ommercial pool builders say 2001 has been one of their best years ever, but they’re not too sure about what may happen in 2002.

Unlike residential pool builders, who watched the housing construction market cool significantly in recent months, commercial builders say they’re remaining busy. “Up to this point, we’ve had a very good year,” said Edwin Green, one of Miami’s larger commercial pool builders. “Might be one of the best we’ve ever had. The South Florida area this year has been very, very busy.”

Echoing that sentiment are members of Aquatech Corp., a national network and buying group of pool builders, based in Huntington Beach, Calif. They said much of their success in 2001 stemmed from various public works groups — schools, universities, and city and county agencies — spending long-accumulated funds for pool projects, according to Aquatech President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Fausett.

Still, commercial builders are cautious. Historically, the commercial pool industry feels economic slowdowns after everyone else because commercial pools are the last part of a project to be completed, according to Green. But that doesn’t mean the industry is bulletproof, he said.

Already, there are signs that the commercial industry will experience a slowdown sometime in early to mid-2002, Green said. “We’re seeing projects where lenders have decided not to proceed, at least temporarily.…We’re going to see a slowdown — no doubt about it.”

Still, there’s hope, according to Harold Turk, vice president of sales at Dal-Tile International in Dallas, which supplies tile and tile cleaners for the residential and commercial pool markets. He noted that lower interest rates should help all pool builders sell more pools.

David Keim, vice president of Natare Corp., an Indianapolis supplier of commercial pool equipment, said the government also could step in to help offset a commercial slowdown by increasing spending on public works projects such as municipal pools.

Most recessions are relatively short, said Keim. “Many economists say that we’ve been in a slowdown for a year already,” he said. “If that’s the case, we should be coming out of it very soon.”