Meet the Managing Director of Air & Odour Management (AOM) Australia, an Australian family-owned business specialising in the manufacturing and supply of commercial kitchen exhaust and filtration products.
Specialty
I have a master’s in environmental engineering, with expertise in hydraulic engineering. I previously worked on large hydro and other energy projects, with a specific focus on impact assessments and on engineering solutions to mitigate impacts.
What led you into HVAC&R originally?
Chance. Following multiple jobs in engineering consultancies and after landing back in Australia, together with my sister, we identified a gap in the market for high-quality commercial kitchen exhaust and filtration equipment. The engineer in me kicked into gear, and we started developing products that were best suited to Australian market conditions. We have not looked back, and we have now been over 10 years in the industry.
And how did you come to be in Australia? Do you miss Switzerland?
I was dragged to Australia by my parents at an early age and grew up on Bondi Beach in Sydney. Post high school, I counter-migrated back to Europe to study engineering on the shores of the magnificent Lake Geneva, where I met my wife. Fast forward working throughout Europe, West Africa, and parts of Asia, we decided to re-migrate back to Sydney and – full circle – we are back living in the east of Sydney.
What are you enthusiastic about?
My environmental engineering background and career to this stage means that I have been professionally passionate about limiting the impacts of industry on the environment. With AOM Australia, this translated to innovating and developing new means to limit the environmental and social impacts of the hospitality industry. This has resulted in AOM Australia developing a range of licensed “made in Australia” filtration systems aimed at meeting this objective.
Otherwise, I’m passionate about surf lifesaving and ocean swimming, the intensity of basketball and rock music, and finally good food and cooking.
What do you like about your job?
Growth. Growing the company which we started, growing my personal and professional experience, growing the staff that surround us, working with AIRAH on training and “growing” in the industry.
“Post high school, I counter–migrated back to Europe to study engineering on the shores of the magnificent Lake Geneva”
What do you find challenging?
Running a business! I’m not sure if you have seen the series “The Bear” about the chef who takes over his family sandwich shop? I had to stop. It cuts to close to the bone in terms of challenges of running a business – the anxiety, the self-doubt, the order to the chaos.
Do you have any pet peeves?
There are many, but, with age, I try not to focus on them, as they consume energy better used elsewhere.
Are you concerned about climate change?
Oh, 100 per cent. As a dad of three young boys, I want them to have the same opportunities as we had growing: Summers without a constant threat of bushfires, trips to see the Great Barrier Reef, biodiversity in our bushland. And it all ties back to climate change.
What would you most like that you don’t have?
Enough time. Running the business, having a partner working full time, three boys under 10. Just give me more time!
What are you optimistic about?
The future of our industry. All the great people that I have been able to work with since starting AOM Australia gives me great optimism that the HVAC&R industry will rise to all the challenges that it faces.
Sven Bolomey, M.AIRAH is a member and Associate Director of AIRAH’s Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Special Technical Group.
