European water jetting leaders pay tribute to former WJA director
Members of the European Water Jetting Institute meeting at their annual convention have paid tribute to former Water Jetting Association Director David Kennedy.
While attending the convention in Antwerp, they praised his dedication to the water jetting industry and his collaboration with water jetting organisations around the world.
David Kennedy passed away, aged 78, in October 2022 after working as the WJA’s Director for 13 years. He had also been involved in the association’s work since its foundation in 1980.
Written tribute
The EWJI convention was attended by WJA President John Jones and WJA Training and Safety Chairman Steve Williams, who is the association’s representative at the European water jetting body.
EWJI President Hans Borgt, pictured left, and John Jones, pictured right, gave speeches in which they explained David Kennedy’s contribution to the water jetting industry in the UK and internationally.
Hans Borgt also presented John Jones with a written tribute to David Kennedy on behalf of the EWJI.
John Jones said: “The WJA very much appreciates the EWJI’s gesture in celebrating the huge contribution David made to the water jetting industry.
“He was a great champion of health and safety, technology, service innovation, and training – as well as international collaboration to support water jetting development around the world.
“David did all these things with an unrelentingly positive approach to life and a determination to always do what’s best for WJA members. It’s this dedication that is clearly respected by EWJI members.”
Positive EWJI partner
David Kennedy’s enthusiasm and willingness to share expertise and knowledge continues to shape the WJA’s desire to work with other water jetting organisations, said Steve Williams.
He added: “The WJA is keen to be an active and positive partner in the EWJI. That approach, and the relationships that define it, are in no small part down to David’s desire to work with others for the common good.”
David Kennedy qualified as engineer before becoming a technical salesman. That involved travelling around Eastern Europe for up to two months at a time selling Harben water jetting pumps at a time when that part of the world was behind the Iron Curtain.
During the 1980s he developed a reputation for championing new ways to use water jetting to solve emerging industrial problems, including using high pressure water nozzles to assist the sinking of the piles upon which Canary Wharf in the London Docklands was built.
From 1990 to 2010, David Kennedy served continuously on WJA committees, twice as the association’s President, before being appointed as WJA Director in 2009, a position he held until he died.