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Make It Clear: Why You Can't Just Flush and Forget
Make It Clear: Why You Can't Just Flush and Forget
The Dealer Spotlight: Dialynas
In this episode, Angela talks with Manolis Dialynas, our Orenco dealer and distributor in Greece, as he discusses his company's focus on water and wastewater engineering. He shares how he got into the wastewater industry and emphasizes the importance of trust in building relationships with customers. Manolis highlights his favorite project, Palaiochora, which is the largest AdvanTex system in the world. He also discusses the European market and predicts that reclaimed wastewater will become an important business in the future. Manolis encourages listeners to keep dreaming, sharing knowledge, and making the world a better place.
If you have comments or questions about our podcast, you can reach us through this link. To discuss a project or talk to one of our engineers, call 800-348-9843.
00:08
Angela: Hello and welcome to Make It Clear, a conversational podcast about all things related to water and wastewater. I'm your host, Angela Bounds, and I'm joined by my co-host, Shawn Rapp. In each episode, we'll tackle a relevant topic with facts and expert opinions and make things clear.
Angela: Hello and thank you for joining us again. Today we have a special guest who flew a very long way to come and see us. They're actually visiting us here
00:37
at our Sutherlin, Oregon campus. So, Manolis, thank you for joining us.
Manolis: Thank you for having me here.
Angela: Good. So, Manolis is part of a company in Greece who is a dealer, dealer distributor of ours. Do you wanna tell the listeners a little bit about the company?
Manolis: Yes, of course. So, the company was founded like 20 years ago.
01:03
It's an environmental engineering company focusing on water and wastewater engineering. We began cooperating with Orenco back in 2004. It was just one year after the kickoff of the company. We are the first company practically in Europe operating with Orenco technology. At the time, we were the only company that holds two different markets, Greece and Cyprus.
01:32
It's two small countries in Europe compared to the rest of them. We have done numerous projects with textile technology and we really focus on making the world a better place to live.
Angela: So on the podcast, Shawn and I talk a lot about how it really is a niche market, right?
01:58
We're always fascinated by how people got into wastewater in the first place. So tell us a little bit about how you got into wastewater.
Manolis: Okay. So first of all, I'm a chemical engineer. So I have an engineering background. Where I come from, the Mediterranean region is an area with very warm climate, but water has been an issue for decades in our country and the neighbor countries.
02:28
So, it’s been always a conversation during the ensuing years around the technical university on what's the future and how things are going to go. Most of my colleagues went to, as chemical engineers, to oil extractions, you know, the big business. I thought that I was a student 25 years, 27 years ago. So I thought then that maybe the future lies on the challenges
02:56
in Mediterranean regions water and when we're talking about water is more focusing on wastewater reclamationary use and this is what took the light, mine over there and since then I've been operating with this type of engineering, wastewater engineering.
Angela: So what keeps you here?
Manolis: Okay, good question. So is the business, in the beginning it was really difficult to...
03:24
penetrate the market with nobody wanting to... where I come from, these technologies are new. I mean, it's not like the United States. So it took us a long, long time to manage to make our first installation, make a dozen of projects to have like, to show people. So after 20 years, we've managed to have all these projects and we are in a really good spot. We really...
03:53
help our country, mostly the public. We work dozens of projects for the public in pushing the worst of the wastewater and saving the fresh water for drinking. What do I say? I just love my job.
Angela: Yeah. Something that is not lost on me is that every time we do one of these interviews, helping is something that everyone I think that we've interviewed so far has mentioned that they want to be a helper.
04:22
They want to help their community, they want to help their country or their state, whatever. So I personally think it's super cool that we have dealers and distributors and people that we work with all over the world that just want to be helpers and help those around them. All right. Tell me a little bit about how you work with your customers.
Manolis: Okay. So it's a really good question because we have...
04:51
a normal company has many customers. We have one big customer and his name is the Greek public, the Greek government. So, no, this is not true. Actually, there is a dozen of private sector companies I'll deal with, but we have about 90% of our revenue from the Greek government. Now, a government consists of people. So, it's people we deal around. So,
05:20
I've been thinking all my life that everything, when it comes down to business, anything has to do with trust.
Angela: Right.
Manolis: So the most important thing is when you sit on a table with some people and you present a new technology, a new idea, you give promises. And if you can make these promises happen, you can make people feel trust. And this is all about. So what I do with a new person that deals with me, when we negotiate a project, I try to…
05:51
We all use our reputation. It's very important to know that when you say something, you do what you say, you keep your word. So what I do, I try to always to make people feel that I'm a person that they can trust because other people say this about me and then build a relationship that moves on, on that direction.
Angela: Good. Trust is key.
Manolis: Of course.
Angela: Yeah.
Manolis: This is all about.
Angela: Yeah. So...
06:19
I think I know the answer to this question. Tell us about your favorite project.
Manolis: Okay, yes. Well, I'm very, very, very proud to say that the biggest project with textile technology for Orenco on earth was designed by my company, installed by my company, and it's now operated by my company. We have the lack of the Greek language being so difficult. So, the project name is
06:49
Palia chora. I know that I have to say it many times, Palia chora, Palia chora. It's a long name. It means in my language, old country. So, this project is a huge, massive 42 AX250. It operates in South Crete, in the Mediterranean region, for approximately 1,000 cubic meters, which is 37,000 gallons.
07:18
No, sorry about that. Okay, so I'm gonna stay with 1000 cubic meters because I'm sure about the number. I'm sorry about that. So, the amazing part is that so far there is an infrastructure that this water is diverted to the sea because it's a seaside settlement with many tourists and many touristic activities. And now the government is so happy about having this project that they invest on having a new
07:47
a water reservoir that they can have the water there and apply for irrigation to olive trees around. So we will be having a saving of 1000 cubic meter fresh water per day which is amazing because water is very, very expensive, drinking water is very expensive to produce and distribute in these areas. Also the quality of fresh water depends on how
08:16
much water you pump out of the drilling wells. So yes, I will stay with Palia chora being my best designer, my best project so far.
Angela: Yeah, I thought that might be it. I mean, when you have the largest AdvanTex system in the world, how can that not be your favorite? So what do you see happening in the European market?
08:46
Manolis: Well, the European market is very complicated because it consists of many different producers, many different countries of different ideologies and different perspectives. You have the French, the Italians, the Germans, the British, each one of those have a huge history in the industry. So things are very different in every side of the Europe. I believe that in the future, as water, reclaimed wastewater will be
09:15
a very important business. Most of the countries will invest more in this direction. So we're going to see new products and new products and new companies, new competition. Cost is not going to be the key anymore. We're going to have the ability to go to a place, install a project, operate, having good results, make it fast, make it quick, long lasting. So I believe in the next
09:44
10 to 15 years we’re gonna do about that. They wanna see many, many new competitors coming around. Best of luck to those. So yes.
Angela: Good.
Manolis: We will continue to be there. We'll continue to be in the European market. We'll try to do projects in other regions of Europe, apart from Greece and Cyprus.
Angela: Well, is there anything else that you want the listeners to know?
Manolis: I just wanna say that if you like told me
10:14
five years before that when I be here standing, having all these projects and having Palia chora and having all these magnificent results, nobody would believe me, even myself. So keep dreaming on, keep having new ideas. Don't be afraid to tell other people, share the knowledge, make the world a better place to live.
Angela: Yeah, I do think that that's a really awesome sentiment
10:44
that you're not here because this is where you plan to be in five years, right? It's not like, oh, I put together some grand plan and, and I took step A, B and C and I ended up right here. That's not how this works.
Manolis: No, no, it's not
Angela: Like you do the right thing. You make choices based on what's really best for everyone involved, the people that you're talking to, the country that you're trying to protect,
11:11
and it leads you to this place because you're doing the right thing.
Manolis: Exactly.
Angela: All right, well, I greatly appreciate you joining us today. These are my favorite podcasts to do. And I thank all of you out there for listening.
Manolis: Thank you so much for having us here.
Angela: We wanna thank you again for joining us today. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe where you listen to podcasts. So you're notified when new episodes are posted.
Also, you can leave your comments or suggestions through the contact link on our website, www.orenco.com. Until next time, have a great day!
