A PSN Top Builder has partnered with a fiberglass-pool manufacturer.
River Pools of Warsaw, Va., a Pool & Spa News Top Builder, has joined forces with Thursday Pools, a fiberglass producer based in Fortville, Ind., for a 50/50 joint venture. The company will operate under the name River Pools Powered by Thursday Pools Manufacturing. Thursday Pools is poised to perform the majority of the manufacturing, tooling and distribution, while River Pools will focus on consumer interface and leveraging its web presence and brand recognition to generate leads.
“You’ve got River Pools, who [has] got years of experience in fiberglass pools, specifically on the retail, selling, installing, and marketing side, and we have 35 years of fiberglass experience,” said Bill Khamis, co-owner of Thursday Pools. “We think this is the perfect team.”
The companies have been acquainted for quite some time, since River Pools became a dealer for Thursday Pools, said Jason Hughes, co-owner of River Pools. “It wasn’t until this year when we actually went out to Indiana to their plant, and something just seemed to resonate,” he said. “I think I might have mentioned [the idea of a partnership deal] to Bill first and from there everybody just thought it was a great idea.”
River Pools began manufacturing fiberglass pools in 2013 in an attempt to avoid being “at the mercy of another manufacturer’s quality,” Hughes said, but River has no plans to undercut the niche it’s carved out for itself in the manufacturing world. Under the terms of the new joint venture, pools will continue to be manufactured at both plants. Pools produced in Virginia, per the norm, will be installed in the local area that has been serviced by River Pools. Those manufactured in Indiana will be delivered to dealers throughout the U.S. and Canada. In fact, the company is doubling its manufacturing square footage in Indiana, Khamis said.
Dealers likely will notice a slight change to the pools that will be produced under the new joint venture.“We have our designs, their designs and some new ones that we’re doing together, so it’s expanded for sure.” Khamis said. The two companies’ designs complement each other, he added. “Design wise, we were very rectangle-centric, and they have some free forms, so now we’re bringing those free forms into our rectangle line.”
Along with new design options, the new company plans to provide installation education to dealers. “Over 1,000 pools have been put in the ground by River Pools,” Vondell said. “They’re passing that experience along to the dealer network.”
Company officials are placing high expectations on the joint venture. Within five years, Vondell said, he expects River Pools Powered by Thursday Pools Manufacturing to become an industry leader.
