It was only ever meant to be a short interlude for Andreas Riedel when Hydria Water needed a welder to help out on a big project involving sending distributors to Managua in Nicaragua. 17 years later, he is CTO and the second generation of his family working at the company.
“I was quickly onboarded and went on to construction. After a few years, I had the privilege of building this department from scratch when the company underwent restructuring. I managed the recruitment, and my focus was to transform this into an efficient department with agility and technical expertise”, says Andreas.
Andreas’s dad also worked in construction and as the Head of Technology during his many years at Hydria Water. They share an interest in technology, mathematics and innovation.
“Working with innovation that serves society as a whole feels amazing. At Hydria Water, we are not afraid of thinking outside the box and finding new solutions that differ from our competitors’.”
Andreas personally feels it is the combination of the environmental issue and the technical challenge that spurs him on in his everyday work, as well as having the opportunity to manage his own projects and push topics that are close to his heart.
“Right now, we are getting prepared for an AI project that can benefit our customers greatly as the machine will be able to update itself in the future. I hope, and firmly believe, that we will have a complete beta version within a year or so.”
Hydria Water is owned by the Swedish family corporation Hydria Group which, as far as Andreas is concerned, is a great advantage.
“To be part of Hydria Group is an advantage which makes it easier to work long-term instead of constantly keeping an eye on the quarterly report.”
This summer, Andreas’s daughters will work at Hydria Water as part of a digitisation project. They will then be the third generation from the same family at this company.