Frustrated with the specialty chemicals he was using as the sole proprietor of a pool service company, Chris Galvan began developing some himself. In 2014, he launched Blueray XL, an adjuvant formulation with mineral salts such as silver, copper and zinc. Galvan overcame two lawsuits brought against the company, one from a competitor and the…
Hoping to find a job in the science field, Petra Hayes joined Taylor Technologies. “This position is very chemistry based, which was what I was looking for,” Hayes says. The prospect of doing customer service, in which she had a background, while learning about the pool and spa industry excited her. Hayes has always been…
Tired of routine equipment testing as a technician in the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries, Janine Rhodes found a job in product development with Taylor Technologies, which brought her into a new world of creative scientific thinking. Since joining the team in 2014, she has expanded her work within the company, including as a chair of…
Swimming pools may not be perceived as a tech-driven industry, but Colby Stratman is hoping to help change that. He says he chose to work with pHin because it is bringing smart home technology to the backyard with its wireless monitor. “With new technologies helping to drive innovation in the pool industry,” Stratman says, “we…
A salesman during a pandemic can be a sad sight. Used to being on the road and meeting customers face to face, go-getters can find it tough to be stuck at home. Drew Robinson has worked for Connecticut-based Phoenix Products for the last three years, starting in the plant, then moving to sales. “Being an…
Bill Gaias started working summers in a family friend’s pool store when he was 12. He stocked shelves and tested water, moving on to pool maintenance, construction helper and service technician as he got older. After high school, he worked as a service technician by day and took community college classes at night. After completing…
Nadia Beane 28COOJack’s Magic ProductsJacksMagic.com Despite her father Jack encouraging Nadia Beane to work in whatever field she wanted, she found her passion at Jack’s Magic Products, the chemical company he founded 30 years ago. “Through high school and university, I worked in all aspects of the company — from receptionist to tradeshow coordination to…
Averi Edwards 28COO and service managerEdwards Pool ConstructionAndover, KansasEdwardsPoolConstruction.com Averi Edwards grew up around the pool industry and swimming on weekends at the lake or her grandparents’ pool, eventually joining the swim team. Her father, Steve Edwards, started a service company before she was even in elementary school that offers service, remodeling and building. Averi…
Noah Nehlich 39CEO/founderStructure StudiosStructureStudios.com A homework assignment in 2001 inspired Noah Nehlich, then 19, to eventually build Pool Studio, software that fundamentally changed the way swimming pools are designed and presented. Through many ups and downs, which included investors threatening to walk away and close the company more than once, and Nehlich spending his last…
Mike Leone 28OwnerPool Office ManagerPoolOfficeManager.com During high school, Mike Leone worked for a neighbor’s service company in Cleveland, Ohio, riding along with a senior technician. He started his own service company in 2011, and when an established company in the area went out of business, Leone’s business grew rapidly. “Overwhelmed with customers and employees, I…
Manning Pool Service HoustonManningPoolService.comPhotography by Derek Salyer David Manning, 29, Maintenance managerAna Manning, 29, COOJeffrey Manning, 31, Repair manager As of January 2020, the baton of ownership for Manning Pool Service in Houston, Texas, will be passed to the second generation: Brothers Jeffrey (Jr.) and David Manning and David’s wife, Ana. Jeff Sr. — who…
Cody King 31Zodiac Pool SystemsTechnical sales managerZodiacPoolSystems.com Cody King is a third-generation pool industry member. His grandfather, Doug Wilson, started Wilson Pools in Cartersville, Georgia, which his family still owns and operates. King did both construction and pool service for the family business growing up, and while he attended Ole Miss, he ran a pool…