Morehead Pools in Shreveport, Louisiana, is a family business — with a crazy family tree. It was founded in 1960 by Hall Morehead and developed a winning reputation — until the early 1970s when Hall Morehead and the business had accrued significant debt. Margaret Moore, Morehead’s operations manager and bookkeeper, saw an opportunity to save the…
Today, at least one in 10 retail dollars are spent online; in 2001, internet purchases accounted for just 1 percent of total retail sales. e-commerce grew by 14.6 percent in 2015 alone. Statistics could run the length of this article, but pool builders, suppliers and service providers don’t need data to understand how the internet…
Truck wraps, logo uniforms…pool companies have used these and other means to brand and promote their businesses for years. Here, a group of success-minded retailers offers six tested concepts that keep them visible and produce revenue. No. 6: Direct Marketing Brooke Rossi, retail general manager at Wilmington, Illinois-based DesRochers Backyard Pools & Spa stores, makes…
Experts say every commercial pool operator should consider making an old technology new again. For years, ultraviolet water treatment has been used to help sterilize drinking water and has been used in wastewater treatment plants. But only in the last handful of years has UVC technology made its way into the commercial pool industry. It…
As an organization grows, processes and standard procedures evolve. The new person needs training, so someone jots down the steps in a couple of key procedures. Perhaps a prospective customer wants to know how you’ll service their account, so you put it in your proposal. Gradually, stopgap procedures and one-time solutions begin to accumulate. You…
Photography by Scott Murrish Jack manilla had it all. After years of working for large corporations and “chasing the golden ring,” as he puts it, he had acquired large homes, condominiums, boats, cars and other toys. But he ended up in business with people whose values were in stark contrast to his, so he cut…
By Christina Blakeslee-Sexton, Zodiac Pool Systems Lights add drama and sizzle to any pool or spa. Most pool professionals are familiar with traditional niched incandescent lights that for swimmers can mimic the sensation of moving head-on toward a locomotive. Fortunately, advances in pool lighting technology mean pool builders can leave those eye- and energy-burning incandescent…
When it comes to PVC renovation for swimming pools and decks, RenoSys is an industry pioneer. For almost 30 years, it has manufactured and distributed products specifically designed for the commercial swimming pool industry. One of its top products, RecDeck, is an ideal solution for customers looking for slip-resistant, nonabrasive products. “It has a very…
Zodiac Pool Systems’ MX8 ELITE pool cleaner is the first to use scrubbing brushes that come into direct contact with the pool surface. This cyclonic scrubbing action powers away algae and fine, stuck-on debris that other cleaners often leave behind. “Most mechanized cleaners do not make active contact with the floor,” says Skye Svenningsen, product…
When Hayward hired Bob Hughes in 2007, its Rhode Island plant was out of space. Since then, it has almost doubled production there without expanding. How Hayward has accomplished this is a lesson in manufacturing efficiency and creativity, coupled with a commitment to improvement from the organization’s top leaders to its factory workers. In 2004,…
Although building a pool in someone’s backyard is no easy task, the world’s most massive water-based superstructures test the earthly possibilities of engineering and construction. From seemingly insurmountable design challenges to a complicated web of international laws and regulations, the minds behind the world’s most ambitious projects must find solutions to match their ideas. OdySea:…
in the last two years, marketing on Facebook has become very sophisticated, and advertising there can be profitable when done correctly. In 2014, a Gallup poll showed social media influenced only 5 percent of consumers’ buying decisions. The tide has turned since then, says Thorin McGee, editor-in-chief and content director of Target Marketing magazine. “This…