THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
EDITOR’S PICKS
He and his wife were killed in a car crash.
“It was such a shock,” commented Liz. “A horrible, horrible shock. All these years later and I still find it hard to believe that he’s not here. It was devastating.”
Liz and the now thriving Landia UK team didn’t need any incentive to continue growing the business, but there was no sitting back. Some in the industry predicted that without Hughie’s always assertive approach, it would be the end of Landia UK without him. Little did they know Liz though. Despite the huge shock and the hugely significant loss, the so- called ‘receptionist come accounts woman’ knew exactly what was going on at the company and how to run it.
Liz, together with Paul Davies (who has been with Landia for over 20 years), knew they could continue and develop Landia UK as Hugh would have planned, with Liz running operations and Paul managing sales.
“I knew we could do it,” said Liz. “Giving up is always the easy thing to do, but there are people here, especially the younger ones, who have their whole careers in front of them. They are our future, so I felt very responsible for us gritting our teeth and keeping everything going.”
“The pandemic was another challenge,” she added, “as it was for everyone. For our lads on the road going to maintenance appointments, especially over long
distances, it was very tough and tiring in the initial period of lockdown, with no hotels open. But we had to be there to support our customers. None of our team moaned and groaned. They just got on with it.”
With her finger on the pulse, Liz will admit that she’s always found it difficult to let go, but as Landia UK moved on with her at the helm and Paul Davies leading the sales drive, she says she’s learned to delegate and switch off.
“It’s never easy,” she said. “But with the right people in place, you can still keep your eyes open, but trust them in their roles, and importantly, have a life outside of work. Back in the early days of Landia UK I remember needing a doctor’s appointment, but I kept fobbing them off, explaining that I couldn’t leave the office because I was the only person there. The Doctor called me and said ‘who do you think you are; the prime minister?!’ Nowadays, I am far more sensible………”
As is the case across so many industries, recruitment, post-Covid, remains a challenge. For many years, Landia UK has had a very successful apprenticeship scheme in place. Talented engineers such as Josh Edge have worked their way through to become members of the sales team, armed with expert knowledge of the Landia equipment and its
effectiveness from time in the workshop and out on the road carrying out servicing.
She continued: “With recruitment, I totally understand that life has changed since the pandemic, and that many people now want to work partly from home, but it has to be a two-way street. It’s vital that employees have their rights, but again, it needs to be a balance for the companies’ requirements.”
‘Consistency and continuity’
In typically modest fashion, Liz says she leaves the selling to the salesmen, but those who purchase Landia pumps and mixers are immediately put at ease that all of their dealings with the company will be handled from start to finish, very efficiently and professionally. With Liz around, this doesn’t happen by accident. This consistency and continuity with back-up go a long way in securing repeat business, so maybe Liz should take some well-deserved credit for sales too.
And Landia UK in another 30 years’ time?
“We all want to increase sales and keep the graph going the right way,” said Liz, “but despite getting priced out sometimes because we are a Rolls Royce manufacturer, the company (approaching its centenary) is clearly doing something right – and I am very proud to be playing my part.”
Homes heated by human sewage
could become a reality Aston University project to transform sewage sludge into clean
water and energy awarded a share of £4.5 million by Ofwat An Aston University project that could transform sewage sludge into clean water and energy has been awarded a share of £4.5 million by Ofwat.
The aim is to create a sustainable and cost- efficiently run wastewater processes, plus extra energy.
The University project with engineering consultancy ICMEA-UK involves extracting energy from the waste produced during sewage and water treatment and transforming it into hydrogen and/or methane. The gases can then be used to power engines or heat people’s homes.
FOLLOW US
The initiative was one of ten winners of Ofwat’s Water Discovery Challenge, of which the Aston University scientists and two industrial partners have been awarded £427,000. Dr Jude Onwudili based at Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) is leading the
team of scientists who will work with the partners to develop a trial rig to transform solid residues from wastewater treatment plants to hydrogen and/or methane. The two-stage process will involve the initial transformation of organic components in the sludge into liquid intermediates, which will then be converted to the fuel gases in a second stage. The project is called REvAR (Renewable
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