JOBS
Job of the Month: Service & Commercial Team Members, Leslie's Swimming Pool Supplies

More Jobs: Click here

More Info: Looking for qualified employees? To feature your classified ad in our enewsletter, click here.

PRODUCTS

For more on A.O. Smith, click here

INCENTIVES
News of education, early buys, rebates & other incentive programs. To participate, click here

MAGAZINE
Current Issue
Get industry news and insight from Pool & Spa News.

Contact Us
Pool & Spa News values your feedback.

Advertise
Find more information on advertising in the Pool & Spa News Insider.

HOT OFFERS
Other products from the publisher of Pool & Spa News:

Industry News

Service Tip

Every beginning service tech is drilled with the mantra, “add chemicals to water — never add water to chemicals.” However, techs also should know never to add chemicals to chemicals. Muriatic acid and liquid chlorine can combine to create dangerously toxic fumes. Putting trichlor and calcium hypochlorite tablets together in a chlorinator can create an equally unsafe environment. To ensure your customers’ safety as well as your own, separate different classes of chemicals with rigid partitions, and regularly check for damaged containers.

Top 50 Builder Buzz

Michael Shammas
President
Aegean Pools Inc. (No. 38)
Chesapeake, Va.

What new initiative are you working on?
We’re primarily a vinyl-liner pool builder. However, last year, in response to the market weakness, we introduced fiberglass pools into our line. We’re finding that some people just want fiberglass, and we don’t want to give up any jobs. [By the end of the year,] somewhere between 15- and 20-percent of our sales were fiberglass. We are already the second-biggest fiberglass builder in the area, so we’re going to continue this year and might push it a little harder.

How does it work?
We’re using our existing staff. Plus, we are training some people who are not part of our normal installation crews to handle fiberglass pools, since they’re a lot easier to put in. The biggest challenge is getting used to transportation issues. You have to make sure that everything is on time and scheduled properly. You can’t just show up to work and, if it’s raining a little bit, say, ‘OK, we’ll go back tomorrow.’ If the crane is there to unload the pool, it would be very expensive to reschedule. It takes good communication to coordinate the delivery of the pool with the crane.

Snapshot

Going behind the scenes with:
Guy Larsen
President
All Seasons Pools & Spas Inc.
Orland Park, Ill.

There are many companies in our area that shut down in the winter, but we’ve always got a couple of projects in the works. We’re dealing with extreme temperatures right now. Our construction team is working under a tent on an inground pool project… they’re trying to keep the snow and ice from building up.

Our retail side typically goes dormant this time of year. In the summer, we might have 15 people on staff; but now, we’re down to about three or four. They are busy, though, preparing for the upcoming season. This week, they are planning the next newsletter, figuring out our sales, purchasing [inventory] and getting ready to attend the Mid-America Pool & Spa Show.

Special Report

Braving the Elements
Wind, rain, sleet or snow are not enough to keep this vinyl-liner pool builder from constructing pools. Here are his secrets.

Trade Show News

Call for Presentations
The International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo has issued a Call for Presentations for the 2009 Expo, which is slated for Nov. 13-18 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Those interested in sharing their knowledge and business expertise must submit a Call for Presentations Form by Feb. 15. Final selection will be made by the conference manager and committee members.

Submit forms to Tracy Beaulieu, Conference Manager, P.O. Box 612128, Dallas, TX 75261-2128. Phone: 972.536.6366. Fax: 972.536.6365. 

Exhibits: Nov. 16-18, 2009
Conference: Nov. 13-18, 2009
Mandalay Bay Convention Center | Bayside Hall
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
972.536.6350
www.PoolSpaPatio.com | info@PoolSpaPatio.com