Hydroworks ER Longley Water Softeners

17/06/2026

A dripping tap or a toilet that occasionally keeps running might not seem like a big deal.

The surprising reality is that a single dripping tap can waste up to 60 litres of water every week, while a leaking toilet can waste around 400 litres every day.

That’s not just water disappearing down the drain. It’s money, energy and resources being wasted too.

Many leaks develop slowly and quietly, which means they can go unnoticed for weeks or even months before anyone realises there’s a problem.

A few minutes spent checking your taps, toilets and plumbing today could save a surprising amount of water over the course of a year.

Sometimes the smallest problems create the biggest waste.

📞 0800 999 4117
🌐 www.Hydroworks.co.uk

10/06/2026

Tej Lalvani's post about Hawskmoor really got me thinking.

One of the most significant decisions I’ve made in recent years was bringing a Managing Director into Hydroworks.

For a business of our size and age, it’s not a common move. I’ve had more than a few people ask why I would add another senior salary when that person isn’t directly generating revenue through sales or engineering.

On paper, I can understand the question.

But businesses don’t grow simply because of the work that gets done today. They grow because of the systems, leadership, accountability and strategic thinking that shape tomorrow. And tomorrow is very much on my mind, because as a Business, we are 100 years old this year, even though when I bought it 10 years ago, it was close to bankruptcy. If I want the business to outlast me, then I need to think now about the succession of the business.

Ive never been afraid to add a salary into the business if I think it will help the business grow.

When I first started considering the role, I wasn’t looking for a Managing Director at all. I was actually looking for a driver to free up some of my time. What I eventually realised was that what the business needed wasn’t somebody to drive me around - it needed somebody to help drive the business forward.

The biggest challenge hasn’t been making the appointment.

It’s been learning to let go.

As founders or business owners, we often build businesses by being involved in everything. We know every customer, every process, every challenge. Stepping back can feel uncomfortable because it feels like losing control.

What I’ve discovered is that trusting someone capable enough to challenge your thinking and lead alongside you doesn’t reduce your influence - it increases the business’s ability to grow.

Have we always agreed on everything? Of course not.

There was one particularly difficult day where I got involved in something that I should probably have left alone. But that’s part of the learning process too.

Today, we’re stronger because we have two people looking at the future from different perspectives, but we have also learnt to trust each other's judgement and commitment to do the best thing for the business, the team and the customer.

Gregor focuses on running and improving the business day-to-day, while I devote more energy to customer experience, technical development, innovation and future growth.

As a business mentor, I often meet business owners who believe they need to be the smartest person in the room.

And so, I completely agree with Taj's view that the opposite is true.

The businesses that scale successfully are often led by people who are secure enough to bring talented people around them - and then give them room to succeed.

19/05/2026

Most people think a water softener is about protecting boilers, taps, and appliances.

But honestly, is that all? One of the biggest benefits is far more personal.

For years, I have referred to it as 'The Wow Moment'! It’s the feeling you forgot.
.. That moment when your skin no longer feels dry after a shower.
.. When your hair feels smoother and easier to manage.
.. When your hands stop feeling tight after washing them.

Hard water strips away natural oils and leaves minerals behind on your skin and hair every single day.

Softened water changes that.

Customers often tell us:

💧 “I stopped needing as much moisturiser.”
💧 “My hair feels softer.”
💧 “I didn’t realise how uncomfortable hard water actually felt until it was gone.”

It’s difficult to explain in words…… but it is instantly noticeable once you experience it.

Have you ever lived somewhere with softened water before? What was the first thing you noticed?

21/04/2026

Have you ever had an appliance fail earlier than expected? There’s a good chance hard water played a part.

Most homeowners we speak to underestimate the long-term impact of hard water....

Until they know there’s a solution, they simply see it as something they have to live with.

But limescale isn’t just what you see on taps, shower screens, and sinks…

It’s quietly building up inside:

• Boilers
• Pipework
• Heating systems
• Everyday appliances

Over time, this build-up:

• Reduces efficiency
• Restricts flow
• Shortens the lifespan of critical equipment

And all too often, it only becomes visible after something fails… when the cost is already unavoidable.

In reality, hard water isn’t just a cosmetic issue.

IT'S A PERFORMANCE AND LONGEVITY ISSUE

Find out more at www.hydroworks.co.uk

11/04/2026

If you're in Thanet, pop down and check this out

09/03/2026

Over the past few months I’ve been approached a few times by media platforms asking if I’d like to pay for an interview about my work.

It made me stop and think.

Because the real story isn’t really about me.

It’s about a small British water softening business that has quietly been serving homes and businesses for a century, and still continues to go from strength to strength.

In 2016 I became the custodian of Hydroworks Water Softeners, a company that was already almost 90 years old when I took it on.

Since then we’ve grown from around 120 active customers to over 5,500, off the back of an 18,000 dormant database and we'vebuilt an extraordinary team... and, continued doing something that I think matters more today than ever — helping people solve real, practical problems in their homes and businesses.

Alongside the business, I’ve also spent a lot of time working with charities and mentoring young entrepreneurs through programmes connected to organisations like the The King's Trust and UK Gov Help to Grow: Management Course

Part of that comes from my belief that leadership isn’t just built through success.
Often it’s shaped through the harder chapters of life as well.

Those experiences have taught me that if we are fortunate enough to build something meaningful in business, we should also use it to lift others where we can.

At the same time the world is changing quickly.

AI is transforming knowledge work, automation is reshaping industries, and yet the need for skilled people who can design, install, repair, and maintain real-world systems is only becoming more important.

Trades and technical expertise are quietly becoming future-proof skills.

As Hydroworks moves into its 100th year, I often find myself thinking about a different question:

How do you take a traditional local business with deep heritage and prepare it for the next 100 years?

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I certainly have a lot of ideas.

But I do believe that combining craft, technical knowledge, and modern thinking will matter more than ever.

And I feel incredibly lucky to be part of that journey.

21/02/2026

Who knew that calcium carbonate was actually used as Stage lighting?

27/12/2025

Santa 🎅🏻brought me a gift .... 😅

10/12/2025

Here I talk about why I became a trustee of Lunch Positive

When Richard was diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1990s, doctors told him he wouldn’t see the following spring. Decades later, Richard reflects on survival, loss, and the unexpected life he’s built

05/12/2025

Pause for a moment.
Breathe it in.

This isn’t just a story about a product.
It’s the story of what happens when a small group of people hold a vision so tightly, so purposefully, that it becomes part of who they are.

A team who once dreamed of getting a boiling-water tap into every kitchen in Holland…

and then quietly, consistently, relentlessly went out and built the future they imagined.

Today, that dream is no longer aspirational — it’s operational.
It’s alive.
It’s accelerating.

1 in 2 new kitchens now has a Quooker

100 to 1,050 team members.
3 countries to 19.
4500% growth.

Those numbers aren’t just impressive — they’re a masterclass in what leadership with clarity of purpose can achieve.

Because through all that expansion, Quooker has never lost its soul.
It still feels like a family business driven by integrity, ingenuity and the belief that small innovations can reshape everyday life.

Their products genuinely change how people live in their homes.
And their mission to be “in every kitchen” isn’t a marketing line — it’s a compass. A commitment. A promise backed by decades of innovation and a culture that refuses to compromise on excellence.

This is what happens when a company keeps its purpose at the centre of everything.

And it’s a privilege to witness a journey built on vision, discipline and heart.