LDC Top 50 2024
Richard Haddon
CEO
Bluewater Bio
“I planned to stay a year and here I am, a decade later.” Chartered engineer Richard Haddon was asked to turn around technology business Bluewater Bio: “It was losing a lot of money”. He knew the technologies, which make step change improvements to wastewater treatment, had to be best in class before pushing growth.
“We’ve grown 10-fold in five years, have a compound annual growth rate of 59% and are debt free,” he reveals. “A total contrast from where we started”. The business generates 40% of revenues overseas and has cleaned 1.5bn tonnes of wastewater, 70% of which has been recycled for use in agriculture, irrigation, industrial and environmental processes.
It’s taken ambition, courage, commitment and loyalty to get us here.”
Q&A
How did you rebuild Bluewater Bio?
Ensuring we created best-in-class technologies, developing expert and customer focussed people and having a sincerity with our clients and suppliers. We work with most of the water companies in the UK and we have significant business overseas. Our customers trust us and appreciate our integrity.
Our technologies now make step change improvements to wastewater treatment works around the world. We’ve cleaned more than 1.5bn tonnes of wastewater and 70% of this has been recycled for use in agriculture and irrigation, industrial processes, and environmental restoration.
How fast is the business growing?
We’ve grown 10-fold in the last five years, with a compound annual growth rate of 59% and we continue to win significant contracts in the UK, Middle East and South Africa. It’s a busy time. The challenge of significant growth is ensuring you don’t lose quality at the delivery end, and we spend a considerable amount of time looking after this. Our reputation depends on it. We are now looking at M&A to bring in new technologies and routes to market, which will generate exponential growth. If we repeat our success in newly acquired businesses, the growth rate could be huge.
Where does your drive come from?
I had a tough upbringing in East London. My mother was brilliant, but life was difficult. I became absent from school when I was 14 because I couldn’t see the point. I started working as a labourer and then stumbled on a job as a gas fitter and was lucky enough to meet a group of craftsmen who really took me under their wing. They taught me, gave me confidence, and lit a fire in me that gave me the confidence to really push myself for the first time. I’m a chartered engineer and have an MBA, all thanks to the inspiration they gave me. I try hard to do the same for others, but I know I am not in their league.
