Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Eleven86 Real Artesian Water is more than just a factory that produces bottled water. MRaine Industries, the overarching company of Eleven86, is bringing heart and soul back to the town where the whole operation started, Autaugaville, Alabama.
With a population of 798, for many the surrounding woods, trees, a local farm store, small hills and fields compile a place that embodies home. What started in 2018 as an operation that could barely keep the lights on, has now turned into a company that produces on average 150,000 bottles of artesian water per day, shipping all over the U.S. and internationally.
Artesian water means that the water is untouched by contaminants, that it’s free flowing spring water that comes straight from underground wells, moving to the surface due to pressure.
“I will not take any credit for it. It isn’t mine, Eleven86. This water was here before I got here. We’re not the first to try this. I can say we’re the first to be successful with it, but we are not the first to try. A lot of people don’t understand where we came from. My God is leading me, and it’s not our job to worry, all you have to do is show up. Show up and stay consistent. That’s all he wants you to do, and that’s what we do now,” the CEO, owner, and vision behind Eleven86, Marquis Forge said.
Forge graduated as valedictorian from Autaugaville and went on to play football at the University of Alabama. In his valedictorian speech he promised that if he ever “made something of himself,” he would come back to Autaugaville. Persevering against all odds through dedication, determination, and extremely little sleep. All in the name of doing what he loved and doing right by the ones he loved, in order to play football, and receive his diploma.
While working an extremely successful career in the automotive industry, Forge received a call from his mom with news that his mentor and family friend Granger Palmer had passed away in his sleep in 2015.
Forge traveled home to celebrate the life of a man that helped shape him. Forge drove the roads he knew like the back of his hand, every mile getting closer to home. Unknowingly, this trip home would change his life forever.
“Mr. Palmer was a mentor, a cornerstone in this community. He made sure when we were in school and that we didn’t stay on the corner, we didn’t do drugs, and we were fed. He made sure we had food before the game and we could make it to the banquet, it was him and Mr. Ward,” Forge said.
During the drive Forge called his mom to let her know that he would be home in 15 minutes. She was making his favorite meal, and he could almost smell it through the phone, Forge stated. But according to Forge, God had other plans for him that day.
“I stopped at the stop sign at Autaugaville Street on Highway 14. At that stop sign my life completely changed. God spoke to me and told me to go see Mr. Ward. My mama’s got dinner ready and I can smell it! But Samuel 15:20, verse 22 ‘obedience is better than sacrifice,’ so I drove through the stop sign instead of making a left,” Forge said.
“The greens, and chicken, and that macaroni and cheese is going to be cold by the time I get there, Lord. Please hurry up,” Forge said with a laugh.
Forge went to see Francis B. Ward, many knew him as F.B. Ward told Forge he was going to run the water plant, where they used to bottle water until about 2012, to bring life back into the town. The structure had turned dilapidated, and almost not usable by this point.
While Forge was jumping through hoops to try and buy this structure, by the grace of God and a former high school mentor, one person said something that stuck. “If you’re so smart, build one.”
“I was at home one night praying. I’m sitting in my bedroom, and during that time, I was taking notes every day and doing research. I had four, four-inch binders after six months of research, after my talk with Mr. Ward. I prayed, ‘Lord, I am in a situation, I’m at the end of the road.’ But these binders were my burning bush, the four lit up in my office. God had given us a manuscript. All we have to do is follow this manuscript, and he’s going to show us and lead us, and guide us along the way,” Forge said.
Eighteen months later, the ribbon was cut on a 22,500 square foot water bottling facility, with brand new machinery in it.
“Everybody laughed at us, all the banks that turned us down and laughed in our faces. We had cleared the land, and we used our own money. We just decided we’re going to do what God told us to do with the money that we have, we were dead broke,” Forge said.
Before the land was cleared, a location for a well was needed. Civil engineer, now Alabama State Senator, Clyde Chambliss, came out to find the exact spot to dig the well. Through the cobwebs between the trees and other creepy crawlers that hide in the woods, Forge stuck a stake in the ground, and the rest is history.
“The well that we have is specifically utilized for bottling water. We put tons of money and thought into it. When the guy was digging the well, he said you can get the same amount of water from a little well. I said I don’t want a little well, I want a big well!,” Forge said.
“We were sitting out there in the woods with our lawn chairs, we came every day and watched this guy dig that well. Everyday. We got ready to pay him on his last payment. He said, ‘I enjoyed y’all’s company, keep your money.’ he said, ‘this is going to be the best well that I’m going to have to my name.’ he said, ‘I just feel it, this is going to be something,” Forge said.
Through that well, Forge struck gold, liquid gold. No chemicals, no additives, no preservatives, what you get in the bottle is what is directly from the ground, and what has been there for thousands of years.
The system they use is FDA approved, and only the minimum of what is required by law is what touches the water before bottling.
After the supply issues that still ravage the world, Forge decided to take MRaine and Eleven86 water to the next level by vertically integrating. This allowed MRaine to streamline its operations by taking direct ownership of various stages of its production process rather than relying on external contractors or suppliers that are overseas.
MRaine produces, blows the plastic and makes their own bottles and labels right in house, where Forge went to Switzerland to bring home the machine himself.
However, the name for MRaine Industries and Eleven86 water, falls in the center of Forge’s heart. Forge’s youngest daughter Micaiah Raine was a miracle baby after Forge and his wife had almost given up hope of having a baby of their own. MRaine, is Micaiah’s nickname.
“She was very powerful when she was born, she was like a little mamma. Years later, I was at home trying to figure out what we were going to name the company, the marketing team said it has to have something with water in it. Then my wife came through the kitchen and called for MRaine. God blessed us from on high,” Forge said.
The name of the company was solidified, now Forge had to name the water that MRaine Industries bottles. Forge stated that he asked God one more time, and he answered with, “how do you study the bible?”
“You ask God for furniture, he’ll give you a tree. You have to do some work. Ok, so how many chapters are in the bible? I study about three chapters at a time. So, give me a cold bottle of three chapters at the time, that doesn’t work. But there’s 1,186 chapters in the bible,” Forge said.
His partner from the very beginning, COO Kevin Brickhouse, suggested spelling “eleven” out, and thus Eleven86 was born.
Inside every bottle cap of Eleven86 water reads a scripture. There are 111 different scriptures, Forge confirmed. The scriptures are selected by his employee’s that helped shape the company into what it is today.
“At the end of it all, when you’re having a bad day, you can pop the cap and there’s scriptures on the inside of the caps. All the team members involved put their scriptures there. We’re a team, we’re family oriented but we also get the word and ministry out,” Forge said.
Now, the sky’s the limit according to Forge. What was a 22,500 square foot building in just 2018, now stands tall as of December 8th, 2023 as a 64,250 square foot building, with no signs of slowing down in the near or far future.
