Waste not want not – how UDE Engineering is on a mission to make a difference from our waste
Before we go into Burhan’s incredible business story I would love to share a quote from him that hugely resonates with us all:
‘There is nothing impossible in this life – if you want to do something only you are there to stop yourself. If you have a dream to become an astronaut to travel to the moon then you CAN do it. At the end of the day we are all humans, we have been made the same. So just go and do it’
He gives this advice to everyone – people that he meets, his own children…a solid and memorable mantra.
But let’s get back to business – meeting Burhan it’s clear that he’s a very humble businessman. Yes he’s proud of his own achievements but really his main goal isn’t a financial one. It’s humanitarian. With an engineering mind, Burhan has had many opportunities to put his incredibly smart mind to something medical perhaps, however his business UDE Engineering has a very specific mission in mind – to learn how to turn different types of waste into effective solutions for developing countries.
Put simply, instead of allowing waste to simply ‘go away’ or be wasted into nothing he finds the possible from the impossible. Such as benefiting from the ash created by incineration, for instance. Clever right?
Whilst chatting about Burhan’s background, business in general, personal life etc. one thing that continuously struck me about this incredibly hard-working individual is his calming, zen nature as we conversed. Considering the scale of UDE, the projects they are involved in or heading up globally, Burhan spent quite a bit of our time giving out some very key nuggets of life wisdom and advice:
‘To have a successful business in the UK it’s got to be innovative. Not only that, you must be willing to accept you can’t always do everything by yourself. Take the opportunities to network, meet like-minded people in the same industry, take advice from those willing to impart it – I can accept projects from clients here in the UK or anywhere in the world because I have people there who can help me. So it’s almost always a yes when clients approach me to work on their projects together.
Not only that, there are so many other things we must do to stay up to date. Read research articles, keep an eye on the news, look out for developments or changes…don’t become stagnant or allow your business to crumble. Only you can make your business successful, find the motivation within yourself and continue to work hard and it will pay off.’
Another reason for Burhan’s zen like quality is this – he has worked hard on his own business to get it to a point where yes it could grow and become busier with projects, however as it stands he’s done what he has needed to make him and his family entirely comfortable. Therefore, if he chose to retire tomorrow he is in a position to do just that. It is because of this that his focus is no longer financial – his main priority now is to use his own carefully curated skills, knowledge, education etc. to make moves that help people on a large scale.
In fact, Burhan spends some of his precious ‘spare’ time working on researching the reasons why humans are susceptible to certain bacteria. A natural engineer his mind ticks on trying to figure out where the problems stem from and how he can do whatever possible to help or fix those issues. In fact, Burhan had spent some time getting his PHD with the plan to move into the biological world. Instead, he chose to transfer those skills learned during that time on his own innovative business that’s here to work with developing countries.
Originally from Iraq, Burhan now happily resides in his favourite UK city of Newcastle. I can tell from this conversation that he has a soft spot for the city. In fact he admits that every time he has to go away anywhere for work he misses it dearly and loves it when he returns. From the diversity of the people there to being able to eat somewhere new every time he goes out with his family for food it has everything he will ever need. To ensure he isn’t working every hour under the sun, Burhan now dedicates two days a week every week to spending time with his family. These two days are varied from going to a public entertainment, heading out for dinner somewhere, walking, spending time in the gym or swimming – an active way of avoiding burnout or not having a healthy work-life balance as a business owner.
One of the most fun facts I learned is that his wife is a successful chef working in a busy restaurant in Newcastle. Not only that, Burhan chooses not to own his own car. Why I hear you ask? Well it’s simple – it encourages him to walk absolutely everywhere instead. Walking is a huge priority for Burhan – he adores the fresh air but also the opportunity to go and discover somewhere new.
This leads us onto a very interesting piece of Burhan’s past – for 8 years he actually worked for a business from 1994, the age of film photography. One of the innovative things he did for the company at the time was to source, purchase and ship a digital printing lab machine from Japan to Iraq to give them the opportunity to move into the world of digital photography for the first time. Of course, something like this in today’s world would be quite straightforward but back then it was no mean feat. Burhan had to spend an eye-watering amount of money to be allowed just 30 minutes on the internet where he found the Noritsu printing lab and organised for it to be shipped. The machine and the digital photo lab together cost approximately $1 million.
Burhan still has an active interest in photography, owning multiple cameras of varying types/ages.
When discussing his success (of which he is very nonplussed by but it’s certainly very impressive to me!) he mentions a few reasons as to why he’s gotten to this point. He has ensured his business connections are strong – he can lean on or contact a lot of people if he ever needs to to make things happen. He’s done this by attending many training courses and networking events or ensuring he is in front of the right people at the right time.
He does have plans to continue expanding UDE Engineering by taking on further projects, but the reasons have to be right – the projects themselves must solve the problems developing countries face, such as providing a comprehensive system for evaluating, designing, and treating various types of wastewater.
If you’re intrigued by the work Burhan and his company has achieved so far his own website is full of wonderful case studies – one of the most interesting for me is the rain water harvesting systems that he is working on developing its design and manufacturing process.It’s wonderful to see more businesses with a real focus on using sustainable practices to help and not further hinder our future.
Burhan was clear about his own vision for life: he wants to be useful for others.
Everyday he thinks: ‘how can people benefit from my own studies? What have I learned that can make a real difference to our world and fix the ongoing problems? Yes I could be profit driven but I’m not. For me I measure the success of my business by how many people I have helped, not only to have a better life but possibly even to have survived.’
It was an absolute pleasure to meet with and go through Burhan’s own story. Would you like to share your own? Get in touch with Harriet now – harriet@innovatorinternational.com
Website: www.udeengineering.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/burhan-shamurad-6698b935/
