What does a white rhino and an Installations & Support Manager have in common?

Well actually, a lot! There is no punchline to this, but allows us to introduce our new team member Werner Oeder and his story of the white rhino, called Brutalis. 

Brutalis was one of the first white rhinos bred in captivity at a zoo in Lancashire, England. By the time he became an adult male at the age of 9, he quite rightly refused this lifestyle and became increasingly aggressive, attacking everybody and everything. A hard decision was made to euthanise Brutalis, but at the last minute he was thrown a lifeline and flown to a private game reserve in Namibia. This is where he met Werner, then Game Reserve Manager, now our new Installations & Support Manager at Naked Energy. 

Werner Oeder, Installations & Support Manager up on the pitched roof installation, at Westminster University.

Like us, Brutalis quickly took a shine to Werner and stayed very close to his new friend. Too close, as he actually broke through the walls of the house, not wanting to be alone in the African wilderness when Werner was just inside! Brutalis never ventured far from Werner, and the chances of him finding a mate was close to none. Werner decided to withdraw from the scene, to encourage Brutalis to explore his surroundings and meet other rhinos instead of hanging around the house. It worked!

Brutalis found a new way of life and a potential mate, as did Werner, who carries this moving story with him throughout his life and career. It sparked Werner’s passion and dedication to the environment, steering his focus towards climate change. Werner has dedicated his career to cutting global carbon emissions and increasing awareness of renewable energies and conservation as a whole.

Werner now has a further 25 years of interesting stories, having successfully implemented over 1000 systems in solar hot water and power industries, from small scale residential, commercial / industrial to Megawatt scale solar parks. His installations have taken him to Africa, Australia - where he delivered some of the largest ever solar projects – and now back to the UK where he is project managing installations of Virtu solar technology, on a global scale.

Werner tells us why he wanted to work for Naked Energy,

“Virtu is a product that redefines solar thermal and PVT, with the ability to reduce carbon emission by transitioning from fossil fuels that are harmful to the environment. It is unique and adaptable to many a larger domestic or commercial heat applications and a very high power density, reducing roof space requirements. Virtu is a simple product to install and maintain, and has the capabilities to last many years, trouble free.” 

Christophe Williams, CEO Naked Energy adds,

“We’re so happy Werner is starting his new chapter with Naked Energy. We’re delighted to have Werner’s depth of experience and shared passion in the team – a very warm welcome to the team, Werner!”