They say opportunity knocks, but in my case, it shouted down the phone at me. Loudly.
I was out for a walk, enjoying my newfound freedom after leaving my previous company a few months earlier, when my phone rang. The person on the other end? A very, very unhappy former client. And by unhappy, I mean the kind of furious that makes you hold the phone slightly away from your ear for safety reasons.
After an eternity of ranting (and me wondering if I should fake bad signal), they paused for breath and I was able to calmly inform them that I was actually no longer the MD of the company they were furious with. Cue an awkward silence. Then, surprisingly, an apology from them. And just before hanging up, they let me with this lasting comment: “If you set up your own company, I’ll be your first client.”
Initially, I laughed at the idea, but it was this one angry phone call that led to AllWater Technologies being born.
A few days later, still amused by Mr Angry’s phone call, I found myself recounting the story to Sue Fisher and John Nicholson, two former colleagues. The three of us jokingly tossed around the idea of starting our own company-after all, we already had a guaranteed first client.
Despite the thought of the three of us starting a business as a joke, it stuck with me and I realised that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I reached back out to Sue and John and luckily for me, they were interested in making this wild idea a reality. The timing was right and we didn’t have much to lose. So in February, 2012, Sue and John officially joined me, and together, we took the plunge.
Naturally, our first call was to Mr. Angry-and true to his word, he became our first client.
Our spur-of-the-moment decision to start a business meant we weren’t exactly prepared for launching a business. We soon found ourselves scrambling for business, reaching out to old contacts, and figuring things out as we went. Just like Mr Angry, many of our former customers who had come to trust us over the years, chose to follow us into our new venture because they valued our expertise, industry knowledge, and commitment to service excellence.
Being completely unprepared for rapid growth, we were all working from home offices and relying on using friendly supplier premises when having to build small plants. It wasn’t exactly a well-oiled operation, but it worked – until, six months in, we landed our first big order – over £300,000 – to supply capital plant in South Africa. This was a pivotal moment, proving that clients trusted us to handle large-scale, complex projects. But to deliver at extremely high standards, we needed a proper facility.
Cue the scramble to find a proper facility. It was Sue that eventually found Unit S2, Mendip Business Park, Rooksbridge, a 1,935 sq ft unit – which became our very first home and which we subsequently purchased in 2014.
Given that the premises had previously been used for storing horse food, the entire unit stank horrendously of garlic. It was initially unusable as a workspace and Sue rallied her family to roll up their sleeves and to give it a lick of paint. After their hard work, we suddenly had an operational workspace complete with a small office we could all work from and a rickety mezzanine floor that wobbled just enough to keep us on our toes.
Soon enough, we managed to complete and ship our first major order to South Africa on time. John then duly made the trip to oversee the installation and commission the plant. Despite our unpolished beginnings, we were already proving ourselves as a serious player in the industry.
As business quickly picked up, we soon found ourselves flat out with service clients and project work. Working frantically in the background, Sue collaborated with an external designer to develop and trademark the teardrop logo we still proudly use today. Alongside our new identity, we launched our very first website in September 2012, marking a major milestone in our company’s journey.
By January 2014 it was clear we needed help with on-site service work. That’s when we welcomed our first employee and a familiar face. Roger Drew who had worked with us at a previous company, and – testament to his dedication, is still with us today. The same can be said for Jeanette Bishop, who joined us in September 2014 as our first office team member to keep things running smoothly. and who we’re very happy to say is still with us today.
Our business continued to grow and in 2015 we bought another, smaller unit, D3 to provide additional build space of 1,600 sq ft and support our fledgling “cylinder exchange” business. As our team continued to grow, so did our need for office space and by 2017, we expanded within our original Unit S2, adding a dedicated kitchen area and first-floor offices. 2017 also saw us secure our first capital project order > £1m. In 2018, bursting at the seams once again, we sold D3 and purchased the adjacent unit S3, knocking through the wall to form a combined ground floor area of 4,845 sq ft giving us the room we desperately needed to keep up with demand.
During this time our team grew significantly, and we now had a dedicated sales executive, additional field-based technicians to support our growing list of service clients, and also more office staff to handle administrative support to our burgeoning number of projects.
Fast forward to 2022, and we expanded once again – adding another mezzanine area to Unit S3, to support our growing internal service admin team. Shortly after, we hit a major milestone, securing our first capital project order exceeding £2m and surpassing combined sales of £10m for the first time.
We also welcomed Stuart Howe, who joined as Director of Controls and Automation and is now leading our Projects and Production division.
At the end of 2024, we completed the purchase of AllWater House in Cheddar, marking a major, milestone for us, and more importantly, for our customers. With over 10,000 sq ft of dedicated space, this new facility will allow us to increase production capacity, enhance efficiency, and optimise operations, ensuring even greater reliability for our clients. By the end of March 2025, all production and administration will move to AllWater House, providing a more advanced and fully equipped base of operations.
And we’re not stopping there, Winterstoke House, offering an additional 6,500 sq ft gives us room to grow even further in the future, ensuring we continue to invest in new technologies and expand our capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our clients.
Of course we couldn’t have achieved any of this without our dedicated team, whose expertise and hard work have driven our success. But most importantly, we wouldn’t be here without our incredible customers, who continue to trust us with their critical water treatment needs. We are committed to expanding, innovating, and improving – not just for ourselves, but to better serve you for many years to come.
We’re here to help with all your water treatment needs. Whether you have questions about our services, want to discuss a project, or need support, our team is ready to assist you. Fill out the form for general enquiries, or you are welcome to email direct or give us a call.
Unit 2,
Cheddar Business Park,
Wedmore Road,
Cheddar
BS27 3EB
Mon-Fri: 08:30-17:30 (GMT)
