Pool automation is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting trends in the industry — and in most cases, it’s a race to turn pools into spaceships. Many offer complex systems that run macros, control dozens of themes and integrate multiple systems into one control center. Pentair IntelliConnect, on the other hand, is designed to…
A new app created by the National Swimming Pool Foundation and Counsilman-Hunsaker can assist commercial pool operators with staying on track with records and maintenance issues. Called Facility Manager, the app provides the aquatic industry with a digital, web-based application designed to enhance the safety and sustainability of aquatic facilities. Facility Manager is accessible via…
You may have heard that last month I bought PoolPro, along with sister publications SpaRetailer, Spasearchand Poolsearch. I love this industry and the people in it, and I’m so happy this is where I will continue my career. This process has given me a new respect for small-business owners. As I make further strides in…
photography by Simon Hurst Ryan Hayes has big dreams for the family business he’s been around since age 8. Already committed to taking over for his parents, who own Leisure Time Pools and Spas in Oklahoma City, when they retire, Hayes started out water testing and helping his dad in the store’s warehouse between throwing…
When Lake Air Pool Supply in Waco, Texas, received its first-ever Endless Pool for the showroom in April 2017, sales manager Ryan Jordan went live on the company’s Facebook page as they unloaded it from the truck. That video alone has more than 750 views. A two-minute live video in June about its tent sale…
[The pHin product has been discontinued by Hayward as of December 20, 2021] Hayward Industries, Inc. acquired ConnectedYard, Inc., the company behind the pHin Smart Water Care solution. “The pHin Water Care solution is an innovative, breakthrough technology created to make the management of pool and spa water chemistry easier and more accurate using smart…
Michael Hilleary’s industrial-design education initially led him to a job designing zoo exhibits. Once, he fashioned an exhibit with clear, clean, chemical-free water for otters to play. It gave him an idea. “After watching the animals enjoy swimming, I began to think about how people could enjoy the same quality of water,” Hilleary says. From…
Meeting on a regular basis, monthly or quarterly, a safety committee should stay up to date on what regulations might help create a safer workplace; discuss any injuries or incidents in the company; and recommend policies to help prevent further safety failures. The safety committee at Armond Aquatech Pools in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, comprises four people…
photography by Marc Ridel Tiffiny Consoli wasn’t looking to go into the pool business. She was just looking to own a business, any business, that made sense. “I didn’t have one thing I was particularity good at or knew I wanted to make bagels every day,” she says. “It wasn’t like that. I wanted to…
Jandy’s iQPump01, on the market since 2016, is a pump controller that makes it possible to control any Jandy pump from a smart device. But Jack Pogosayn, owner of Backyard Pools, a service company based in Pasadena, California, says pool pros aren’t taking advantage of the dry contact that lets you use the iQPump to…
A fresh take on an old gripe has me thinking Have you ever talked with someone whose attitude changes your perspective on a problem? That happened to me when I was talking to Michael Henson, owner of pH Pool Care in Arkansas. We were having a lengthy discussion about how he sources his product, including…
They say a good carpenter never blames his tools — but great pool techs certainly depend on them. From repurposing standard equipment for new and imaginative purposes to using their tools to build their businesses and bolster their reputations, the best in the industry treat their tools as extensions of themselves. The Top Tool: A…