“It’s all about the purpose, who we are and what we strive for. At Aqua Metro, our purpose is to create a sustainable organisation supporting health and wellbeing of our people, creating opportunities to deliver social value and provide quality services to our customers,” said Chief Executive Officer Manish Pancholi.
Aqua Metro is a proudly Australian-owned organisation with world-class capabilities. Its absolute commitment to people, community and the environment is combined with a lean, agile structure, ensuring that it can effectively respond to its client’s needs.
Aqua Metro is an integrated service provider offering turn-key solutions in the utility sector. It has significant capability and experience in the design and construction of water and wastewater treatment plants, pump stations, dam construction, water and sewer rehabilitation works, water main maintenance works, pipeline works and program management. Our staff are highly skilled and experienced, with a demonstrated track record of delivering services in long-term partnerships for our key customers.
Under the optimistic leadership of Chief Executive Officer Manish Pancholi, Aqua Metro is becoming a significant player in the utility market. Servicing the water industry and becoming a leader in the utility sector is more than just about the numbers.
“It’s all about the purpose, who we are and what we stand for. At Aqua Metro, our purpose is to create a sustainable organisation supporting health and wellbeing of our people, creating opportunities to deliver social value and provide quality services to our customers,” Pancholi says.
“Our people are our greatest asset, and they make the organisation it is today. We strive to create a healthy culture and sustain an enabling environment for our people to learn, grow, achieve and thrive. We have 21 different nationalities working at Aqua Metro, and we want all our people to feel equally welcome, valued, respected and included in our organisation. I believe that strength in our team, healthy culture and the ability to lead with purpose makes us a great partner for our customers,” he says.
“I feel immense gratitude for the support and partnership of our incredible customers. We work collaboratively with our clients to identify their needs and develop innovative and efficient solutions. We exist to help achieve customer goals.”
“We are poised for growth and setting the right course with the right people and group of customers. There’s great momentum as we are looking to diversify our customer base and offerings further, and I am optimistic about the future of our people and Aqua Metro,” says Pancholi.
Thinking sustainably for the long-term future
As part of its footprint, Aqua Metro looks at sustainability holistically. Sustainability is a fundamental part of its philosophy and covers every aspect of the business.
“The effort we put into creating a sustainable organisation is all about what is best for the business in the future. It’s forward-looking so that the organisation remains relevant in the coming years,” says Pancholi.
A vital part of this thinking is taking a broader position on what sustainability means. It’s not just about carbon emissions and being a green organisation. For Aqua Metro, it’s about being diverse and inclusive of maximising opportunities for people.
“We are creating an inclusive organisation that gives people opportunities to shine, improve productivity and efficiency and support better decision-making.”
That element of inclusion, diversity and cultural richness brings different ideas together, fosters innovation and empowers people providing a great opportunity to achieve our sustainability goals,” Pancholi says.
Putting people first fundamental to Aqua Metro
Iliana Dimitriadis is the Head of People and Culture at Aqua Metro. She has taken a leading role in creating inclusive and diverse culture.
“More than ever, the last three years have made people assess what is important professionally and personally. We have seen a shift in expectations of what people expect from their employers. From my perspective, employers need to change their focus to providing a safe workplace and professional development and what it takes to look after the ‘whole’ person. I am incredibly proud of our inclusive and diverse culture and the focus on the well-being of all our people.
When you have leaders who lead with empathy, you always make decisions that are in the best interest of your people,” says Dimitriadis.
Rosie Bartle, Aqua Metro’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator, has incorporated putting people first into every aspect of her work.
“It’s not just our internal teams for whom putting people first is standard practice. It’s how we communicate, impact our communities, and collaborate with our local businesses,” says Bartle. “We do this predominantly through our customer-first mindset by co-delivering and co-designing our strategies to align with our customer’s views and values. As a business and organisation, we could not do this without listening to and learning from our customers.”
Bartle highlights the importance of Aqua Metro leaving a community legacy for those that come after those currently within the organisation.
“Aqua Metro are delivering works in the construction industry. It goes further than that because we are in people’s neighbourhoods and backyards. We want to make sure that when we deliver our works, we leave something long-lasting that will benefit the community,” says Bartle.
This article featured in the April edition of Trenchless Australasia.
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