Dear Reader
I trust and hope you are all well in these very challenging times.

Last year (2019) we all witnessed big changes within the water softening industry as a whole; of course this created much uncertainty for us all. Despite this unsettling time one positive outcome has been that individuals and companies, who for many years have been rivals and competitors have come together for the first time.

This initial meeting took place on Friday 27th September 2019 at the family home of Clive and Suzanne Stevens in Suffolk. In attendance was a group on 31 individuals from across the UK from all different brands and backgrounds. Dealerships that had been 'arch enemies' finally had the opportunity to talk face-to-face, which was something that past manufactures had not actively encouraged - (It's now clear why they wanted to keep the divide!)

The general feeling afterwards was a sense unity and positivity with new acqaintances formed. What was also most apparent was the clear desire and motivation to grow and promote our water treatment industry. Thus the overall outcome was overwhelmingly in favour of establishing an association to our interests within the industry.

With the early foundation of a new association laid, it was time to build upon this with another meeting to keep momentum going and to develop things further.

This meting was organised by Paul Webb of Dorset Water Softeners and was held on Friday January 24th at The Foxhills Country Club, Ottershaw Chertsey.

The meeting was attended by 31 individual dealer all intuited in forming the new association, the board was duly voted in and the name agreed:
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The Association of Independent Water Softener Experts

Board Members:
Paul Webb (Chairman)
Chris Smith (Secretary)
Peter Hines (Treasurer)
Tony Patmore (Membership Secretary)
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Since forming the association in January this year we have seen and experienced very challenging times for everyone globally since the outbreak of Covid-19. This has caused the breaker to be applied slightly for everyone to prioritise the events surrounding the virus and the ffeccts on our individual businesses.
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That said we have however registered the website and domain name and opened a bank account with Metro Bank in Epsom with 4 members of the board depositing a tolotal of £4000 into this account.

We have had lots of interest and requests form individuals wanting to join and become a part of this association. Below is a brief summary of our plans for the association and reasons to join:

Reasons to Join:‍

• This is an association run and contributed to by and for its members.
• The association was formed in January 2020 by local water softener companies to improve, share knowledge and promote training within their businesses.
• Membership is open to companies where their main business is water treatment and the selling, installation and servicing of water softeners directly to customers within their given areas.

We believe this collaboration between water treatment members is the best way to grow and help each other.
Member Benefits‍

• The shared knowledge and support of each member
• You will appear in our 'Find a Expert' website directory
• Access to the members forum
• Access to online database including manuals
• Early access and discount for training days
• Great finance deals
• Help to improve the industry
• Invitation tot the annual A.I.W.S.E Christmas events 
• Display an A.I.W.S.E logo
  

The A.I.W.S.E brand will become the recognised mark and the seal of approval for customers looking for local experts with the water industry.
We want to give prospective customers a positive experience in the buying of water treatment equipment by using experts to enhance their experience, so going forward they will recommend future customers.
We will help members meet up and interact with companies and suppliers that offer the very best product within the water treatment industry.

Customer Finance
We have negotiated great terms with a finance company so you are able to offer your customers payment terms.

Banking
If you use a PDQ machine then we have a special deal with Barclays that will save you money - these terms are not available to non-members.

Networking
Coming together to share knowledge and help each other grow our business.

Training
The A.I.W.S.E is committed to provide training days on a reafgualr basis to share knowlegfe and develop skill sets

Certification
With on-going training we will offer certification to both companies and staff members who complete training.

We would love you to join us on this exciting journey.
Completed the form enclosed and we will get back to you with further information.
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All the best