Eric Knight

Knight, a former competitive swimmer, got into the aquatics industry because he was tired of poor air quality at indoor pool facilities. He started with Paddock Evacuator, which packaged Orenda enzymes with installations. He briefly left the industry, but came back after once again getting sick swimming indoors. “Orenda was an opportunity to make an even larger impact on the indoor air problems,” Knight says.

Much of Knight’s focus at Orenda is on education. The company created its own free, online certification program called Orenda Academy. Knight is just as passionate about helping his customers as he is about improving the swimming experience.

“In a perfect world, commercial pools become more fiscally solvent and desirable to build and maintain,” Knight says. “Solving the indoor air-quality problem is critical in that goal, as chloramine pollution is to swimming what concussions are to football. It is truly harming the sport, which in turn reduces the demand for swimming pools.” He hopes minimum air-quality standards for indoor pools and minimum water-quality standards for pools are on the horizon. He adds that these standards need to be affordable and feasible to accomplish, “rather than requiring heavy capital investments.”