Guyanese engineer making industrial water filters locally

Having secured a contract to provide the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) with three industrial water filters, Guyanese mechanical engineer Bob Ghamandi is currently in the process of setting up the last one at Ithaca, West Bank Berbice.

Ghamandi is a businessman who lived and studied in the United States of America for 35 years, and who has been in the aerospace industry, designing and manufacturing various parts for many of the major aircraft companies there.

He said he is happy to be back home to share his knowledge and help his beloved country compete with the rest of the world.

Moreover, he believes that instead of importing everything that is needed to produce the filters, almost all of the parts can be made right here.

“I was asked where I would get my filters from and I said at Mon Repos; that we are going to manufacture it in Guyana at international standards, using our own people,” Ghamandi said in an interview with the News Room at his business, Compass Industrial Services, Agriculture Road, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

The water filter initiative by the government is to ensure a better quality of water.

“These filters extract the iron content from the water before it goes out to the public,” Ghamandi explained during the interview last Saturday.

His contract allowed his company to install one filter so far at Weldaad, and another at Chesney in Berbice. Ghamandi said he will keep tendering so that he will be able to make more filters.

“The only things we have imported on these filters are the valves and the high pressure pipes because these are specialised pipes and the valves are fully electronic,” he shared.

Being ISO certified, he explained that the manufacturing processes and practices that his company uses align with world class standards.

“Having that type of knowledge, it’s so important we transfer it. My passion for engineering started as a young boy in Port Mourant, Corentyne, and I always told myself I wanted to be a machinist, but today I am a lot more than that,” he reflected.

Ghamandi said he is grateful to the government for providing the opportunity for him to come back and set up his business here.

“If we don’t have this government in place that gives the opportunity; for me to come back from the diaspora, there’s no way in hell I can be back here because I was here before and I had to leave because of the previous administration. I sold everything I owed and left.”

“Now I am back and I’m glad I am back because I can transfer more knowledge to our people here,” he added.

Ghamandi said his patriotic nature is responsible for his decision to come back home and continue his engineering work.

“I see the need for my knowledge as a whole in this country. Business is one, but in terms of my passion for engineering and knowing what our country needs….this country is advancing so fast and we don’t have that level of technical knowledge to provide, it only makes sense to come back and do that.”