The nation's largest commercial pool-management company has made a play for Florida’s residential market.
American Pool Enterprises, headquartered in Owings Mills, Md., acquired Miami-based All Florida Pool & Spa Center, one of South Florida’s largest pool service companies. This not only marks American Pool’s first residential venture in the Sunshine State. The maneuver also brings the company into a new business category: retail.
All Florida is a spa dealer with a 7,000-square-foot store.
Rick Naden, CEO of American Pool, said the company didn’t intentionally pursue retail. American Pool was more enticed by All Florida’s large service division, which includes 1,800 accounts, 86 employees and a fleet of 56 vehicles.
“It was more that we wanted to partner with All Florida, which happened to have a retail component,” Naden said.
American Pool provides lifeguarding, renovation and construction services. It launched a residential division called Poolman, which now has close to 10,000 accounts across California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona.
Florida will serve as its testing grounds to expand in the east.
“We’re putting a flag in the ground,” said Mitchell Friedlander, CEO of American Amenities, a separate division of American Pools that focuses on recreation management beyond aquatics.
Harold and Myra Cohen founded All Florida Pool & Spa Center in 1971. Before going into service and retail, Harold Cohen was a successful distributor of the industry’s very first salt-chlorine generator.
Today, the business is operated by his two sons, David and Joel Cohen.
American Pool’s track record in the residential pool service swayed the Cohens to partner with the firm. “We all know they do a great job with Poolman,” said David Cohen, president.
There will be no management changes, Cohen said.
While retirement is many years down the road, he said they will be leaving the company their parents built in good hands when they eventually exit.
“We wanted to be part of something big, and know that at the time of retirement, we had the ability to keep something going," he said. "Most important, we wanted to carry on the name of the company which has steered us as a family.”
Meanwhile, American Pool continues to make aggressive expansions in unexpected places. The firm’s “dry spaces” division, American Amenities, recently acquired Heartline Fitness Systems to provide exercise equipment to commercial facilities and recreation centers at hotels, condos, apartments and businesses. It also merged with luxury service provider Abigail Michaels Concierge to form LIVunLtd. The Manhattan enterprise furthers American Amenities’ reach into the health and wellness arena by providing expert fitness instructors, massage therapists, concierges, front-desk personnel, dog walkers, event planners and a host of other services at urban residential properties.
“We’re a one-touch solution to everything now,” Friedlander said.
