Unveiling Our New National Air Technical Manager

Welcome Tony De Sousa

We are delighted to unveil a new member of the Hydro-X Air team. Please give a warm welcome to Tony De Sousa our new National Air Technical Manager.

As part of Tony’s initiation and induction he was provided with a tour of the new training facilities dedicated to the Hydro-X Air operations team. Here we caught up with him to dive into his vast experience within the industry from Operations Manager to Account Management.

Spotlight On Tony De Sousa

1. Can you shed some light on your previous work experience and how it relates to your new National Technical Manager role at Hydro-X Air?

I have spent 10 years in the Air Hygiene sector, and following this I took on the challenge of COO at a Wholesale Food Supplier – where within 2 months we established a fully-fledged Distribution Centre with pick and pack facilities, as well as five distribution hubs, including all vans and drivers to service these local distribution sites.

I began my journey in the Air Hygiene sector as an Operations Manager and subsequently made a transition to sales account management and sales management roles. I consider myself fortunate to have collaborated with individuals who have deep roots in the industry and were generous in sharing their knowledge and experiences.

As part of my sales role, it was critical that I had an understanding of what I was selling, be it kitchen extract cleans, ventilation cleaning, or fire damper testing. I believe that my experience and knowledge gained over the 10 years will be invaluable in my new role.

2. What motivated you to pursue a career in this industry, and how do you envision leveraging your past experiences to contribute to the team’s success?

I believe that the industry provides more than cleaning or testing – the systems and works that we offer are life-critical, and it is essential that the works we carry out are fully compliant so that lives are not put at risk.

My previous experiences have provided me with a solid foundation, but as we all know, we should never stop learning.  As the industry is evolving, and specifications or guidelines are added or amended, we need to keep abreast of these developments.

3. What excites you about working for Hydro-X Air?

I sincerely believe that Hydro-X is the best at what it does, and being part of Marlowe PLC Group, offers great opportunities to work with other departments or divisions within the group, to provide our customers with a world class service.

4. Could you share a particular accomplishment or project from your previous job that you are proud of and how it showcases your skills and abilities?

At my previous employment we had in the region of 2,000 SKUs that had to be picked and packed on a daily basis over three shifts, needless to say that this caused some problems!  I developed and implemented a SOP (standard operating procedure) setting out the roles and responsibilities of the teams, and the individual roles within the teams. By implementing clearly defined roles and responsibilities, coupled with training and mentoring, ensured that all tasks were completed to a high standard.

5. What do you think are the big challenges faced by those working within the industry?

I believe that consistent workmanship and reports are the biggest challenges.

The biggest shortcoming, in my humble opinion, is the lack of clearly defined standards and guidelines regarding the testing of fire dampers. What some in the industry would consider to be a “pass” others would deem as “failed”!

6. What’s your favourite meal after a long day at work?

BBQ with a juicy steak!

7. What do you do to switch off after work?

I enjoy reading and watching action movies – John Wick is one of my favourite characters at the moment. If time allows, I do enjoy a round of golf on the odd occasion.

8. And finally, If you were a superhero or a fictional character in the workplace, who would you be and why?

Sherlock Holmes – he always gets to the bottom of things.