In Light of 5 Generations
In face of a globalized world, ALAFAVE builds a global vision. For this, it works to develop tools, skills and relations that enable it to take the leading position. International events, technological advances, the strengthening and diversification of communication channels as well as the entailment with manufacturers around the globe are all priority to us.
Those are some of the reasons why we celebrate the presence of Miquel Roura, CEO of the Catalan company Ceras Roura and board member of the Association of European Candle Makers (AECM), at the recent ALAFAVE Congress; truly an icon within the industry.
From the other side of the Atlantic, Miquel has a lot to contribute and partners of ALAFAVE have a lot to learn from his talent and vast experience.
The oldest testimonials show that his family started fabricating candles over a century ago, since 1912. The love for the business has been a legacy handed over from parents to children for 5 generations.
Miquel shares with us that ever since he was a young boy he quickly came into close contact with candles – “I remember that my father used to bring candles home to try them, to test their burning time and the size of the flame, among other things. I also remember that my grandfather used to teach me about the differences between wicks and explained how to know if a candle is consuming properly”.
By the age of 5, when his father took him to the factory, Miquel and his sister would play and made figures out of wax. He also remembers that when he was 12 years old he got his first job at his family’s business during summertime, which allowed him to learn how to handle machinery and download trucks. It was evident that his life was destined to take on the family business.
For over 6 decades, the family business was focused on the manufacturing of candles for religious purposes but in 1975 his father came up with the idea of introducing a line of ornamental, scented and colored candles. And so they went from being distributors exclusively for Spanish churches to exporters for several countries and customers: supermarkets, gardening shops, hotels and stores in general. Miquel Roura says, “In my opinion, the market of candles will continue to grow”.
The secret to his company’s continuity and growth lies in the timely detection of needs and cutting edge trends, thus enabling it to come up with new proposals. “Currently, younger generations seem to want scented and colored candles as ornaments as well as candles that come in a jar (…) I believe that the key to success is to keep active within the market, innovate and know what the customer’s needs are”.
Miquel has no problem in sharing his formula for success based in quality, innovation and teamwork. An example of this are the efforts of the AECM to maintain its members informed, promote testing and publish regulations, standards and new security requirements for candle manufacturing.
At ALAFAVE we have similar goals. And so, from both sides of the Atlantic, we want to multiply efforts and apply intelligent strategies to achieve regional and global benefits for our industry.
Thank you Miquel for your participation in Atlanta!