A letter to my team - 29th March 2025:

CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH

Dear Mitchell, Ash, Paul, Andy, Sam,

There’s something rare about this team.

A warmth. A pride. A shared purpose.

We pull in the same direction, not because we have to, but because it feels right.

We delight customers, earn five-star reviews, and lift each other up — not for praise, but because it’s who we are.

You bring something special.

Together, we’ve built something stronger than we’ve ever had before.

We are, without a doubt, cut from the same cloth.

And I couldn’t be prouder to work alongside you.

WARMEST REGARDS

...Laurence

Our values drive our pursuit of excellence

There's something quite magical about the team at HydroWorks. We choose our team well, searching hard for individuals with the right code of ethics.

Our people are stimulating, and innovative, and work well together focused on creating delighted customers.

I believe that this careful selection process makes the Hydroworks team quite special.

You can scroll down towards the bottom of this page and meet our team:

LOCAL

We're in your neighbourhood

ER Longley Hydroworks is the oldest established water softener business in the UK, and has been operating across Kent, Sussex, and London for 99 years this year.

We are also the 2nd oldest established, still trading, water softener company in the world, second only to the American company EcoWater, which owned the original patent for water softening and is the biggest manufacturer of water softeners in the world.

Since 1926, we have faithfully served over 18,000 homeowners and businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and London.

Today, we have a workshop, office and showroom in Faversham, Kent, and a workshop and office in Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

Owning and running a business with so much history is inspiring and humbling. I see ourselves as custodians of this great business for future generations and are working hard to preserve it.

PROFESSIONAL

We do a proper job with expertly built systems.

Our pursuit of Excellence is our number one goal, from the work we do to the service we provide, to the after-sales care and the systems we operate.

We have invested heavily in creating the most advanced database system within our industry so that our business runs professionally and smoothly. We did this because nothing else exists out there for our industry, and it was important to us that we were not duplicating and could operate as smoothly as possible.

INDEPENDENT

Access to the whole market - servicing and sales

When I bought this business in 2016, I found that Jeremy had agreed on volume sales targets with his suppliers, which is standard for this industry.

Within months, I was feeling very uncomfortable because I found that I had to make a decision on which softener was best for a customer's home based on the sales targets I had to hit rather than being able to choose the right product for the customer's home or needs.

I subsequently cancelled all contracts that were based on sales volumes, which meant in some cases that my purchase prices went up, but we have never passed that increase on because I believe our business decision should not impact the customer.

However, since then, I have much more confidence that we can now go into a customer's home or business and know that the advice we give them is honest, impartial and, very importantly, the right.

This course of action has helped our business to grow significantly as customers gain confidence in our independence.

If you're looking to purchase a water softener, our knowledge and access to every make and model of water softener mean we can give you the right advice for your home or business, as well as your budget and your needs.

And if you already own a water softener, we can service and maintain your system in almost all circumstances. We invest significantly in getting ongoing technical and professional training and will do our best to keep your system running smoothly for years to come.