Case Studies
Issue No. 15 - February/March 2004
Environmental Waste
Waste Not
The name Environmental Waste Services has the ring of a new—age, green company popped up after the latest shower. In fact, directors Jim Stafford and Doug Hayball met in 1974 on a plumbing subcontracting job in Blackwood and within a few months formed the partnership (Haystaff Nominees) which is now known as EWS.
They began to specialise in wastewater management long before it was fashionable. They have built a sizeable business on the surprising number of different ways to remediate water in residential and commercial settings, using a challenging variety of equipment they both use and sell—starting in 1984 when they secured the State agency for the Super Treat Waste Water Treatment System, eventually gaining approval for a range of commercial size plants.
“Our next move towards other environmental products was to gain distributorship for vertical gravity separators (VGS) for removing free oil from water," says Jim Stafford. “This evolved into building complete washbays for Councils, earthmoving contractors, the STA, etc.
“Having a plumbing background made the move from general plumbing into the environmental area relatively smooth. We obtained our general builders license for industrial work, which allowed us to offer a complete turnkey job."
Technology uptake proved vital to growth; EWS diversified from contracting into supplying and in some cases manufacturing waste management equipment. Obtaining a Biological Grease Trap Treatment Unit (known as the Grease Guzzler) developed in the UK and Ireland, EWS secured the manufacturing rights for it for all of Australia.
“The most exciting development was obtaining the Australian distributorship for the MYCELX range of products from the United States," Jim says. “These products opened up huge opportunity from the marine area with Spill Kits and Bilgekleen units, to removal of hydrocarbons from contaminated ground water and stormwater runoff.
“Since taking on ...
