architecture open to the city in which, as well as displaying its collections and products, social and cultural events related to design, architecture, innovation and sustainability are carried out. The brand´s flagship building has increased its presence with openings in Madrid, Lisbo n, London and Shanghai . AFTER 100 YEARS, ROCA´S PRESENCE International fame REACHES MORE THAN 170 MARKETS, The prestige acquired throughout nearly one WHICH ARE SUPPLIED THANKS TO ITS century has allowed Roca to be present in some 78 PRODUCTION PLANTS AND ITS MORE of the most emblematic buildings and spaces THAN 22,000 EMPLOYEES AROUND THE around the globe. Today, the Roca brand is WORLD. linked to some of the greatest international architectural firms, large business centres, Roca is a family-owned company dedicated luxury hotels, theatres, cultural spaces and to the creation of bathroom spaces, which historic monuments such as the Eiffel Tower has grown thanks to its efforts in inn ovaion, (Paris), the Pantanal Estadio Arena (Brazil), t design and susta ity to end up becoming the Bolshói theatre (Moscow) or the Sheraton inabil a reference enterprise in its sector. Huzhou Sprin g Res ort (China), among others, which have trusted the company to equip The company, founded in 19 17, started its their bathroom spaces thanks to its resolution activity manufacturing cast iron radiators for capability when facing great challenges; those domestic use. With time and thanks to the that require the quality, design and innovation innovative spirit that has always defined Roca, represented by Roca. the business evolved towards the creation of already present in the market in its five units what we now know as bathroom spaces. scattered around the globe. Principle of sustainability Roca´s worldwide reference position also The bathroom space New horizons demands a high degree of responsibility. Its first factory was set up in Gavà (Barcelona), The 70s were years of growth and expansion, For this reason, aware of the importance of where it shifted from producing radiators to with the setting up of subsidiaries in France preserving the environment, Roca has lead boilers. The manufacturing of cast iron bathtubs and Portugal. One decade later and with different initiatives throughout the years, such as started in 1929 and one year later the first faucets the philosophy of improving its products, the Zer o Waste or Eco-Roca , to reduce industrial started being commercialised. However, the company took a new step forward: it started waste an d carbon dioxide emissions into the most important leap was taken in 1936 when, collaborating with the most relevant atmos phere in all its factorie s. in its aim to provide solutions to people´s needs, architects and des igners. As a result of these However, Roca´s commitment to the planet goes Roca started the production of vitreous china alliances, some of the most emblematic Roca beyond the production processes. So much bathroom fittings. collections were created, together with David so that in 2010 it set up the W e Are W ater In the sixties, Roca advanced in terms of Chipperfield, Herzog & De Meuron and Foundati on with the aim of raising awareness sustainability, reducing the water consumption Giorgetto Giugiaro, among others. among the public opinion and institutions of the in its cisterns. These were also years with a clear From that moment on, and especially in the 90s, need to commit to a new water culture, that commitment to innovation and design, values Roca continued its international expansion in allows a fair development and a sustainable assimilated by the company in all its ranges. order to achieve its current presence in more man agement of the wate r resources in the As a result the Roca Design Centre was set than 170 markets, supplied by its 78 production wo rld. A way of showing its commitment and up, which develops new product designs and plants and its more than 22,000 employees solidarity to the people and communities most works in the revision and improvement of ranges around the wo rld. affected by the lack of access to drinking water.