Paramount Acquires Aries Enterprises
|
Paramount Pool & Spa Systems in Tempe, Ariz., announced it has purchased the assets of Aries Enterprises, a Salt Lake City-based supplier of training videos for pool design drawing and coloring, template design books, technical layouts and computer software.
Paramount said it plans to keep supplying orders for the original Aries products until early 2004, when the merchandise will be redesigned and relaunched. Paramount manufactures infloor cleaning and circulation systems.
|
|
|
BioGuard Hosts Dealer Mart
|
 Lawrenceville, Ga.-based pool and spa chemical manufacturer BioGuard recently hosted its 2003 Dealer Mart in Atlanta. Attendees heard from keynote speaker John Kasich, a retired U.S. Congress member and author.
His message centered on the importance of small business to the American economic landscape. Now in its fourth year, the mart offered business-enhancing workshops, networking opportunities, advice from leading pool and spa professionals from around the world, and early-buy opportunities.
|
|
|
|
Moulton Wins Jacuzzi Premium Sales Contest
|
As part of its Full Throttle sales contest, Jacuzzi Premium recently presented a Hawaiian trip for two to Mike Moulton from 2nd Wind Pool & Spa in Maple Grove, Minn. Drawn from a pool of more than 300 participants, Moulton was one of the top salespeople during the contest. Jacuzzi Premium is a spa manufacturer based in Chino, Calif.
|
|
|
|
Casual Furniture Makes Honored
|
Nine manufacturers of summer and casual furniture walked away with awards for design excellence during the 2003 International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market held at the Merchandise Mart in September. The Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association (SCFMA) presented awards to Carter Grandle, Century Leisure, Brown Jordan, Woodward, Lloyd/Flanders, Brown Jordan International, The HammockSource and TUUCI for innovative design and engineering, and craftsmanship.
The show’s top honor, the Lillian B. Winchester Best of Show Award, went to Century Leisure/Richard Frinier for the Andalusia lounge. SCFMA presented the 2003 Apollo Award for distinguished customer service to Williams All Season in Highland Park, Ill.; Patio Enclosures in Macedonia, Ohio; and Jardin De Ville De Patio Rama Bourque in Blainville, Quebec, Canada, in the single store, multistore and international store categories, respectively.
|
|
|
Pacific Industries Receives Certification
|
 Pacific Industries, a Latham, N.Y-based pool manufacturer, announced it has received ISO 9001:2000 certification for its manufacturing plant. The ISO is the symbol identifying an outstanding, structured quality management system. The Pacific Latham facility produces polymer pool panels and braces under the Pacific and Trillium brand names, and aboveground-pool ladders under the Performance name.
|
|
|
Arch to Focus on Commercial Pool Business
|
Arch Chemicals, a Norwalk, Conn.-based manufacturer of pool chemicals, has established a separate business unit to pursue growth opportunities in the commercial pool market. Stephen Heard has been appointed national sales manger for the commercial business, in addition to his responsibilities for bulk and private-label calcium hypochlorite sales. Valerie Henshaw was appointed senior business manager. The decision to manage the commercial business separately from the firm’s industrial and municipal water businesses was motivated by a desire to focus on the commercial pool dealer network.
|
|
|
Jandy's Product Catalog Garners Pewter Award
|
 Jandy’s 2003 pool and spa products catalog has won the Pewter Award for business catalogs at this year’s National Gold Ink competition. Several hundred catalogs from various industries were entered into the competition, which was co-sponsored by PrintMedia and Printing Impressions.
The award was presented for the design originality and printing complexity of the piece. Jandy is a pool and spa products manufacturer based in Petaluma, Calif.
|
|
|
NSPI Updates School Schedules
|
The National Spa & Pool Institute is offering an updated schedule of Tech I and II Schools and Certification exams. To see the latest school calendar information, visit www.nspi.org and click on “NSPI Education.”
|
|
|
Emerson Electric Considers Acquisitions
|
Emerson Electric announced that it would consider making acquisitions in early 2004 and already has been looking at several companies. Chief Executive David Farr said the acquisitions being considered are mainly “bolt-on” purchases in Emerson’s core business, none of which are significant in size. Some of the potential acquisitions are within the company’s key international markets, including Russia, China and Eastern Europe. Emerson also plans to embark on a restructuring course in fiscal 2004, most of which will occur in the Motors, Appliances and Components divisions of the corporation, and likely will total between $125 million and $140 million.
|
|
|
DuPont to Construct R&D Center in Shanghai
|
DuPont (NYSE: DD) has announced that it will construct a $15 million corporate research and development facility near Shanghai, to support growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The center will accommodate up to 200 scientists and will include laboratories, offices and process bays for product application and development. The Shanghai R&D center will be the third major DuPont facility outside the United States. “The Shanghai center will serve as a haven for developing new technology solutions through application development, knowledge transfer, technical collaboration and new product development — all contributing to DuPont’s growth in China,” said Thomas Connelly, chief science and technology officer.
|
|
|
