Searching for quality

“When we were looking for a partner in the Netherlands, we started by searching the Internet. ‘Quality’ and ‘reliability’ were our search terms, and we found them in Waterman Onions.” These beautiful words were spoken by Jóhannes Por AEvarsson, Managing Director Fresh Produce at Innnes, Iceland’s leading wholesaler of food products, and we are proud to share them with you.

Importer Innnes has been an important player in the food branch in Iceland for over 30 years. Quality is the highest priority at the company, which is based in Reykjavik and employs around 200 people. Innnes represents brands from around the world, a large proportion of which are market leaders.

In addition to the quality of the products, the company also places a high value on the quality of its employees and the environment. They are the company’s foundations, as expressed by the many social activities it organises and supports.

Kolbeinn Ágústsson (Purchasing department) agrees, and adds: “Being a good employer and a good neighbour are as important to us as fast service and good personal contact with our clients. And we recognise that in Waterman as well. The personal contact is especially valuable in a branch like ours. They always respond quickly and positively, which is why we’ve been working with them to our full satisfaction for over three years now!”

Traineeships

Trainees are always welcome at Waterman. Why? Because we enjoy sharing our knowledge and giving people a chance, but also because young people have an open mind and don’t (yet) see obstacles instead of opportunities. They can certainly learn a lot from us, but they also have a lot to teach.

For example, Electrical Engineering student Andy recently made a big impression. He was asked to find a way to reduce the amount of dust in the production hall. It wouldn’t be easy… Andy explains:

“There was a lot of dust in the distribution box, which could cause big problems during a power outage, because you’d have to clean everything before you could fix the problem. That would take time, and in a running production process time is money. So my job was to prevent the dust from accumulating in the first place.

And that’s just what I did. We created overpressure in the distribution box by means of a tube that blows air into the box. And it worked. Once we had the basic prototype, I could get started refining and testing the system, and then we fabricated it and installed it in the box. That was a great assignment, because it gave me an opportunity to do something important for the company.”

Andy has since completed his internship, and when asked what he enjoyed most, he mentioned the freedom and the opportunity to take the initiative himself. That’s what we call a ‘win-win situation’!