WHA Members gathered on Thursday 26th September at Brandon Hall Hotel, Warwickshire to attend the AGM and General Meeting, network with colleagues and suppliers and support the designated WHA charity Just a Drop.
WHA Supplier Members took spaces to exhibit their products: 4 Aces, AA First, Allpure, Crystal Mountain, Fillongley Spring, Droople, Go-Pak UK, Noyantis, Petainer, Procooler and Watercare.
The Market
At the March 2024 Conference, Richard Hall of Zenith Global had reported the following guide to the UK market:
- No real increase in unit numbers
- 40 bottles per dispenser and growing but not back to pre-covid levels
- Mains-fed dispensers held 46.9% of the marketing, with bottled water dispensers at 41.5% and integrated tap systems at 3.4%
- There was small market growth of 7.3%, with bottled water dispensers on the decline and mains-fed and integrated tap systems growing in market share
Now 6 months later the market continues to expand with new products and customers requesting more than basic models.
New Code of Practice and Revised Bylaws
In April, the WHA had introduced a new Code of Practice with a wider remit to include boilers, refill stations, HoReCa products and ITS. This was now complemented with a change in the Association Byelaws, designed to attract members from a wider range of hydration and related sectors.
WHA Organisation 2024/25
The WHA continues to put Members first and the Executive Council works hard to ensure that the industry grows and develops whilst maintaining its standards and associated audits and training.
Jon Wicks, BWT UK is to continue as Chair with Matt Stimpson, Thirsty Work as Deputy Chair taking over as Chair at the 2025 AGM. A new Deputy Chair elect would be confirmed in 2025 and the membership were assured that the WHA remained in good hands.
WHA Vision
The WHA vision remained to be “The Authority on Water Dispensers and Hydration Products in both Commercial and Domestic Environments” and putting Members first.
The WHA continued to promote its standards both within its membership and to customers.
Thanks were extended to the WHA Team, Phillipa Clow, Tracy Corroll and Joe Hislop; the Executive Council; the Marketing and Communications Committee and the Technical Training and Audit Committee.
WHA Executive Council 2024/2025
Jon Wicks, BWT UK Chair & Director
Matt Stimpson, Thirsty Work Deputy Chair
Richard Martin, BWT UK Treasurer (non-voting) & Director
David Albers, Ape20
Peter Benson, AA First
Caroline Elliot, Crystal Mountain
Nigel Elwick, Three Sixty Sales
Rebecca Farrow, Countrywise Water Coolers
Lloyd Fletcher, Culligan UK
Cath James, Eden Springs UK
Michael O’Donoghue, Aquaid Watercoolers
Matthew Orme, Wenlock Spring
James Skelton, Office Watercoolers
GENERAL MEETING
Representatives from the Technical Committee gave reports on progress throughout the past year, including a number of important and informative industry related technical documents including:
- Poly and Per-fluoroalkyl (PFAS) – Their dangers and impacts
- Electricity at Work – Safe working practices
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
- Ingress Protection and Corrosion (IP Ratings) – Suitability of location
- Micro-plastics and nano-plastics in dispensed water – Their dangers and impacts
The coming year was destined to be busy, bringing more membership benefits, information on up-coming legislation, industry specific training and audits. A consultation will be circulated to WHA members shortly on Regulation 4 compliance and appropriate action will follow.
Representatives from the Marketing & Communications Committee reported on the growing membership and plans for 2025 including development the WHA social media plan as part of the overall marketing strategy.
Guest speakers were George Clark, City to Sea and Scott Elliott, Andy’s Man Club.