Skae Beverages International: water company turns over a New Leaf.(UP CLOSE WITH ...)

For Eric Skae, managing director of Skae Beverages International, founding a new company in the fast-moving beverage business actually was inspired by a desire to stay in one place. The veteran beverage sales executive had moved around the country representing brands such as Arizona, Hansen's, Fresh Samantha, Saratoga and Naked Juice. When he landed back in his native New York, Skae decided to stay put and launch his own business.

"I decided it was time to do my own thing," he says. "I didn't want to move my children anymore. I told my kids when we went to New York, we'll stay there."

In 2002, he found that opportunity when he acquired the U.S. distribution rights for Iceland Spring bottled water. The brand had a somewhat shaky history in the United States, but it had the potential to be a player in the emerging premium water segment.

As the name implies, Iceland Spring water is bottled in Iceland, near Reykjavik. The location …