They are working on an ambitious project for a client in Dubai: the manufacturing of a foosball table that will be submerged and installed inside a swimming pool with a record depth of 60 meters, which forms the center of the Experience Deep Dive Dubai diving activities, in the town of Nad Al Sheba (Dubai). This is the latest challenge undertaken by the game table manufacturer RS Barcelona, a family business located in Viladecans.
The brand, which produces foosball tables, pool tables, and ping-pong tables, in addition to some auxiliary furniture, all of them with design and luxury, has begun the construction of a new 8,500 square meter factory in Olesa de Montserrat, with an investment of three million euros, which will be completed in July 2022.
The relocation of manufacturing and the warehouse will result in an increase in production capacity, "which will double," and in the workforce, which will grow from 30 to 60 people. It is also expected to double revenues from the current five million euros to a target of 10 million euros by 2025. RS Barcelona's commercial offices will remain on Calle Córcega in the Catalan capital, next to the showroom-concept store they inaugurated in 2016.
Maria Carrasco, head of marketing and company spokesperson, explains that from the Viladecans facilities, at least one foosball table and one ping-pong table leave every day and that demand is growing exponentially because they are "designer game tables to which we have incorporated a second functionality." Thus, foosball tables, pool tables, or ping-pong tables can be found that can be used as a dining table in a private home, as tables for restaurant diners, or as a desk for company meetings.
The company expects to double revenues from the current five million euros to a target of 10 million euros by 2025Some utilities that are easy to see and find in Barcelona. For example, we see their foosball tables in the Pura Brasa restaurant, in the Les Arenas shopping center, or in the Metric Market, in Les Corts; and the outdoor foosball tables that have been placed in Cloudworks' co-working spaces in La Casa de las Punxes or in 22@ Glòries.And, among the personalized products, the foosball table from the Barça Flashship Store, of FC Barcelona, where the figures of the players are combined with characters related to Catalan culture and traditions, such as apubilla, a demon of thecorrefoc, a templar, theMoreneta, etc.
Brothers Rafael and Sergio Rodríguez, who run the company created by their father, Rafael Rodríguez, in 1975 as a die-making business that evolved with the second generation starting in 2006, have made product innovation and collaboration with prominent interior designers the brand's foundation, reinterpreting these game tables and incorporating them into everyday living spaces.
The brand's added value has positioned them in the North American market, more accustomed to the gamification of offices, but not to foosball tables, "in the beginning, it was difficult to introduce the foosball table, a game table they didn't know," but right now, they have a logistics warehouse in New Jersey and the delegation offices in Los Angeles. The brand also has a presence throughout Europe, especially in the United Kingdom and France. 95% of production is for export.
"The concept of office gamification has arrived later in Spain than in other countries, where this type of leisure furniture has been common for years. However, we are increasingly having more projects in the local market, especially since the pandemic, when the mentality about the workplace began to change," explains María Carrasco, spokesperson for RS Barcelona, and adds that "companies are changing their offices with open and other outdoor spaces and with a layout and furniture that encourages personal interaction among their employees."
95% of production, at least one foosball table and one ping-pong table every day, is for exportCarrasco states that also demand is growing in Asian countries and in the Middle East "where we are positioning ourselves"because "there is a luxury market that is developing and that for a brand like ours is a key objective for expansion.
In the field of innovation, the firm makes advances both in product ---it has a wide line of indoor furniture with tables, chairs, shelves...--- and in materials. In this last segment, RS Barcelona is incorporating more sustainable elements and new features. For example, it has replaced the slate used to manufacture billiard tables with cement fiber, which is not only recyclable but also much more resistant to changes in ambient temperature.
RS Barcelona's starting gun for expansion and internationalization took place in Barcelona, in 2006, right on Passeig de Gràcia, specifically in the old Vinçon store. Fernando Amat, co-owner of Vinçon, appeared at the RS Barcelona workshop in Viladecans and fell in love with a foosball table that was half-finished. In two days the product was in the store window and the first RS2 foosball table in the company's history was sold, which now has a range that goes from 2,500 euros for a standard foosball table to 12,000 euros for the largest outdoor billiard-table.