A longstanding Guernsey Water employee is this year celebrating a remarkable 45 continuous years’ service with the utility after following his father into the firm as a young man in 1975.
Water Production Manager, Andy Benstead, started life with Guernsey Water in July 1975 after spending weekends with his father, Frank, who worked for the States Water Board in the 1960s, checking pumps across the water network.
Having joined Guernsey Water as an apprentice welder fitter, Andy spent time attending college each week in his early years to gain the necessary qualifications and has subsequently held several roles over his four decades including Lead Maintenance engineer, Electrical Mechanical supervisor, Water Production Technician and finally, Water Production Manager.
Steve Langlois, Guernsey Water’s General Manager, paid tribute to Andy’s extraordinary commitment and dedication.
“It is quite unusual these days to see staff remain with one organisation for this extent of time and I am genuinely delighted by the loyalty and passion shown by Andy over all these years within the company. He has built up such a wealth of knowledge and understanding of not only the company and industry but also of our customers, which is invaluable”.
Andy recalled a number of notable changes and events during his tenure, which included supporting the thriving growing industry, dealing with the drought in 1976, and the managing of the transition for the water industry to accommodate climate change and advances in modern technology.
Andy commented: “We used to supply huge volumes of raw water to the tomato and flower growers in their heyday back in the early 1970s/80s and I wonder if these industries could make a return at some point. The drought in 1976 brought with it huge challenges, but the technology changes that emerged since then mean we are now able to collect and store more water than ever before, which is a huge benefit to the Island.
“As a company we have evolved hugely over the years that I have been employed in the industry. This includes the transformation of our water treatment works from using Rapid Gravity Filter to membrane and we can now control all of our water Treatment Plants and Water Collection Facilities remotely; which includes working from home. All this was unheard of when I started all those years ago”.
More recently, Andy has been managing a team of 11 – eight of whom are fitters skilled in welding, electrics and mechanics that enable the utility to maintain all services in-house. They start out on a five-year apprenticeship scheme, much as he did when he joined the utility.
Andy added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at Guernsey Water and am pleased to advise that I won’t actually be retiring just yet. I am to remain on board to oversee an important water treatment project and look forward to seeing that come to fruition for the benefit of the Island”.
