Régis SARAGOSTI (ISTEC 2000) vit le rêve américain

Article de PHCP Pros

Chasing, and Living, the Dream

Over the past 10 years, Saniflo USA has achieved a dominant market share in the residential and commercial wastewater pumping systems category. This significant growth coincides with the productive, decade-long tenure of Saniflo’s current CEO, Regis Saragosti, who marked a major personal milestone this past summer— becoming a U.S. citizen.

His personal and professional accomplishments stem from Saragosti’s lifelong drive to chase the American dream. “Ever since I was a kid growing up in the Parisian suburbs, I wanted to be an American, because this country absolutely fascinated me,” recalls Saragosti. Now, still only in his early 40s, he is already surpassing his goals.

After earning a bachelor's degree in business from ISTEC in Paris, Saragosti began his career in exports for CISA/BRICARD, an electronic lock manufacturer that serves luxury hotels. From there he joined SFA, Saniflo’s parent company, in 2004, where he worked as an export manager in Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Japan, India, Armenia, among other countries. He subsequently served as top manager for SFA subsidiaries in Russia, Poland, Ireland and Romania, charged with the responsibility for launching and/or developing the Saniflo brand in those countries.

His big break came in 2007 when he was appointed marketing manager for Saniflo USA. Shortly thereafter, he took over as CEO of Saniflo operations in the United States.

Once he assumed his dream job, Saragosti immediately went to work growing Saniflo’s U.S. presence. At that time, the wastewater pump manufacturer was still relatively unknown, having entered this market only a decade earlier.

“I had to explain to customers who Saniflo was and what we were doing,” says Saragosti. “Fortunately, with the support of a great team on both sides of the Atlantic, we quickly spread brand awareness among industry buying groups and wholesalers.”

Saniflo gained popularity as a convenient solution for installing plumbing virtually anywhere. The above-floor pump products are designed to handle wastewater from multiple plumbing fixtures and appliances within individual bath, kitchen, wet-bar and laundry-room applications.

The common denominator for all of these systems is the ability to handle plumbing applications that have no below-floor drainage. This lack of drainage makes the installation of conventional plumbing fixtures impossible or at least cost-prohibitive.

Instead of routing the flush water through a below-floor drain, a specially designed, rear-discharge toilet and other fixtures empty into a macerator, grinder or drainage pump. This rugged, proven technology reduces waste and paper, pumping the effluent through small-diameter piping to the sewer or septic tank.

As more wholesalers, contractors and homeowners understood Saniflo’s solution, business began to grow. “We have doubled sales over the past 10 years and now hold 90 percent market share in our category,” Saragosti says. “Unlike when I started, today most industry professionals recognize the Saniflo brand and what we do.”

One could argue that Saragosti has fulfilled his childhood dream, but he has set new goals for the future.

“I’m looking forward to achieving 100 percent market share in our category, continuing to grow Saniflo’s business and having fun selling the most reliable wastewater pump products on the market,” he says.

Saragosti continues, “I’m striving to make the next 10 years as successful as the first and would like to thank everyone in the plumbing industry who made this possible.”

If history is any indicator, the future looks bright for this American CEO.

Visit www.saniflo.com

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