Jeremy and Josh Klapprodt grew up in a pool-building family, so it’s not surprising that they would gravitate toward that industry. After college, both made brief forays into fields that would help them bring the family firm into the digital age with ease.
Their father, Fred Klapprodt, started Klapprodt Pools in 1987. He and his oldest son, Joel, offered Chad Poynter a job as their first employee. Joel and Chad had met in college and were good friends. Over time, the company grew, adding a service arm in 2002 and a retail store in 2005.
The firm, which is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, builds approximately 130 pools yearly, plus servicing up to 250 pools weekly.
The two younger Klapprodts, Jeremy and Josh, joined the enterprise in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Jeremy had studied media at University of North Texas, and formed a video production company. Josh studied mass communications, too, at University of Texas at Austin, then worked for a marketing company.
The Klapprodt clan’s different strengths were reflected in their roles at the pool business. “As the company grew,” Jeremy said, “I was on service, Joel and Dad on construction, and Josh was more on the retail side. Since day one, one of my roles was marketing, IT graphic designs and website marketing.”
Fred Klapprodt handed the reins over four years ago, but is still involved in the business. “He’d always envisioned that ownership change,” Jeremy said. “But we’re still working together every day. His morals and work ethic were drilled into us.” The current ownership team consists of Jeremy, 35, and Josh, 33, along with Chad, 40, who became a partner in 2012 when Joel left the firm.
One of Jeremy’s goals is to grow the company at a controlled rate, and he’s looking to hire up to 10 more people, which would boost the staff to 35.
Already the new owners have implemented some big changes. For example, the company never used to advertise, and all business was by referral. But now the retail store has a robust presence on social media. They streamlined the computer system from four different software programs to one, which handles various business functions. And the crew out in the field has been equipped with iPads, so projects and service can be updated in real time.
At the end of the day, it’s still about family. “Having your name on a product is neat,” Jeremy Klapprodt said. “I’m very proud of my dad and being able to work with him.”
