![]() ![]() The pandemic did not break any major automatic pool cover manufacturers, but it did force them to make production and operational adjustments on the fly. ![]() And, you know, that kind of growth can break a company. And when you grow at that pace, you realize really quickly you don't have the capacity for the type of growth that you're going through. "It took us a while to get our supply chain up to speed, because no one expected 50% growth year over year. But at the same time, the industry was plagued by supply and labor shortages. Sure, like every other segment of the swimming pool business, the automatic pool cover market brokeĪll kinds of sales records during the pandemic. Photo courtesy Aquamatic PANDEMIC WOES LINGERĪ few years ago, the outlook wasn't quite so bright. One reason is the fact that the product is the final piece of a project, and many are already in the ground or are breaking ground soon. ![]() Manufacturers are optimistic about the market in 2023. "I think that's going to take hold, and cover installations are going to continue to go up." "Now, if you can help consumers understand that, 'Hey, you can pay for this cover in five years just through energy efficiency,' that's a big selling point," says Graham Orme, product manager for West Valley City, Utah-based manufacturer Cover-Pools, a Fluidra company. "I've had conversations where people say, 'I'm putting a cover on because I don't want my neighbors thinking I'm being wasteful.' It's an environmental decision, but it's also a social decision."ĭankel chuckles when recalling how, in the Eighties, "we used to tell people how automatic pool covers could pay for themselves, but it fell upon deaf ears." "It's almost like the electric car phenomenon," says Tom Dankel, vice president of Aquamatic Cover Systems, a manufacturer in Gilroy, Calif., referring to how an automatic pool cover can make pool owners feel better about themselves. Department of Energy, automatic pool covers also conserve water by reducing the amount of make-up water needed by up to 50% and reduce a pool's chemical consumption by up to 60%. But demand is skyrocketing in warm-weather markets, too - especially drought-ridden states and communities in which state laws or local ordinances increasingly require an automatic pool cover for safety or energy conservation, or both.Īccording to the U.S. Jacob Bloss, director of operations, Cover Care, LLC, notes that in colder markets, an automatic pool cover can save an estimated $3,000 in heating expenses annually. ![]() When the outer cover is closed, the heating-cost reduction is huge." "Savings on heat and energy is a massive one, because you see more heat leave a pool through evaporation than by any other means. "Look at the kind of savings you get with an auto cover," says Mark Smith, product manager for Lindon, Utah-based manufacturer Coverstar. Now, as manufacturers are emerging from a pandemic that choked their supply chains and labor pools while broadening their lead times, perhaps their two greatest features, water and energy savings, have surged into the limelight. As a product with a host of compelling benefits, starting with safety but ranging through chemical savings and convenience, they enjoyed enviable market growth for decades. Photo courtesy Paco PoolsĪutomatic pool covers have reached a pivotal moment in their history. This breathtaking project using an Aquamatic pool cover comes from Paco Pools and Spas in Throgs Neck, overlooking the East River in New York. ![]()
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