KOP Insiders: Tony Ibarguen, CEO of Quench USA, Inc

KOP Insiders delves into the stories of the people who make King of Prussia one of Pennsylvania’s most dynamic live-work-play-stay destinations. In depth interviews provide insight into the companies that make up our diverse business community and put a face to the individuals behind the business. In this edition, we are joined by Tony Ibarguen, CEO of Quench USA, Inc.

Can you tell us a little about your background and how it led you Quench?

I’ve been with Quench for about 11 years. I came in to do a bit of a turnaround. At the time, we were a regional player, and we had attracted some investors who were looking for a more ambitious growth plan. We expanded fairly quickly and were able to raise more capital to make some strategic acquisitions. Right now, we’re the largest provider of bottleless water coolers and ice machines, with about 60,000 customers around the US and Canada in every major market.

When I joined, we were in a few thousand feet of flex space on 5th Avenue KOP. We moved to 630 Allendale Road in late 2018, and it has been awesome. All things considered our business has continued to do amazingly well through the pandemic. We’re particularly proud of the fact that we managed to keep our whole team together without any layoffs.

What motivated Quench to establish their HQ in KOP specifically?

I love it here. I live in Devon, which is only about 15 minutes away. One of the things that I’ve found that is eye-opening about KOP is that there’s no other location in greater Philadelphia where you can attract people from so many different surrounding areas — and who would all have reasonable commutes.

So that’s the main reason why we stayed here, but then you also have the amenities like King of Prussia Town Center, which have made KOP such an amazing place to be during this growth stage. When I started, we had maybe 15 people in the office; now, we have almost 200 in KOP alone.

How has COVID impacted the space within which you operate and how has Quench pivoted as a result?

One of the most amazing things that we accomplished was pivoting from a product perspective to being able to provide a touchless unit. We delivered foot pedals that connect into the system so that you can dispense good clean cold, hot, or sparkling water without having to touch anything. Then, very soon after that, we were able to deliver upon a touchless sensor operation. That has completely taken over, so virtually everything we sell now is touchless, and we did it in probably a third of the development time than it otherwise would have taken.

What makes KOP a good fit for your employees and company culture?

KOP, more so than any other area regionally, has so much to offer that you can’t find anywhere else. The dining scene really stands out. There’s a wealth of activities outside the office that many of our employees take advantage of. And the commute, especially compared to driving into the city, works well for us. Our building is also conducive to employee collaboration and our culture — which has absolutely factored into our growth.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about moving their company to KOP?

Moving here is far easier to justify when you consider the working population growth that we’ve seen and continue to see — like the new CHOP hospital. You’re going to find a vibrant, relatively young, and professional workforce here. You’ve got to look at where your people are and where are they moving to. What we’ve found is that KOP is attractive for our employees, which for us, means everything. You can feel the momentum building in KOP, and it has become the center of gravity in the region. At the same time, you never feel like you’re stuck here. Getting anywhere is so convenient.

If there was one thing you’d want the KOP community and beyond to know about Quench — whether that be about the company, the culture, your vision for the future — what would it be?

Believe it or not, there are still more plastic, 5-gallon water coolers out there than our advanced technology units that are so much better for the environment and less expensive. We’re continuing to get the word out that there is a better solution available nationwide.

Finally, we’re a growth company, and with that comes opportunity for individual growth. We are adding people all the time, so if you’re looking for a great opportunity with a dynamic, green, environmentally friendly business, then make sure to get in contact with us. We’d love to hear from you.

About Quench

Quench is the brand that helps growing and forward-thinking customers keep their employees, customers, and guests happy, healthy, and hydrated. Quench offers water-as-a-service solutions by providing filtered water through a broad array of bottleless machines. Their point-of-use water dispensers, ice machines, sparkling water machines, and coffee machines offer users countless consumption choices, including quenchWATER+ alkaline water, RO water, chewable ice, sparkling water, flavored water, and coffee. Customers choose Quench because Quench has the depth of options, national reach, and consistently high level of service to deliver pure, delicious water to tens of thousands of small and medium businesses and to over half of the Fortune 500 organizations across the continent.

630 Allendale Road, Suite 200 King of Prussia, PA 19406| quenchwater.com