SPN (Swimming Pool News) October 2015

OCTOBER 2015

POOLS SPAS HOT TUBS SAUNAS CHEMICALS ACCESSORIES & MORE

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR THE UK INDUSTRY

ENCLOSURES

All year round enclosures to beat the British weather

SAFETY FLOORING

There’s literally no room for any slip-ups

TILED SPAS & SWIM SPAS

Luxury options that create a lasting impression

WINTER DEBRIS COVERS

Covering up outdoor swimming pools

HIGH-END HOT TUBS

Brands and models that command a premium price tag

PLUS SPN_Oct_15_Cover.indd 3

STA Pool Plant – Controlling pH | Aqua Exercise Equipment | Opinion | In My View Show Previews – Birmingham, Cologne & Barcelona | 17 Pages Of Industry News 23/09/2015 18:47

FAIRLOCKS FP OCT15_Layout 1 21/09/2015 15:52 Page 2

The revolutionary and unique underwater drill

e: info@fairlocks.co.uk w: www.fairlocks.co.uk

EDITOR’S LETTER

Editor’s

letter

SPN incorporating Pool & Spa Industry is the official trade magazine for the UK wet leisure markets and is the only trade publication that invests in the industry it serves.

Features: Karen Witney Features & Subeditor: Andrea Hartshorne Co Publisher and Sales Director: Tony Weston Production: Cathy Varley Accounts: Sam Bartholomew For editorial enquiries contact Jon on: T: +44 (0)20 8306 8150 E: jon@aqua-publishing.co.uk For advertising enquiries contact Tony on: T: +44 (0)1474 813433 E: tony@aqua-publishing.co.uk For production enquiries contact Cathy on: T: +44 (0)1823 432416 E: cathy@aqua-publishing.co.uk For accounts enquiries contact Sam on: T: +44 (0)1823 430639 E: accounts@aqua-publishing.co.uk Design: Colin Halliday & Kellie Mills

To subscribe or amend / cancel an existing subscription, please visit our website.

Annual subscription rates (6 issues): UK £30, Europe £50 and ROW £60 SPN is published by W: www.aqua-publishing.co.uk Printed in the UK by The Manson Group Ltd Aqua Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for any insert, display or classified advertisement included in Swimming Pool News. While every reasonable care is taken to ensure that all advertisers are reliable and reputable, Swimming PoolPNews can UBL I Sgive H I no NG assurance they will fulfil their obligations under all circumstances. The views expressed in the articles in Swimming Pool News are the contributors’ own. All rights reserved. Copyright for all materials published in SPN remains with the publishers. Material contained in this publication is not to be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior permission of Aqua Publishing Ltd.

Cover image courtesy of Coast Spas – www.coastspas.com

Editor and Co Publisher: Jon Wadeson

The SPN team will be attending all three of these important shows and will bring news from each online and via social media.

In Barcelona, winners of the third annual 2015 EUSA Awards will also be announced and once again, the UK has strong representation. As as a judge and having seen all the entries in what is an expanded format this year, there’s a good chance of the UK repeating the successes from the first two Awards and SPN will carry news of all the winners in our December edition and online.

Well that’s another summer that won’t last for too long in the memory! In fact it seems like ages ago since I was at a BBQ. A pity for supermarkets and butchers maybe, but the lack of memorable summer weather doesn’t seem to have put the dampeners on a buoyant wet leisure industry that has enjoyed another busy and by all accounts profitable year so far.

But with summer and the traditional season now behind us, the wet leisure industry moves into autumn and therefore show season.

By the time you receive this edition, a revamped LIW will have been and gone and attention will then turn to the rapidly approaching, major dedicated industry shows that are taking place around the globe. These include the renamed Piscina & Wellness in Barcelona and aquanale in Cologne, both of which are biennial and take place in October.

They’re followed in November by the UK Pool & Spa Expo which like the LIW show, is held at the NEC in Birmingham. “Didn’t that already happen this year?” I hear you say. And yes, it did. It’s taking place for the second time in 2015 following a schedule change to bring it in line with the global show calendar.

In this issue we have brief previews of each but to really get an understanding of the changing trends, innovations and new products that are available, attending these shows is a must as many companies use events to showcase what’s new and discuss any advances face-to-face.

With the weather still very much hit and miss now increasing, thoughts of the industry have already turned towards the expected cooler and wetter months. So the timing for a new feature on Winter Debris Covers in this issue is more than appropriate. For those that want to extend the season, this issue we also take a look at some eye catching Enclosure solutions that are enhancing both pools and hot tubs.

Still on the subject of eye catching, we also cover Tiled Spas and Swim Spas, a market that is going from strength to strength thanks to their flexible and luxury bespoke designs plus there’s High-end Hot Tubs too, which is another important sector for the trade. Safety Flooring and Aqua Exercise Equipment also feature as does an Opinion piece from Jamie Adams and thoughts from Peter Lang about pools of the future.

Of course, we’ve also got all the latest industry news from both home and abroad plus information from STA and the BSPF. So with a wide range of subjects on offer, hopefully there’s something of interest for everyone.

I hope you enjoy this autumn issue of SPN and if you are out and about at any of the shows over the coming weeks, do say hi and feel free to let me know your thoughts on SPN, the industry or anything else for that matter!

Jon Wadeson – Editor You can follow SPN on:

Aqua Publishing also publishes: What Pool & Hot Tub magazine – our sister publication – is the only consumer magazine in the UK that provides the complete and crucial information that potential buyers are looking for! For more information visit the What Pool & Hot Tub website at www.whatpoolandhottubmag.co.uk

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SPN October 2015 1 23/09/2015 18:54

CONTENTS

Inside This 61

47 50

67 COVER SAFETY FLOORING

FEATURES 47

There’s literally no room for any slip-ups when it comes to safety flooring

TILED SPAS & SWIM SPAS 50

A market on the up, we look at luxury options that create a lasting impression

HIGH-END HOT TUBS 55

Brands and models over £10,000 that command a premium price tag

ENCLOSURES 61

Eye catching pool and tub enhancing enclosures for year round use

WINTER DEBRIS COVERS 67

The great winter cover up for outdoor swimming pools

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NEWS

POOL & SPA INDUSTRY

35

STA POOL PLANT

43

The industry’s associations dedicated pages STA’s Technical Pool Plant Team look at the control of pH

AQUA EXERCISE EQUIPMENT 70

A market that’s gaining traction, we take a look at what’s available

SHOW PREVIEWS

75

IN MY VIEW

88

A brief look at what’s ahead at Birmingham, Cologne and Barcelona Peter Lang considers what swimming pools in the future may be like

INDUSTRY 04-17

The latest industry news, info, projects and gossip

PRODUCT 20

Innovations and new products on the market

ECO 28

A roundup of environmental and ‘green’ stories

HOT TUB & SWIM SPA

Dedicated news for this important sector

31

WORLD 80

All the latest news from around the world

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CONTENTS

Issue Of SPN 75

70 88

55 READER SERVICES DIGITAL EDITION Read this and previous editions online at www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

BUYERS GUIDE

Next Issue • Pool refurbishment and renovation • Filters and filter media • Moving floors – new technology

For suppliers of products and services in the pool, spa and sauna market turn to page 82

• Dosing pumps and control systems

SUBSCRIPTIONS

• Wellness – saunas, steam and more

Ensure you receive a regular copy of SPN (Swimming Pool News).

Subscribe online today at www.aqua-publishing.co.uk

• Pool safety – products and trends to keep pools safe

FORWARD FEATURES

• EUSA Award Winners

For our forward features, please visit our website at www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 2-3_SPN_Oct_15_Contents_rev.indd 3

Plus much, much more!

SPN October 2015 3 23/09/2015 17:04

NEWS

NEWS

All the Latest News, Info, Products and Gossip From the UK Pool and Spa Industry and Beyond

£45m Cardiff And Vale College Launches With DaleSauna Spa

Cardiff and Vale College has officially opened the doors to its £45m City Centre Campus, which features a new thermal spa from DaleSauna.

Developed in partnership with Rightacres and Willmott Dixon, and backed by £20m from the Welsh Government, the new City Centre Campus is hailed as one of the most ambitious educational projects in Wales.

The 16,000sq m building is located in the heart of Cardiff and will support approximately 4,000 students studying across 200 different courses as well as thousands more individuals on short courses, employer training and apprenticeships.

The wide range of industry-standard facilities include a thermal spa to be used for teaching purposes as well as a commercial venture.

Appointed by Willmott Dixon, DaleSauna has created a thermal offering comprising a sauna, steam room, spa pool, ice feature, dry float and feature showers that meet the requirements of Level 3 Spa Therapy as well as the demands of modern users.

“DaleSauna have become recognised specialists in the design and supply of equipment to beauty colleges, and have supplied most of the UK’s new build and refurbishment projects over the past few years. We are delighted to have been involved in this prestigious project for Cardiff College, and to have worked once again with Wilmot Dixon,” says Gerard McCarthy, Sales Director at DaleSauna.

Other facilities designed to allow students to develop their skills include a performance theatre, music technology, film, dance and

art studios, restaurant and kitchens, and a strength and conditioning gym.

The new City Centre Campus forms part of the College’s ten-year plan to revolutionise education and training across the Capital Region and beyond.

DaleSauna 01423 798630 www.dalesauna.co.uk

Designs Revealed For World First Sky Pool Plans for a breathtaking, suspended swimming pool named ‘Sky Pool’ have been unveiled for Embassy Gardens in London’s newest neighbourhood at Nine Elms on the South Bank.

The stunning outdoor pool will link two residential buildings at the 10th storey, which is 35m high, and allow residents to swim from one building to the next.

Made from acrylic, the 25m x 5m pool will be entirely transparent and structure free and have a water depth of 1.2m.

Designed by Arup Associates, with specialist input from Eckersley O’Callaghan and aquarium designers Reynolds, the experience is intended to be more akin to an aquarium than a pool, with material used being 20cm thick.

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The pool is the vision of Sean Mulryan, Chairman and CEO of Ballymore Group working with the scheme’s architects in collaboration with HAL Architects.

Ballymore are responsible for the development of Embassy Gardens with their development partners Eco World. Together they are developing the second phase as Eco World Ballymore. Ballymore has a reputation for creating places and spaces that are more than just bricks and mortar and this pool is testimony to that philosophy – creating an inspiring environment and giving a unique character to the development.

Commenting on the project, Jo Wright, Arup Associates Practice Leader said: “Ballymore has presented us with a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of architecture and create an amazing amenity for residents to enjoy, whilst delighting the community with its gravity-defying design.”

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The World’s Finest Garden Rooms

NEW product launch

The ‘Spa Collection’ by Crown Exclusively designed and manufactured for our trade partners.

Come and see us at The Uk Pool and Spa Expo 2015 22 – 24th November NEC Stand A10 Contact us to become a trade partner, please call 01491 817842 www.crownpavilions.com

NEWS

IN BRIEF LINCOLNSHIRE POOL HOSTS SECOND ‘DOGGIE DIP’ SESSION After rave reviews from an inaugural Doggie Dip event, an outdoor community swimming pool in Lincolnshire has once again allowed visitors swim with their four-legged friends during its last session of the season.

Last year, one of the committee members at Heckington Community Swimming Pool suggested the idea of the event after seeing a video online from a similar event in Yorkshire.

Speaking about last year’s event, pool committee Chairman Michael Wells said: “We decided to do it just before we closed for the season because we didn’t know how much cleaning the pool would need afterwards – it turned out to be very little actually.”

POOL CONSULTATION EXTENDED DUE TO WRONG FIGURES Shropshire Council has extended a consultation process into the different pool options for Shrewsbury after it was brought to their attention that financial figures were incorrect.

The incorrect figures were in relation to the costs to operate the existing Quarry Swimming Pool and how the costs, in turn, affect the costs for the other locations. Strategic Leisure Ltd were appointed by the council to undertake a thorough and independent analysis of the shortlist of options for swimming provision in Shrewsbury.

New Spa Collection Takes Outdoor Living To A Whole New Level When it comes to unabashed luxury, there’s nothing quite like relaxing in the warm bubbles of an outdoor hot tub. But when the British weather makes getting in and out of that hot tub an endurance test of shivering proportions, then it can be an entirely different matter.

Now Crown Pavilions – manufacturer of some of the world’s finest garden rooms and spa enclosures – have come up with the ultimate solution to getting the very best out of a hot tub whatever the time of year.

The Spa Collection is a brand new range of timber-constructed spa rooms that take the humble hot tub and transform it into a fantastic spa and socialising experience, regardless of what the weather is doing outside.

As well as shelter from the elements, and a host of other clever features that make for year-round alfresco wining and dining, these unique spa enclosures offer absolute privacy. So users can enjoy outdoor life to the full, in private, whether it’s the height of summer or the depths of winter.

Launching in November at the NEC, the new Spa Collection will be exclusively available through a network of selected trade partners. These retailers will be able to offer customers a top-of-the-range product marketed under their own brand name.

And, because Crown is promising a healthy margin, the Spa Collection is certain to be an asset that any discerning retailer would be proud to add to its range.

“With the new Spa Collection, seeing really is believing,” says Crown’s Marketing Manager Stuart Gauld. “These architecturally stunning constructions form a superb centrepiece for any outdoor space.

Think squishy sofas, low coffee tables, fridges and spacious dining areas, even an alfresco bar complete with bar stools. And with each of the two designs – the splendid Spa House and smaller Spa Oasis – spacious enough to accommodate a hot tub of up to 2.36m2, we’ve taken outdoor luxury to an entirely new level.”

Like all outdoor buildings from Crown, only the finest and most durable raw materials have been

used. Take the high-specification louvered window shutters and canvas side panels, for example, which can be adjusted to suit the season. Roofs are made from Western Red Cedar tiles recognised for their outstanding weather-resistant properties. There’s even an extra layer of weather-resistance with premium-grade cladding on the underside of the roof.

“We’re justifiably proud of the new Spa Collection,” says Luke Dejahang, Director at Crown.

“No stone has been left unturned to ensure a product that looks stunning, performs brilliantly and which will add value to any home. We’re confident that retailers will agree, which is why we are inviting them to experience the new collection for themselves at the Crown Pavilions stand number A10 at The NEC, Birmingham.”

Crown Pavilions 01491 612820 www.crownpavilions.com

HARVEY HADDEN SPORTS VILLAGE OPENS

Certikin Is In Transporter Mode!

Nottingham’s Harvey Hadden Sports Village opened in September following a £16m transformation – the largest investment of Nottingham City Council’s Leisure transformation programme.

The redevelopment has seen existing facilities improved and most notably, the new attraction of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The eight lane 50m pool is the only one in Nottingham to offer public swimming every day and features an adjustable pool floor and the ability to be divided into two 25m pools.

Certikin deliveries will be even smoother with the arrival of a fleet of new Mercedes trucks.

Equipped with state-of-the-art CCTV systems to give the driver all round vision of the vehicle, and a realtime tracking system so those at Certikin’s HQ can see where the lorries are and the customer can get an accurate ETA. Logistics Manager, Paul Long says: “The lorries make regular runs from the south coast up to Lancashire and Yorkshire. Any areas not covered by our fleet are serviced using the Palletline network, together with our parcel carriers, to give total UK coverage. Not forgetting, of course, we also export to over 50 countries!”

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Certikin International 01993 778855 www.certikin.co.uk

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NEWS

IN BRIEF PROPERTY DEVELOPER PAYS £180K TO KEEP BASEMENT POOL A property developer who excavated a large basement to house a gym and swimming pool under his £3m north London home, which was far in excess of his planning application, has been allowed to keep it by paying £180,000.

Marc Samuels paid the sum plus a contribution to legal costs to Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust as an out of court settlement, after the trust threatened to obtain a high court injunction to force him to fill in the basement.

Mr Samuels, who bought the property in 2007 for just under £3m, had originally applied to build a single-storey basement “of similar size to the proposed house footprint plus additional rear area for the proposed pool”, which stretched beneath his garden.

The council and the trust, which rules on developments in the Hampstead Garden Suburb conservation area, granted permission for the planned work in 2012.

However, when the basement was finally constructed, it stretched much further into the garden than was agreed on the original plans so as to accommodate a garden room, alongside a cinema, au pair’s room and study. In addition, the planned for swimming pool was then dropped down a further level, creating a two-storey basement complex, and was joined by an unplanned gym.

Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust has strict rules concerning alterations to homes in the area and, when Samuels’ breach of permission came to light, it consulted lawyers about obtaining an injunction to force him to reverse the development.

Following the settlement, Barnet council have now retrospectively granted Mr Samuels permission for the basement complex ruling that it did not “result in any material visual changes at ground level and above, from the approved scheme”.

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New Look And Feel For The Fairlocks Pool Products Website With some new and exciting products coming to market soon, Paul Webb and the team at Fairlocks Pool Products felt it was time to give the website a bit of a facelift, and create a new style for their customers. With users visiting, downloading and viewing the catalogue regularly, the company wanted a site that was clear, functional and demonstrated the diversity of the products on offer.

Along with the latest news, there is a new ‘about us’ section and a forthcoming events section, and the company are hoping that their customers will be more informed about them as a business, and where they can meet the Fairlocks team. There’s also a more visible downloads section, which allows regular

Golden Coast’s SPATEX Plans Golden Coast has announced its intention to exhibit at SPATEX 2016, where it promises to unveil a number of exciting innovations, but for the moment the company is keeping details of those products under wraps.

“We always like to inspire SPATEX visitors with innovative, state-of-the-art developments that will give their business a boost, but the manufacturers with whom we work create new solutions at such a pace that we need to delay our final choice of exhibits until nearer the date of the event,” says Jamie Adams, Golden Coast’s Managing Director.

“As the UK’s largest independent distributor of wet leisure products to the trade, enjoying exclusive distribution deals with many of the world’s leading design and manufacturing companies, we have no shortage of items from which to choose,” he adds. “Trying to anticipate what will happen next in this market is an interesting challenge and we look forward to seeing what up-to-the-minute technological progress unfolds in the next few months.”

Based on previous shows, it’s a reasonable guess that Golden Coast’s offering might include the latest advances in such specialist areas as automatic pool covers, lighting, water testing, disinfection and filtration, along with an update on what sauna and steam now have to offer the industry.

As usual, Golden Coast guarantees to back up its displays with expert technical advice, a warm welcome and a sense of humour.

SPATEX 2016, billed as ‘The Pool, Spa and Wellness Show’, will take place at the Jaguar Exhibition Hall of the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Running from 31 January to 2 February, the show will be celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Golden Coast can be found on stands B18 and B32.

Golden Coast 01271 378100 www.goldenc.co

customers that use their products to access product downloads in a much easier way.

Paul Webb, Managing Director said: “The new website looks fresh and is now optimised for mobile, tablet and PC to ensure all of our customers have the best user experience of our website. Through the new site, we can make immediate updates, which will be important in the coming months, with new products launching later this year and early 2016. Watch this space!”

Fairlocks Pool Products Ltd 01865 988346 www.fairlocks.co.uk

F T Leisure Wins Contract At Graves Leisure Centre

The new £16m Graves Leisure Centre will be the HQ for the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) – a 2012 Olympic Legacy project funded by the Department of Health – with extensive provision for health consultation, specialist treatment services and research facilities. NCSEM aims to promote the benefits of sport, exercise and physical activity to sufferers of chronic diseases and aim to reduce their impact on the NHS. The development will be built on the site of the current Graves tennis and leisure centre in the south of the city. It will include a 25-metre six-lane replacement for the existing swimming pool, a separate learner pool, a major new fitness suite and studios, two additional indoor tennis courts and the city’s first-ever dedicated gymnastics and trampolining centre.

F T Leisure has been asked to supply, install and commission the water treatment and filtration systems. The filtration system is medium rate sand filtration and the water treatment consists of chlorine for disinfection, pH control and UV sterilisation.

The main contractor is Bam Construction and the architect is DarntonB3 Architecture working with Sheerwater Consultancy.

F T Leisure 0161 494 5785 www.ftleisure.co.uk

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NEWS

Organisation Launched To Protect, Preserve And Promote Britain’s Historic Pools A new national organisation representing the interests of Britain’s historic swimming pools and lidos has been launched in London. Historic Pools of Britain will offer a shared voice for the hundreds of indoor and outdoor pools in the UK, mostly pre-dating 1939.

Established to help individuals, community groups and organisations involved in the protection, restoration and operation of heritage baths across the country, Historic Pools of Britain also sets out to celebrate these buildings; to put the spotlight on their contribution to the nation’s social and architectural history and to recognise the important role they continue to play in our communities today.

Many of the country’s heritage baths are in a fragile state. For example, there are 116 listed baths buildings, of which only 52 are operational or in the process of being refurbished. The efforts to save and preserve them are often in the hands of a few dedicated individuals, whose voices struggle to be heard.

Gill Wright, founder member and spokesperson for Historic Pools of Britain, led the campaign with the Friends of Victoria Baths, to save and campaign for one of the country’s finest examples of heritage baths buildings in Manchester, said: “This is an opportunity above all else to share our knowledge and experience through better connectivity between everyone involved in the rescue, restoration and running of historic swimming pools, from small community

Earlier this month, Bon Accord Baths in Aberdeen witnessed a unanimous decision reached by Aberdeen City Council to enter into a dialogue with the community group, Bon Accord Heritage over its plans to restore the swimming pool to its former glory and reopen them as a community-run enterprise

groups through to larger operating companies and local authorities.”

No formal public records, central database or archives currently exist to document the hundreds of historic swimming pool buildings in the UK and this, in time, will be an important role for the organisation. Initially the membership will benefit from networking,

campaigning and lobbying, the potential for joint funding applications and PR and marketing support at regional and national levels.

Historic Pools of Britain 0161 832 3588 www.historicpools.org.uk

STA Launches New Website To Meet User Needs STA has launched a brand new website that will enable visitors to the site to find exactly what they are looking for quickly and efficiently. The new design follows extensive monitoring of how visitors use the website; evaluating which pages or services are used the most.

Click on to STA.co.uk and you’ll see that from the revamped homepage, visitors now have one-click access to the most popular and frequented pages of the website. It’s also less clunky, focusing more on what STA do and how people use the website, as opposed to following the organisation’s structure. There is also a massively improved search facility available.

The clean, modern-looking site also works exceptionally well on mobile and tablet devices.

Brett Preston, STA’s Head of IT said: “With so much information to present, we’ve thought long and hard as a team about what our members and customers need when they log on to the site and how they search for courses, news, and resources.

We believe the new design is now more functional and will make it far easier for people to navigate and find what they need on the website quickly. We are really pleased with the user-friendly, uncluttered design, too, because it uses the screen space to maximum effect.”

The site features distinct sections on STA qualifications, awards, and services, as well as a dedicated membership section.

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“Our new STA Search facility has also been completely re-built from the ground-up, making it easier than ever before to find upcoming courses, seminars, jobs and nearby pools. Prospective candidates can even enquire about upcoming courses with the organisers directly through the search facility!” added Brett.

STA 01922 645097 www.sta.co.uk

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NEWS

The Isle Of Wight Proves A Perfect Site!

This 28-year old reinforced concrete pool was crying out for some TLC so Isle of Wight wet leisure specialists, Solent Hot Tubs & Swimming Pools (part of Island Mechanical Services) called on the services of the original builder, pool consultant Roy Eccott who recommended Certikin’s Infinite site liner.

Based in Ryde, Westbrook is run by the Christian charity, Urban Saints (formerly known as Crusaders) and provides a safe and fun environment for young people to form lasting relationships, express their faith and have the tools to learn more about it.

Westbrook’s tired looking 60ft by 25ft pool had long since seen better days and Roy and his son-in-law and pool builder, Mike Turner, felt that the quickest and easiest solution was to call in Certikin’s on-site lining team. The installation took some seven days to complete and more than surpassed Roy’s and Mike’s expectations.

“We were impressed with the quality and versatility of the Infinite liner and the expertise of the installers,” says Roy. “We have worked with Certikin for many years and the company’s back-up service and attention to detail is unparalleled so we had no hesitation in my choice. The thing we really like about this method is that if there are any cracks in the pool, the liner expands and then shrinks providing a solid and water-tight layer. This is the first site lining that the company has done on the Isle of Wight and such was its success, we have got another one about to start in Bainbridge.”

Certikin North General Manager, Neil Stephenson says: “The project featured purpose made skimmer face plates, manufactured on the CNC machines at Certikin in Witney and a brand new solar cover.

This is a great example of Certikin being able to cover almost every need in such a project. The ability to form job specific HDPE clamp

plates for pool fittings, if required, means that old pools, which were never designed as liner pools and where the skimmers are literally built into the pool wall, can undergo a renovation with far less disruption and cost than the alternatives would carry.”

Such is the popularity for site lining that Certikin now offers a nationwide service from its South Central base and the company are currently aiming to introduce more teams to cope with demand.

Island Mechanical Services Ltd 01983 401800 www.islandmechanicalservices.co.uk Certikin North 0113 393 4545 www.certikin.co.uk

New Research Reveals Lack Of Floor Compliance In Wet Leisure Environments A study of hundreds of leisure facilities by Bonasystems, a leading provider of specialist floor care products and services, has revealed that four-fifths (79%) of ‘wet leisure’ floor surfaces were not up to Health & Safety Executive (HSE) standards used to prevent slips and trips. This leaves their owners risking fines of up to 100% of annual profits for health and safety breaches, not to mention claim costs of tens of thousands of pounds.

Bonasystems tested 379 floors alongside swimming pools, in showers and in changing rooms over the last two years. It used the pendulum test, the method used by HSE in prosecution cases, which is designed to replicate a pedestrian heel strike at the point when most slips occur. Testing took place in various types of leisure facility, including those owned and outsourced by local authorities, privately owned leisure centres, Sporta trust facilities and hotels.

Despite the fact that slips and trips are a major cause of accidents in the leisure sector, the results reveal a worrying lack of compliance.

HSE guidance says that in foreseeably wet environments (e.g. pool sides, showers, changing rooms) a wet pendulum test value (PTV) of 36 or above is required (this reduces the slip risk to 1 in 1 million versus a risk of 1 in 20 if there is a wet PTV of 24). When Bonasystems carried out the pendulum test in wet conditions, 79% of floors did not achieve 36 PTV. The study also revealed that floor specification is not the major

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cause of non-compliance – in fact poor maintenance is the biggest problem. Bonasystems’ testers found that once the floors were cleaned correctly, 75% would (in wet conditions) achieve 36 PTV or above. It concludes that nearly 75% of floors are fit for purpose, but will only meet HSE standards if they are maintained properly.

Christian Harris, Commercial Director of Bonasystems, commented: “This is a very serious issue for leisure centre and hotel operators.

Whilst the average cost of a slip and trip claim is some £14,000, in reality we can expect the overall cost to be much higher on account of recent changes to the sentencing guidelines on fines for health and safety breaches. In the worst case scenario, these allow for fines of up to 100% of a company’s annual profits, not to mention the personal cost to the claimant and the reputational damage involved.

“The irony is that whilst companies often think they are saving money on their cleaning and maintenance costs, they are actually storing up worse trouble for themselves ahead. If the UK’s 4,000 leisure centres invested up to an extra £50 each a month on proper cleaning regimes, they stand a far better chance of avoiding a claim which could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Bonasystems 01442 927100 www.bonasystems.com

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Sauna, the most active sector in wet leisure “Businesses that reported an extremely good year in 2013 shared a common view of sauna, the importance of sauna had grown for them by almost 50% from last year.�* With 35 years experience in the sauna market, we can help you break into that growing sector.

*Source: Wet Leisure Industry Survey 2014

Phone: 01271 378100 | Web: www.goldenc.co

Our leak detection service will have your customers splashing about in no time

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NEWS

IN BRIEF LOCH-SIDE SPA NOW OPEN Luxury Scottish resort Portavadie, which is located on the shores of Loch Fyne has opened its spa and leisure centre.

Driven by a passion to create something truly special for their guests to enjoy time and again, the facilities include four treatment rooms and six swimming pools, including a superb heated outdoor infinity pool, children’s splash pool, an indoor pool, plus outdoor spa pools. Also included are two Scandinavian saunas, a steamroom, gym, and a ten-bed relaxation area, with views across the Loch to the Isle of Arran.

General Manager Iain Jurgensen said: “The team has created the most stunning lightfilled relaxation and wellness space, offering the ultimate in luxury and reward for our guests.

“We are all proud to see our beautiful glass doors open to guests and visitors. Already the feedback is excellent and locals, marina visitors and guests have been simply blown away by the breathtaking setting and facilities.”

NO FRILLS GYM EQUALS NO POOL GYM Angry members have blasted the new owners of a Northwich gym after the company decided to fill in the existing swimming pool and turn it into a new studio.

The LA Fitness club is due to be transformed into a Pure Gym after a buy-out was completed earlier this year.

Leeds-based Pure Gym currently operate more than 140 ‘no-frills’ gyms across the country, which are open 24 hours a day and offer cardio equipment, fixed and free weights and exercise classes.

The company are spending millions on transforming a number of LA Fitness sites across the country following the buy out but it looks like swimming facilities may suffer as a result of the change in ownership.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 12-17_SPN_Oct_15_News_rev.indd 15

Online Swimwear Retailer Sees 41% Customer Participation Rate With New Promotions Technology Swimshop has seen a 41% customer participation rate with new promotions technology that gives shoppers the chance to win their purchases free of charge.

As Europe’s largest online swimwear retailer, which stocks over 5,000 different products, the Swimshop partnered with promotions technology company Luckycycle to install the software permanently on its website as a continual reward scheme for loyal customers.

After making payment, shoppers are asked to play on a virtual scratch card to find out if they’ve won.

If successful, a refund is sent within 60 days. The campaign started at the beginning of July.

Running across all product categories, customers spending up to £150 have a one in 20 chance of winning their basket free. Swimshop will be doubling the odds to one in 10 every Friday, with a focus on increasing sales during this period. Participation rates on a Friday have already increased to over 55%.

Follow up emails are sent to those who choose not to participate, offering a second chance, and unsuccessful shoppers are able to play again if they share news of the promotion on social media.

“Rewarding customers in a fun, unique and simple way is the most appealing thing about Luckycycle’s technology,” said Glyn Cawkwell,

Ecommerce Designer at Swimshop. “We’ve seen an extremely positive reaction within the first weeks of the campaign – extending it long term is logistically viable and beneficial to our offering. Average order values have increased and we’ve also seen a great social engagement response.

“Swimshop is our first client to make the technology a permanent fixture,” said Géraud de Borchgrave, Managing Director of Luckycycle.

“Offering shoppers different incentives, such as the heightened chance of winning on a Friday keeps things fresh. Luckycycle is changing the scope of retail promotions, and establishing itself as an exciting and versatile tool that increases sales and customer engagement.”

Marketing On Autopilot By Doric Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have your marketing strategy happening behind the scenes on its own; responding to your new enquiries and nurturing them all to the point of sale automatically whilst you carry on with the normal day to day running of your business and attending to your customers? Well, that’s exactly what’s on offer from Doric Marketing with the ‘Marketing Automation Programme’ from the pool and spa industry’s marketing support provider, headed up by Dorian Davies.

So what is the Doric Marketing Automation Programme, and what are the benefits to a company in the wet leisure industry? Dorian told SPN: “Irrespective of how knowledgeable or not a business owner is, when it comes to modern, effective, direct response marketing strategies, a great many companies I speak to lack the time and/or resources to implement and follow-up on them. And this is crucial, because if you don’t implement and follow-up, you’re not going to generate the results. If you don’t get the results, you’re wasting any money you spend on marketing.

You’re always going to be in a precarious position; with those seeking to grow and expand unable

to achieve the break-out necessary to do so, and those who are not looking to grow, but attain a very secure and comfortable future, equally constrained from doing so by these limitations.

“The Doric Marketing Automation Programme solves this issue for pool and spa businesses of any size by automating the follow-up to all new and existing sales enquiries in a personal and tailored way, nurturing them and maintaining contact with the prospects, gently funnelling them towards the sale. For companies that do not have the time or the resources to engage in a systematic programme of follow-up, it is quite literally a goldmine, as all those prospects who before typically disappeared off into the ether, have contact maintained on a continuous and valuable basis until they buy or ask to be removed from the database. It saves you money, saves you time, maximises the return on your marketing budget, and wins you more sales and increased profits.”

Doric Marketing 01672 841193 www.doricmarketing.co.uk

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NEWS

IN BRIEF STA JOINS FORCES WITH CAA STA (Swimming Teachers’ Association) and the newly established Children’s Activities Association (CAA) have joined forces to offer parents double the peace of mind when booking swimming classes for little ones.

As the world’s largest independent swimming teaching and lifesaving organisation, STA is supporting CAA’s exciting new mission to give parents a recognisable benchmark for standards for all organised children’s activities.

The CAA aims to establish and improve consistent standards and accreditation; and also to give more children the opportunity to experience a wider range of organised activities.

Kayle Burgham, Technical Manager for Aquatics at STA, said: “As a registered charity dedicated to saving lives through the teaching of swimming, we work at the forefront to support and represent the UK swim school market in both the public and private sector to help raise standards.

Alongside the popularity of baby swimming, the private swim school market, in particular, has grown significantly over the past decade. This level of choice has made it difficult for parents and carers to know which is a good swim school or not – and for swim schools to differentiate their services.”

For the swimming world, STA has addressed this with its STAmark quality accreditation mark, which provides a standardised level of accreditation that swim schools can work to demonstrate best practice in the key areas of running a swim school and or leisure facility.

“Now by working in association with CAA, our STAmark accredited swim schools can benefit from wider public recognition through an accreditation mark that is common across the whole of the children’s activity market,” added Kayle.

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Gainsborough Bath Spa Launches With DaleSauna Thermal Rooms The Gainsborough Bath Spa, the only hotel in the UK to offer direct access to natural thermal waters and featuring a range of experiences from DaleSauna, has opened in Bath.

Designed by New York based design firm Champalimaud Design, the 99-room hotel is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World and is the first UK property from YTL Hotels.

The hotel’s Spa Village Bath has been designed to honour the healing traditions of Bath.

DaleSauna supplied a number of thermal experiences for the luxurious spa including a salt steam room designed to cater for up to eight guests with LED lighting and bespoke glass mosaic tiles from Trend in hues of brown.

A pine herbal sauna features a conventional sauna heater and a stainless steel herb tray for the infusion of fresh herbs.

As well as the traditional herbal sauna, guests can relax in an infrared sauna, also in pine, with a single tier of bench seating and five infrared heaters. These emit infrared light, which is experienced as radiant heat and absorbed by the surface of the skin for a number of health

benefits including the removal of toxins. The sauna also features a wall of Himalayan salt to soothe respiratory and skin conditions.

Finally, DaleSauna has created a bespoke walk-in ice grotto and two experience showers. Clad in Trend mosaic glass tiles in blue fade, features of the ice room include marble tops, a chiller to emit cold air, fibre optic lighting on the ceiling in the design of the zodiac and most striking of all, a model of a lion’s head which dispenses the crushed ice.

The Gainsborough Bath Spa has created a one hour ‘Bath Circuit’, a self-guided tour which takes advantage of the saunas, steam room, ice alcove relaxation

rooms as well as three thermal pools, which sit at the heart of the spa beneath a glass atrium.

The circuit concludes with a special Water Ritual Ceremony.

DaleSauna 01423 798630 www.dalesauna.co.uk

F T Leisure Completes De Vere Gardens Project One Kensington Gardens (De Vere Gardens) will provide 97 luxury apartments, basement car parking and a private hotel with fitness and leisure amenities including a 25-metre, 3-lane lap pool and spa, family rooms and entertainment facilities. The new development is situated opposite Kensington Palace Gardens on the site of the former Kensington Park and Kensington Palace Thistle hotels. The scheme provides two new seven-storey buildings, both with a penthouse suite, and one five-storey block incorporating retained façades.

F T Leisure, specialists in luxury aquatic spa facilities, designed, supplied, installed and commissioned the water

treatment and filtration systems and vitality water/air features in the spa pool. The filtration system is based on medium rate sand filtration and the water treatment consists of chlorine for disinfection, pH control and an ozone sterilisation system. The ozone provides optimum water quality and air quality in the pool hall. Finally, F T Leisure designed and installed a fibre optic lighting scheme.

The main contractor for the project was Sir Robert McAlpine who worked with David Chipperfield Architects for the developer De Vere Estates.

F T Leisure 0161 494 5785 www.ftleisure.co.uk

SPN October 2015 17 23/09/2015 17:14

PEOPLE NEWS

New Head Of Servicing & Small Works Emphasises Team Work and Communication London Swimming Pool Company (LSPC) has a new Head of Servicing & Small Works. Chris Walker has been promoted into this key role after five years as LSPC’s Contracts Manager, where he helped to grow the volume of luxury pools being built by the company.

Originally created to provide high quality servicing for the pools it designs and builds, LSPC Servicing has become a thriving business in its own right, providing regular and emergency pool and spa servicing as well as managing a diversity of small works and refurbishment projects.

Chris brings a 360 degree pool industry pedigree to the new role, having worked across both servicing and contracting during his 25 years in the

business. Prior to joining LSPC Contracting, Chris was a senior service engineer at Rainbow Pools for nine years and before that was manager of the controls department at Climatec, manufacturers of pool air handling units, heat pumps and dehumidifiers.

Chris commented: “This role is a great opportunity to use my combined areas of expertise to support both clients and our service engineers. Having a deep understanding of the design and construction of pools is a significant benefit to the servicing operation, especially when diagnosing and addressing unexpected issues or idiosyncrasies that arise.

“We continue to see exponential growth in London’s

luxury pool market, especially among overseas property buyers.

These clients want to enjoy swimming in the privacy of their homes which creates an ongoing demand for new pools and thus servicing. This sector of the community will always want their pools serviced and maintained by professionals.

“As Head of Servicing & Small Works, I am adopting a very team-centric approach because a fulfilled and proud workforce makes for happy staff and happy clients! In order to build on our reputation as a premier service company providing 24/7 response, I will be fostering a strong team spirit, encouraging my team of ten service engineers to share experiences and information informally and

through team briefings. This will, I’m sure, enhance skills, knowledge and client satisfaction; and take our growth to the next level,” concluded Chris.

Chris will lead LSPC Servicing in close cooperation with Small Works Team.

London Swimming Pool Company 020 8605 1255 www.londonswimmingpools.com

Lack Of Qualified Swimming Teachers Impacting UK’s Youngsters Difficulties in recruiting trained swimming teachers are creating widespread problems for many swim schools across the UK – and this is majorly impacting on the opportunity for children to learn how to swim, a survey by the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) has found.

The 2015 Industry Swimming Teachers Recruitment Survey by STA, the world’s largest independent swimming teaching and lifesaving organisation, found that almost three-quarters (72%) of swim schools in the UK have a waiting list for lesson spaces, while just over 81% said they could not find appropriately qualified swimming teaching staff to meet this demand.

In five regions – London, North East, East Anglia, Wales and the North – every swim school owner that responded to the STA survey said it could not find the right recruits, despite actively looking for teachers to meet the demand for swim classes.

Kaylë Burgham, STA’s Technical Manager for Aquatics, said recruitment is a widespread problem and this issue is further

18 October 2015 SPN 20_SPN_Oct_15_People_News.indd 18

compounded by the fact that many swim schools already find it difficult to cope with the increased demand for lessons because of pool time availability and a limited number of pools.

“We undertook this survey to understand how widespread an issue swimming teacher recruitment is in the UK and to understand what the main challenges are and the impact on swim schools and swimming.

What we have found is very concerning,” she said.

A total of 229 swim schools, which between them teach more than 331,000 children and adults every week, responded to the STA survey. The main findings were: • 66% said they were looking to recruit swimming teachers to meet demand • 71% said difficulty in finding appropriate

staff was affecting their business growth plans • 63% said they were prepared to invest in training unqualified staff • 69% said lack of staff and increased waiting lists meant it was more difficult for people to learn to swim.

One respondent said: “I have been teaching for 40 years and this is the worst I have seen on children’s ability to swim.”

Another commented: “Candidates do not see swimming teaching as a full-time profession, only a part-time add-on.”

One teacher raised concerns about the lack of swimming lessons as part of a child’s mainstream, education: “Although mandatory physical education remains ‘only’ a foundation subject within the new National Curriculum and although swimming is compulsory, this is not reflected in many schools or by central government.”

You can see the full results from STA’s swimming teacher recruitment survey on the STA website.

STA 01922 645097 www.sta.co.uk

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 22/09/2015 14:51

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SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 21/09/2015 23:55 Page 19

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PRODUCT NEWS

US Manufacturer At The Forefront Of Growing Sauna Trend As the demand for private home saunas continues its impressive upward trend in the USA, the time-tested manufacturer Almost Heaven Saunas, located in southern West Virginia, is holding its own as one of ‘the’ brand names for exceptional indoor and outdoor home sauna rooms.

That shouldn’t be any surprise with a history spanning nearly four decades.

With every changing season, they continue developing new products and refining classic favourites. Their latest offering, the 2-3 person Bluestone indoor sauna, has already started to appeal to homeowners with limited space and a developed sense of quality.

Measuring 47” deep by 70” wide, the Bluestone is the company’s most space efficient indoor product, making it a fantastic addition to a master bath, a personal fitness area, or any unused corner that could use some fresh appeal.

Additionally, the Bluestone is Almost Heaven Saunas’ first product to feature LED interior lighting, installed behind the Western Canadian red cedar back rest that runs the length of the room. This lighting provides a soft, diffused glow that creates a subtle ambiance and encourages deep relaxation.

The Bluestone is made from thick, high-grade sections of hemlock and fir using a tongue-and-groove profile that is easy to assemble. It comes with a 4.5kW stainless steel heater and various accessories that are necessary to the authentic sauna experience – bucket, ladle, etc.

Over the years, Almost Heaven Saunas has had the privilege of shipping their products all across the US and overseas, often experiencing firsthand the excitement and anticipation of their customers – customers who know they got a great deal on a fantastic

sauna that will be the source of much personal enjoyment for years to come.

Almost Heaven Saunas are available in the UK through Yeovil based Elite Spas.

Elite Spas 0800 849 1060 www.elitespas.co.uk

Introducing New Features For The eXact iDip® Smart Photometer™ The creators of some of the most innovative water quality testing solutions, Industrial Test Systems, Inc. (ITS), have added automatic calculations to their smart device application.

Calculations for Langlier Saturation Index (LSI) and Magnesium Hardness have been added.

Using a smart device as the brains of the eXact iDip® Photometer System™ allows for limitless upgrade possibilities.

The most recent upgrade of the eXact iDip® application will provide users with the ability to determine LSI and Magnesium Hardness without doing any written calculations. The device will seamlessly interpret data collected by the user, calculate the desired values, and display the values both on the device and in the application. Prior to this

20 October 2015 SPN 20_SPN_Oct_15_Prod_News.indd 20

capable of cutting out this work for the user. Since the eXact iDip® photometer communicates wirelessly with the application any updates to the software are automatically applied without any need to upgrade the existing hardware.

With the arrival of the latest eXact iDip® application upgrade the already highly versatile device will become even more essential to the water testing specialist.

The ingenious merging of existing technologies with the company’s water quality innovations has helped to revolutionise the industry and ITS application upgrades have made the user experience simpler and more cost effective. technology those using LSI as an indicator for water safety had to conduct each test and manually

perform a series of calculations in order to determine their LSI value. Now the eXact iDip® is

ITS Europe Ltd 01722 717911 www.itseurope.co.uk

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SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 21/09/2015 23:55 Page 22

PRODUCT NEWS

Viron Pool And Spa Pumps – The Next Evolution In Energy Efficiency AstralPool has introduced Viron, a new range of fully variable speed energy efficient pumps to suit all pool sizes, filtration systems and budgets.

Viron has been carefully designed for ease of operation and for maximum life span in the most demanding working conditions. 316 stainless steel hardware, robust engineering plastics and high quality silicone seals create a pump that lasts.

The large liquid crystal display clearly shows the RPM of the motor and enables adjustment of the start-up priming time, priming flow rate, and visual display of each speed setting. The inbuilt 24 hour timer is easily enabled and provides up to four time periods each day with different speed settings to provide the perfect flow rate for each pool.

Three programmed speeds are factory preset and each speed can be adjusted with a simple press of an up or down button. Each pump speed can be changed to optimise the water flow to suit the pool shape, cleaner type, size and location, making the Viron range of pumps the most flexible and easy to use variable speed pumps on the market.

Viron pumps are quiet too producing a level of noise that is not perceptible to the human ear.

Increasing or decreasing the speed of a pump simply changes the

flow rate by the same rate. Using a Viron pump, the energy consumed to change the speed and flow rate drops by more than 85% compared to conventional single speed pumps and by using up to 90% less energy during operation than a conventional single speed pump, the pumps also reduces greenhouse emissions by up to 90% (when power supplied from coal fired power plants) and achieve an annual energy cost saving up to £700.

The Viron range consists of two models – the Viron P320 and Viron P600. The Viron P320 is ideal for the average sized pool. It has a flow rate sufficient to back wash up to 30” or 800mm diameter sand filters. The Viron P600, a pump with an impressive 600 litres per minute flow rate, is ideal for larger pools, multiple spa jets, water features or in-floor cleaning systems.

AstralPool UK 01329 514000 www.astralpooluk.com

New But Already The First Choice For Many The new AQUACOACH pool control series by Praher Austria now offers better features, is easy to handle and is a remarkable innovation for any swimming pool project.

Even the basic versions of the AQUACOACH and AQUACOACH pro offer many options for the automatic control of the most common pool functions.

A multilingual menu navigation in German, English, French, Spanish and Russian (more on request) and the integration of simple icons guarantee an easy navigation and programming.

According to your individual project the AQUACOACH pro series can also be expanded with additional optional prints (with additional cost).

comfort SafetyPack.

This combination provides a fully automatic pool control unit supplying various needs at the highest technical level.

Of course, the AQUACOACH can be easily combined with other brands too.

These features and the flexible combinations leave nothing to be desired in the bespoke and often demanding pool construction industry.

Furthermore Peraqua offers comprehensive support including training sessions and technical descriptions.

The AQUACOACH series can also be easily combined with the well known automatic back wash valve made by Praher – the AQUASTAR

Peraqua +43 743 558 4880 www.peraqua.com

NIVEKO Overflow Channel Innovation Enhances Customer Options The development department at NIVEKO has introduced a design innovation for the overflow channel for their Advance and Whisper series pools in their EXCLUSIVE line.

The new option consists of a ‘sloping’ position of the internal stone and customers are now able to specify their pools with this or the

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more traditional standard level option. This innovation is yet another step towards the uniqueness in design and individuality that the company are able to offer its customers in creating what are truly customised pools.

NIVEKO s.r.o. +420 572 693 246 www.niveko-pools.com

SPN October 2015 23 22/09/2015 14:54

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PRODUCT NEWS

FIBALON® – High-tech Filtering In A Mini Format FIBALON® is an innovative and patented polymer fibre filter which was developed in conjunction with the University of Technology Nuremberg Georg Simon Ohm. According to the latest scientific findings, FIBALON® consists of a combination of different polymer fibres with diverse surface structures and special fibre cross sections.

The secret of FIBALON® is the interior of the fibrous ball which consists of a slightly denser core and a softer wrap.

The balls nestle together to form a consistent filter bed. The deliberately chosen spherical shape maximises the filter media’s surface area and therefore a high dirt capacity.

The company also developed the DyFix® fibre fixation which

yields an unusually high particle retention rate and provides deep penetration of particles into the FIBALON® media bed to provide excellent filtration results.

One of the big advantages of the product is its ease of handling, thanks to its low weight, FIBALON® leads the field with a minimum weight to excellent energy balance compared to a conventional filter with a 350g bag of FIBALON® equivalent to a 25kg bag of sand or glass media. Long life and maintenance free, FIBALON® is universally applicable and suitable for use in swimming pool sand filters, as well as cartridge filters. This opens the market for FIBALON® up to above-ground pools, spas and hot hubs too.

FIBALON® offers genuine cost savings through reduced

water consumption through reduced backwashing, reduced energy consumption as a higher standard of filtration is delivered in a shorter period of time, meaning the filtration system operating cycle can be reduced.

Also greatly reduced is the wear and tear on the filtration systems due to lower operating pressures.

In addition to those cost savings, the user will see a reduced chemical

consumption as flocculants will no longer be required and biofilm formation is inhibited.

Pool Supplies Limited 01252 511292 www.onlinepoolstore.co.uk

The New All-In-One AstralPool Electric Heater The new Compact Electric Heater by AstralPool is a revolution in the world of water heating. Its modern look, technology and display make it unique. Whereas all current products on the market have an external component in the main body of the heat exchanger (e.g. the flow switch), the all-in-one design of the Compact Electric Heater means that all of the components are found inside the main body. The design makes the device more user- friendly because it no longer has an industrial look and instead becomes something that customers would want in their home.

All heat exchangers work by activating and deactivating the heating elements to heat water. AstralPool’s new heat exchanger works exactly like this, however the difference lies in the process. Normally, this is done using one or two contactors, whereas this device uses Triacs (thyristors).

They have many advantages including being smaller and more reliable. With no moving parts, they also don’t make noise plus they have a longer lifetime.

Heat exchangers usually feature displays that only show the temperature of the water and nothing else. The brand new feature of the Compact Electric Heater is the display with sensory buttons as a user interface.

The Compact Electric Heater shows: • If the device is switched on or off.

• The temperature of the water as it enters and leaves the heater.

• The temperature setpoint.

• If the water is flowing or not.

• The units of measurement (¼C or ¼F).

• The number of heating elements that are connected.

• Detection of proper water flow.

AstralPool UK 01329 514000 www.astralpooluk.com

The New Premium Clean Profile From T&A Slatted pool cover manufacturer Technics & Applications bvba (T&A) has added to their range with the introduction of the new Premium Clean Profile slats. As the name would suggest, the new slats have been designed to ensure minimal algae growth by blocking the sunlight in the hinge of the profile. In addition, they are easy to maintain thanks to end caps with cutouts for more efficient cleaning.

Other features include: • 25% more buoyancy – increased safety • Better insulation: U = 3.8 W/m²K

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• • • •

4-chamber profile 67.5x16.5mm Profile out of impact-resistant polycarbonate Tri-extrusion profile with UV cap layer Installation: click or slide

Compatible with all top mount and integrated covers, the Premium Clean Profile slats are suitable for both new and replacement covers.

Technics & Applications bvba +32 1423 7495 www.t-and-a.be

SPN October 2015 25 23/09/2015 19:01

PRODUCT NEWS

SwimLine UVEO Treats Pool Water With Up To 60% Less Power Consumption Hanovia’s new SwimLine Ultraviolet Energy Optimised (UVEO) system uses up to 60% less power than conventional UV systems, with just a single UV lamp. It delivers a guaranteed, consistent UV dose with maximum efficiency for swimming pool operators. The system is designed to meet all current standards and guidelines including CE, UL, CSA, USEPA, MAHC, PWTAG and NSF50.

Designed using Hanovia’s 90 years’ of experience in UV treatment, the new SwimLine UVEO takes advantage of an optimised hydraulic design to provide up to 60% improvement in the treatment capacity over conventional UV systems. This means reduced running costs for 24/7 applications such as swimming pools without compromising on bio-security or chloramine control.

A prime benefit is that treatment is performed with just a single UV lamp, eliminating the need to install a bigger system with multiple lamps. This saves on upfront capital costs and lifetime spares costs.

The system also utilises an electronic ballast with ‘stepless’ power control, automatically adjusting power to match pool operating conditions continuously.

The SwimLine UVEO is optimised specifically for pool bio-safety and ensures chlorine-resistant organisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, are controlled with the optimum UV dose, compliant with both local country standards and the emerging US Model Aquatic Health Code requirements.

The optimised medium pressure UV lamp continues to provide the excellent chloramine reduction for which Hanovia’s traditional pool products are renowned. This ensures effective control of these unpleasant by-products of chlorine dosing which are responsible for the typical ‘chlorine smell’, red, stinging eyes and skin irritations.

Controlling chloramines also delivers high quality pool water, reduced corrosion of metal structures and a healthier environment for bathers.

The system comes with Hanovia’s patented ‘UVGuard’, which allows safe checking of the UV sensor (performance monitoring instrument) using a unique ‘eyelid shutter’ design, which protects the operator from exposure to UV light.

The SwimLine UVEO comes in a range of sizes and treatment capacities to meet typical pool sizes. It is designed for easy installation into existing pipework, matching pipe velocities and turnover rates in all pools. It is also fitted with an internal auto-wiper which maintains UV output efficiency by regularly cleaning the quartz sleeve housing the UV lamp. Lamp replacement is also quick and easy, with the system designed to allow easy access, even in small plant rooms.

Hanovia Ltd 01753 515300 www.hanovia.com

New Automated Controller for Defender® Regenerative Media Filter Neptune Benson is proud to announce the release of the new Defender® RMF System Controller, an advanced graphical interface for operating the Defender Regenerative Media Filter.

The Defender is an award winning water filtration system that utilises perlite for filtration. Capable of filtering down to 1 micron and requiring no backwash, the Defender has rapidly replaced traditional sand filters as the premier choice for water filtration in a variety of applications. The Defender offers distinct advantages over sand filtration, including: • Less water consumption • Significant space savings • Energy savings • Less fuel and chemicals The new RMF System Controller will enhance filter performance and allow owners and operators the ability to get the most out of their Defender Systems.

“We understand that water scarcity and clean water are major challenges across the

26 October 2015 SPN 23-26_SPN_Oct_15_Prod_News.indd 26

globe,” said Ken Rodi, CEO of Neptune Benson. “We’re focusing our innovation efforts on technology that improves water quality and the environment.”

The new RMF System Controller provides advanced control of bump and precoat cycles, pneumatic valves, recirculation pumps, vacuum transfer system, heater cool down delay, data logging and maintenance reminders.

It also features the unique ability to manage operations remotely. This cutting edge feature allows operators to keep track of system performance even when working on other tasks or while they are away from the facility.

Remote monitoring/operation can be done through any web browser or smartphone. In addition, the system has the integrated ability to control Neptune Benson’s greendrive™ VFD system and ETS-UV systems providing additional flexibility and control of system operations.

The new Defender Regenerative RMF System Controller comes on all new

Defender Regenerative Media Filters and is available for retrofit on units currently in operation.

Neptune Benson +1 401 821 2200 www.neptunebenson.com

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 22/09/2015 14:55

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ECO NEWS

Heatstar Make Remote Monitoring And Control A Breeze With New Energy Management System Heatstar have introduced a remote operational and energy monitoring control for their pool environmental control systems – the new Lynx Energy Management System.

It is an accepted fact that Heatstar’s swimming pool environmental control systems are flag-bearers for energy efficiency and continue to be one of the preferred choices for pool installers and designers whenever quality and reliability are key requirements. Energy efficiency is a major focus for the pool industry and Heatstar continues to be at the forefront of developments in this field with the launch of their new Lynx

Energy Management System.

The star at the centre of this new technology is a state-ofthe-art touch-screen interface, enabling users to access and interact directly with their Heatstar system, all from a clear single-screen display.

Based on a pioneering Intuitive interface, the full colour touch-screen display gives users fingertip control of all control and monitoring functions. It also has the ability for users to alter temperature and humidity levels, and adjust set points to suit both application and other requirements.

The Lynx Energy Management System, has the ability to deliver

user specific web pages to a PC or mobile device running internet browser software. This enables the user to access and monitor their Heatstar system

over the internet from the other side of the world or the other side of the building. In addition, the Heatstar service team can remotely monitor a client’s system to make sure it is operating at its highest efficiency. This also enables the Heatstar team to respond quickly to any alarm and to diagnose any faults remotely limiting down time and energy waste.

The new Lynx Energy Management System comes with full training and support from Heatstar’s technical team.

Heatstar 01983 521465 www.heatstar.com

Sundolitt XPS Helps Provide A Warm Road To Recovery Sundolitt XPS, extreme strength, extruded polystyrene is helping provide high insulation levels, strength and rigidity to a new swimming pool which will play an important role in the rehabilitation of injured and sick police officers from Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The pool installation, at Castlebrae Police Treatment Centre in Auchterarder, Perthshire, is part of a £2.5m redevelopment to improve and extend facilities to accommodate the needs of some 1,650 serving and retired police officers who use the centre each year.

The work includes the new, much larger pool alongside a new hydrotherapy pool and a larger fitness and exercise hall with a purpose-built spin bike studio.

The XPS has been supplied in varying dimensions to accommodate the sloping design of the pool and is an important substructure prior to the pouring of the concrete base and tile finish. The pool contractor, John Preston Pool & Spa Services, says that the Sundolitt XPS allows speed and simplicity of installation with minimal on site preparation as well as guaranteeing high insulation performance which will help keep energy costs down at the centre – a crucial factor as 85% of running costs have to come from police donations.

28 October 2015 SPN 28_SPN_Oct_15_News_Eco.indd 28

Sundolitt XPS has already proved ideal in industrial floors such as cold stores and chilled warehouses where high insulation, high strength attributes are critical but, in this application, it is helping keep water temperature up and the running costs down as well as providing rigid support and protection against differential heave for the pool.

Sundolitt XPS is manufactured in a wide range of thicknesses and sheet sizes – the

primary range has a thermal conductivity of 0.033 – 0.037 W/mK (EN 13164).

According to the type of use, it achieves outstanding compression resistance from 200 – 700 kPa (EN 826) and offers exceptionally low moisture absorption through its closed-pore system.

“Our XPS is unaffected by rain, snow or frost and can be stored outside. We also make it available in square or shiplap edge – the latter having the advantage of preventing thermal bridging should the XPS boards part slightly during installation,” said Bryan Mawer Sundolitt’s Sales Manager for Construction Products and their specialist in XPS. Sundolitt XPS can also make a major contribution to the UK’s carbon reduction programmes. It is made without using environmentally harmful gases and is fully recyclable if recovered at end-of-life. And with the built-environment accounting for 40% of Europe’s energy consumption, the greater energy efficiency that comes from using Sundolitt XPS can, in some cases, reduce total energy consumption in buildings and structures by 75%.

Sundolitt 01786 471586 www.sundolitt.co.uk

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 22/09/2015 14:56

SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 21/09/2015 23:56 Page 29

SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 21/09/2015 23:58 Page 30

HOT TUB & SWIM SPA NEWS

Songs Are Not The Only Hits At Green Man Festival The annual Green Man Festival took place in September in the Brecon Beacons in Wales and a new act for 2015, which turned out to be a real hit, was the inclusion of a number of hot tubs and saunas that could be rented by festival goers.

Located in the festival’s popular Nature & Nurture healing space and supplied by family business Bathing Under The Sky, tickets could be purchased to enjoy the use of luxurious wood-heated hot tubs and Finnish barrel saunas made from the finest western red cedar, followed by a complete pampering session. Guests could choose between standard land-based hot tubs or enjoy VIP status and stunning views over the festival’s fields from one of the three wood-fired hot tub based on the top of the UK’s only double-decker bus with wood-fired hot tubs on the roof!

Always seeking new and unusual, Bathing Under The Sky entered

the corporate market in 2011 which proved itself to be a great field to serve and explore. The company now serve team-buildings events, product launches, festivals and flamboyant staff-parties and offer their hand made products for both hire and sale.

Bathing Under The Sky 01763 268551 www.bathingunderthesky.com

Pink Hot Tub Raffled by HotSpring World For Breast Cancer Research With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, Lynda Smart the Sales & Marketing Manager of HotSpring World has commissioned for the company a special pink hot tub as the prize for a raffle that takes place throughout the month.

In addition, all HotSpring World showrooms will be decorated with pink balloons and other surrounding material to publicise the cause. There will also be collection boxes for the charity in all nine HotSpring World showrooms which are located at Cambridge, Derby, Enfield, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Nottingham, Peterborough, Reading and Weybridge.

Lynda is herself a survivor of breast cancer (15 years now) after developing an aggressive form of it at the young age of 36. Many of the HotSpring World team have also been touched by cancer and this is why they feel it is so important to raise as much money and

awareness as possible to help beat this disease!

Anyone wishing to take part in the fun can do so by purchasing a £2 raffle ticket which gives you the chance to win this funky pink Cascina hot tub with matching pink steps, thermal cover, water care pack, standard delivery and full support – a prize worth about £3,500!

Lynda and the HotSpring World team are hoping that this initiative will raise as much money as possible to aid further research and to help raise awareness. It is hoped that this should give people greater knowledge of breast cancer, leading to earlier detection, which in itself is associated with higher long-term survival rates.

The company have also set up a Just Giving account for donations which can be found at: www.justgiving.com/hotspringworld HotSpring World 0800 849 8111 www.hotspringworld.co.uk

It’s Very ‘App’ For Vita Spa UK Aqua Warehouse Group have recently launched a brand new Showroom App which is now available on all Android and Apple mobile formats.

The App is simple but informative and moving between series, models, features and descriptions is very easy. The App also, and very importantly, lists all the UK dealers with all their details, plus your device, if prompted, can navigate you to their showroom.

“This isn’t like the Balboa control app which is purely for controlling your spa from your mobile device, the Showroom App has been specifically designed to be very user friendly and is a cross between a website

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 31-32_SPN_Oct_15_Hot_Tub_News_rev.indd 31

and brochure,” explained Richard Hart, Managing Director of Aqua Warehouse Group.

He continued: “We now live in a world where we require instant access that seems to revolve around our mobile devices and the App is becoming more and more popular, so I decided to invest in our very own.”

“Our sole aim is to always provide our dealer network with the professional tools to help generate footfall and future customers to their showrooms, this Showroom App is the latest offering that we have funded for the network but we are now working on our next idea,” added Graham Message of Aqua Warehouse Group.

You can receive more information from the rapidly going brand by seeing them on stand C10 at the UK Pool & Spa Expo – 22 - 24 November at the NEC, Birmingham.

Vita Spa UK 01245 477400 www.vitaspa.co.uk

SPN October 2015 31 23/09/2015 10:45

HOT TUB & SWIM SPA NEWS

Golden Coast Accessories Add Value To Hot Tubs At Every Price Level Whether a customer has started with an entrylevel hot tub or splashed out £10,000 or more on a top-end model, Golden Coast is keen to help businesses maximise user enjoyment and generate continuing income through add-on enhancements.

“At the point of sale there is an excellent opportunity to upsell,” said Jamie Adams, Golden Coast’s Managing Director, adding: “But the installer’s relationship with a customer shouldn’t end there.

“If you can keep the contact going by offering something new on a regular basis, you will strengthen that connection and ensure the customer sees you as the first point of call for all future purchases and advice. Every time you speak to customers you have the chance to discover more about their backgrounds, lifestyles, wishes and needs – placing you in a better position to suggest products that appeal.

“Timing is an important consideration. It often makes sense to intensify your promotion of hot tub add-ons in winter, when the demand for pool-related products is lower.

This will boost your year-round profitability.”

Golden Coast supports upselling and ongoing sales via its Essentials catalogue and there are hundreds of product lines to choose from, ranging from structural equipment,

lighting, cleaning devices and water treatment solutions to fragrances, drinkware, toys and games.

When it comes to steps, for example, the range covers everything from the affordable Handy Step with double tread to Signature Spa Steps with three or four treads, dual handrails, drink holders and towel bars.

In between, you will find steps in a variety of shapes, sizes, load capacities, colours and prices to suit different situations. All provide slip resistance and easy assembly, and for outdoor use the catalogue includes weatherproof and UV-resistant choices.

The Essentials catalogue’s handrail options start with the Spa Side Handrail, which needs no fixing as it is free-mounted under the base of the spa or hot tub. Additional features include its 180 degree swivel, a safety locking mechanism and an inbuilt LED mood light.

Similarly, there is a wide selection of cover lifters to meet every need and budget. To give just one example, Cover EX is ideal for hot tubs in tight spots as it needs just 12 inches of clearance. Quick and easy to install, and boasting a high-quality aluminium and powder-coated construction, it will fit most square and rectangular hot tubs and spas.

At the luxury end of the spectrum is the

CoverValet CV250, which features a pair of pneumatic arms for smooth and effortless operation.

Among Golden Coast’s top tips for a good add-on profit is its Spa Side Umbrella. It provides an attractive alternative to the traditional gazebo. Measuring nine-foot in diameter, it comes in a choice of three colours and has a crank and tilt mechanism for effort-free operation. It is quick and easy to install, or to remove from its base for storage, and can be supplied with a cover for protection when not in use.

Golden Coast 01271 378100 www.GCTrade.co.uk

Jacuzzi® Takes Its World-Renowned Legacy To Goodwood Revival A world-leader in hot tubs, hydrotherapy and wellness products, Jacuzzi® recently exhibited the original hydrotherapy pump that kickstarted the hot tub industry, plus a collection of original Jacuzzi® images at the Goodwood Revival, on the Euphoria Lifestyle show stand.

In true Goodwood tradition, the team at hot tub retailer and Jacuzzi® partners Euphoria Lifestyle, also wore vintage attire to complete the retrospective Jacuzzi® experience.

The original hydrotherapy pump was invented by the Jacuzzi® brothers in 1956 to help a family member’s health condition, and initially became a small niche business selling the portable pump to hospitals and schools.

By 1968, Roy Jacuzzi, a third generation family member and keen entrepreneur, sensed the growing American consumer interest in health, fitness and leisure and invented and marketed the first self-contained, fully integrated whirlpool bath.

Incorporating body jets into the sides of the tub, it became the bath that almost single-handedly created an industry.

As larger units were designed to accommodate more people, Jacuzzi® incorporated heating and filtration systems to keep the water warm and

32 October 2015 SPN 31-32_SPN_Oct_15_Hot_Tub_News_rev.indd 32

clean, leading to the creation of the first hot tub in 1970. Unlike the whirlpool baths, hot tubs could be used outdoors with this new heating system for the very first time.

Today, Jacuzzi® has become one of the most recognised and largest selling brands of jetted whirlpool baths, hot tubs and spas and helps set the standard the world over.

Speaking before the event, Mike Robinson, Managing Director of Euphoria Lifestyle, said: “Jacuzzi® is a household name and a brand that truly defined a new product, spawning a market in itself. Although there are now many replicas available, the original Jacuzzi® hydrotherapy pump and its associated products are the genuine article when it comes to wellness and we are proud to showcase some of these exciting images and revisit the era where this legacy began.”

Jacuzzi Spa & Bath Ltd 0113 272 7430 www.jacuzzi.co.uk Euphoria Lifestyle 01903 892555 www.euphoria-lifestyle.co.uk

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 23/09/2015 10:45

SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 21/09/2015 23:58 Page 33

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SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 23/09/2015 06:15 Page 34

POOL & SPA INDUSTRY

A Constantly Evolving Industry W

ith autumn now upon us, hopefully you are reflecting on a good summer business-wise, even if the weather has been quite changeable!

The summer saw a large amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure the industry voice was heard. Correspondence included a contribution to a Government consultation through BIS about the appointment of a ‘Late Payment Tsar’ or in plain English, somebody in Government to look after the interests of smaller businesses when faced with potential issues caused by larger businesses.

This summer has also been very busy for contributing to changes in a number of existing European standards and the development of new ones. In this issue of SPN, Ralph Riley (former Chief Executive of the ISRM) and the current Chairman of BSI’s sport playground and recreational equipment and Chair of the swimming pool and aquatic equipment committee (SW/136/8) gives an overview of European standards that specifically deal with swimming pools. The hard work also continues on the development of the European standard for Mini Pools (TC 402 WG3) which in now open for public comment (via the CEN Public Enquiry) and also for Domestic Spas and Hot Tubs (TC 402 WG4), which has convened a couple of online meetings via Webex and the next face to face meeting is in Italy this November.

This time of year also sees the annual conferences for BISHTA and SPATA and this year they are being held separately to maximise the content for each of the trade associations for the benefit of its members. BISHTA’s conference is on Tuesday 29 September and SPATA’s is on Thursday 8 October. A number of topics will be covered at each conference to help members with SPATA offering updates on getting to grips with pension auto enrolment, news on Business Information Modelling (BIM), European standards and the industry approach to safety devices. For BISHTA, in addition to a topic on pension auto enrolment, there will be news from some

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 35_SPN_Oct_15_BSPF_Chris_Hayes_rev.indd 35

As the unsettled summer draws to a close, BSPF Managing Director Chris Hayes highlights some of the recent work done by the relevant associations, potential changes ahead and opportunities that exist in the coming months

Public Health England research into hot tubs and the affects of aerosolisation, updates on workforce qualifications and an update on hot tubs in holiday lodges, including any news of the revision of the Management of Spa Pools publication. Some of these hot tub topics are included on the next page of this issue of SPN. The BSPF AGM is being jointly held at both the BISHTA and SPATA annual conferences and feedback will be sought from the members of both trade associations about a proposal not to appoint a BSPF President at SPATEX 2018. The appointments of Alex Kemsley (in 2016) and Will Dando (in 2017) will go ahead as planned. The proposal to be discussed is whether to dispense with a BSPF President in favour of raising the profile of the respective SPATA and BISHTA Chairmen. If the members are in favour of such a proposal, then there would be no appointment of a Junior Vice President this year and this would give an additional nine months for the BSPF Board to develop a comprehensive strategy for taking this suggestion forward, without adversely affecting the collective industry voice required.

The autumn brings with it the opportunity to visit a number of established shows at home and abroad, such as LIW, Aquanale, Piscina & Wellness and the Pool/Spa/Patio Expo in America. The excitement is rising as we wait to learn who will be the winners of the European Pool and Spa Awards for 2015. A number of UK companies are keeping their fingers crossed that they will be amongst the award recipients for this year. The December issue of SPN will have all of the news from this third annual event.

In order to be nominated for these European awards, companies must first enter the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards (hosted by SPATA and BISHTA). This year, the deadline for entries is Friday 6 November and entries can be submitted online. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to provide your company with the chance to win an award and thereby you can help the industry promote itself to the commercial and domestic audience who will be our next customers.

Tickets for the industry gala dinner featuring

the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards and the re-presentation of the ISPE awards are available from the BSPF office, priced at just £69.95 + VAT per person.

Finally this autumn, SPATA Regional meetings will be held at various locations in October and November. Please contact the office if you need more information, but the plan is to hold events in Berkshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Essex, Surrey and Yorkshire, so hopefully there will be one reasonably near you. A variety of topics are planned for these meetings, including updates on SPATA Standards, topics that you wish to raise and it is hoped to increase the social element of the meetings.

DIARY DATES 2015 29 September 8 October 16 October 27 October 28 October 3 November 4 November 10 November

12 November 20 November

BISHTA Annual Conference – Andover SPATA Annual Conference – Andover STA Conference – Bristol SPATA Regional meeting – North SPATA Regional meeting – Midlands SPATA Regional meeting – South West SPATA Regional meeting – East SPATA Technical Committee – Webex SPATA Regional meeting – South East SPATA Regional meeting – Thames Valley TC 402 Board Meeting – Milan

2016 31 Jan to 2 Feb SPATEX 2016 – Coventry

A full list of Diary Dates is available on www.spata.co.uk / www.bishta.co.uk – look under the Trade heading

SPN October 2015 35 23/09/2015 18:36

POOL & SPA INDUSTRY

Hot Tub News In this issue, we highlight a range of topics relating to hot tubs and a number of these topics will be explored in more detail at the BISHTA annual conference on Tuesday 29 September, in Andover

Public Health Research Into Hot Tubs Public Health England (PHE) scientists at Porton Down have been carrying out research on an inflatable hot tub to investigate the aerosols that are released. This research was undertaken to better understand whether the aerosol could be carried in the wind and affect a large area, or whether the distance was more limited. The reason for this research was to better understand domestic spa pools as a source of Legionella and the potential risk to those in and/or around the pool.

For obvious safety and ethical reasons, the scientists could not purposely add Legionella to the pool and so a marker organism (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) was used instead.

Although, P. aeruginosa was present in the spa pool in high numbers, it was not recovered from the air when the air-injection system was

inactivated. When the air-injection system was activated, P. aeruginosa was detected in air samples taken close to the water surface, but the number of P. aeruginosa colonies recovered decreased with increasing height and/or distance from the spa pool. These results imply, that should Legionella be present in the water, susceptible individuals either in, or at the edge, of the spa pool may be at risk of acquiring legionellosis.

However, the risk of aerosol transmission is reduced with increasing height and/or distance from the spa pool.

Further insight into this research is being presented at BISHTA’s annual conference and more discussion is needed to identify whether larger hot tubs (with more powerful jets) will produce different results when compared to inflatable hot tubs.

Workforce Qualifications Richard Lamburn from the STA has been hard at work with BISHTA developing the first of what is intended to be a series of qualifications for the hot tub industry to help recognise the excellent work that is already done by most companies. The ‘Hot Tub Site Surveyor’ qualification will provide recognition of customer care and health & safety information and also the importance of a site survey within the process of selling hot tubs. Plans are currently underway to write the installer and technician qualifications.

More information on workforce qualifications is to be shared with BISHTA members at their annual conference on 29 September and there will also be information available at SPATEX 2016.

Management Of Spa Pools Revision BISHTA has been working with colleagues from wet leisure (such as PWTAG and ISPE) as well as colleagues from Public Health, HSE, Environmental Health and the holiday industry to revise the guidance on managing spas, first produced in 2006. Since then, there has been a vast increase in the numbers of hot tubs being sited with holiday accommodation and many owners follow the current guidance, while others are not aware of the guidance (or choose to ignore it) and this has concerns for public health officials that need to be addressed by the industry.

It is anticipated that a revised guidance document will be available in the autumn for industry comment, and a greater emphasis on a risk assessment based approach is understood to be under consideration.

Common Water Hygiene Management Training Syllabus BISHTA’s Technical Committee has formed a sub group to revise and update the syllabus required to ensure that water hygiene management courses meet the current expectations. A number of companies have expressed an interest in helping to revise the materials and will be considering offering courses when the new syllabus is in place.

The syllabus involves the following topics: • Types of spas and hot tubs (including exercise/swim spas and settings – domestic/

36 October 2015 SPN 36_SPN_Oct_15_Hot_Tub_News_rev.indd 36

business/commercial) • Why does water need to be treated and filtered?

• What can grow and how to kill it • Products for water treatment • Sanitisers • pH and Water Balance • Risk Assessments • Record keeping • What happens when it all goes wrong?

• Practical water testing

• Written test paper and certification • Troubleshooting tips • Health & Safety advice, including the storage, safe handling and use of chemicals • Insurance.

The course will be held in one day, with the morning devoted to the relevant theory of water hygiene management and the afternoon dealing with practical water testing and a written test, with an expected pass mark of 90%.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 23/09/2015 18:23

SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 23/09/2015 06:46 Page 37

POOL & SPA INDUSTRY

European Standards In this article, industry expert and Chairman of BSI’s sport playground and recreational equipment and Chair of the swimming pool and aquatic equipment committee (SW/136/8) Ralph Riley, gives SPN readers an overview of the various European standards that directly impact on our industry and the vital role that British Standards (BSI) has in this process

T

he impact of European standards is not only relevant to public use and commercial pools, but there are a variety of European standards about to be published, providing guidance on domestic pools as well. While not the law, they are expected to be followed in each country.

BS EN standards have the same status as for example HSE industry guidance. In the UK, we use the prefix BS EN before the relevant number of the standard (denoting British Standard European Norm).

A number of other generic European standards also have some relevance, but will not be covered in this article, thereby retaining the focus on swimming pool specific standards that any self-respecting professional should be familiar with, where applicable. Please note that I am not going to be writing about Managing Health & Safety in Swimming Pools (HSG/179) in this article, as this is UK guidance only, however European swimming pool standards particularly BS EN 15288 and the BS EN 13451 series closely reflect HSE guidance.

As you can see from the graphic below, there are many European standards that directly influence the pool and spa industry.

On the left-hand side, the yellow circle indicates that the standard is directly applicable for commercial pools. On the right-hand side, the blue circle indicates that there is an

38 October 2015 SPN 38-39_SPN_Oct_15_Feature_Euro_Standards_rev.indd 38

applicable standard for domestic pools.

The green where the two overlap indicates that the standard is applicable to both commercial and domestic pools.

Swimming Pool Design And Operation

• Part 6: turning boards.

• Part 7: water polo goals.

• Part 10: diving platforms, diving springboards and associated equipment.

• Part 11: moveable pool floors and moveable bulkheads.

Since 2008, BS EN 15288:2008 Swimming Pools has been in existence with Part 1 focussing on safety requirements for design and Part 2 focusing on safety requirements for operation. These standards are applicable to all public use and commercial pools.

As domestic pools were not included in these particular standards above, BS EN 16582 Domestic Swimming Pools has been developed and will be available very soon. Part 1 details general requirements, including safety requirements and test methods; Part 2 details specific requirements including safety requirements and test methods for in-ground pools; and Part 3 details specific requirements including safety requirements and test methods for aboveground pools.

Swimming Pool Water Filtration, Circulation And Treatment

Swimming Pool Equipment

In-ground Swimming Pool Liners

BS EN 13451: Swimming pool equipment has parts 1 to 11 (although parts 8 and 9 are not available). These standards are applicable for commercial pools (but the general advice is also invaluable for swimming pool equipment in domestic settings).

• Part 1 is general safety requirements and test methods and the other parts provide additional specific safety requirements and test methods for: • Part 2: ladders, stepladders and handle bends.

• Part 3: inlets and outlets and water/air based water leisure features.

• Part 4: starting platforms.

• Part 5: lane lines and dividing line.

BS EN 15836 is concerned with plastics, plasticised poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC-P) membranes for in-ground swimming pools.

Part 1 deals with homogenous membranes of nominal thickness equal to or greater than 0.75 mm and Part 2 deals with reinforced membranes of nominal thickness equal to or greater than 1.5 mm.

While there has been previous collaboration in Europe with commercial pool standards (such as Aqua Europa) there are no commonly agreed standards currently in existence. The role of PWTAG is therefore very important for public use and commercial pool water treatment advice. In terms of domestic swimming pools, BS EN 16713 Domestic Swimming Pools Water Systems has three parts: • Part 1: filtration systems – requirements and test methods • Part 2: circulation systems – requirements and test methods • Part 3: treatment – requirements and test methods

Swimming Pool Chemicals There are over 20 standards detailing what is required from chemicals used for treatment of swimming pools water.

The standards focus on the quality of the materials used to make the products.

Standards are shortly being developed for BCDMH and cyanuric acid. The existing standards are: • BS EN 15031 - Aluminium based coagulants.

• BS EN 15032 - Trichloroisocyanuric acid.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 23/09/2015 18:23

POOL & SPA INDUSTRY • BS EN 15072 - Sodium dichloroisocyanurate, anhydrous.

• BS EN 15073 - Sodium dichloroisocyanurate, dehydrate.

• BS EN 15074 - Ozone.

• BS EN 15075 - Sodium hydrogen carbonate.

• BS EN 15076 - Sodium hydroxide.

• BS EN 15077 - Sodium hypochlorite.

• BS EN 15078 - Sulfuric acid.

• BS EN 15362 - Sodium carbonate.

• BS EN 15363 - Chlorine.

• BS EN 15513 - Carbon dioxide.

• BS EN 15514 - Hydrochloric acid.

• BS EN 15796 - Calcium hypochlorite.

• BS EN 15797 - Iron based coagulants.

• BS EN 16038 - Sodium hydrogen sulfate.

• BS EN 16380 - Potassium peroxomonosulfate.

• BS EN 16381 - Sodium peroxodisulfate.

• BS EN 16399 - Sodium thiosulfate.

• BS EN 16400 - Hydrogen peroxide.

• BS EN 16401 - Electrochlorinator salts.

There are two other standards where products are used for the treatment of swimming pool water: • BS EN 15798 - Filter media.

• BS EN 15799 - Powdered activated carbon.

Other Swimming Standards These standards include a range of topics, such as water slides, buoyant aids for swimming instruction, specifications for managing swimming schools and a new project to revisit an old British Standard on swimming goggles into a world-wide standard.

BS EN 1069 focuses on water slides of 2m height and has two parts, with part 1 detailing safety requirements and test methods, while part 2 deals with instructions.

Currently the group dealing with this standard are also looking at a similar standard for water parks and water play equipment BS EN 13138 deals with Buoyant Aids for Swimming Instruction dealing with safety requirements and test methods for buoyant aids to be worn (part 1), buoyant aids to be held (Part 2) and swim seats to be worn (Part 3).

BS 5883 is currently being reviewed as the specification for surface swimming goggles.

It is hoped that there will be a worldwide standard produced through the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

Finally, some standards are Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) such as PAS 81:2011, specification for the management of a swimming school. A PAS is a process to develop a specification that can be rapidly developed to meet the needs of industry. The PAS is not in itself a British Standard.

How Does The Process Of European Standardisation Work?

Each of these European standards is managed by a specific Technical Committee (TC) within the European Committee for

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 38-39_SPN_Oct_15_Feature_Euro_Standards_rev.indd 39

The impact of European standards is not only relevant to public use and commercial pools, but there are a variety of European standards about to be published, providing guidance on domestic pools as well

Standardisation (CEN), and there are Working Groups (WG) under the TCs to write individual documents. For instance, CEN/ TC 136/WG 8 manages a number of the standards above (such as EN 15288 and EN 13451), but the domestic pool standards are overseen by CEN/TC 402, while the pool liner standards are managed by CEN/TC 249 and the swimming pool chemical standards are overseen by CEN/TC 164!

Within the EU States and the other relevant countries from the wider European Economic Area (EEA) there are 33 countries that have a right to comment on the standards via their National Standards Body (NSB), as well as representative consumer groups, such as ANEC. Each NSB has the opportunity to organise a mirror committee to ensure that views are fed back to the European committee to help shape the content. As the UK’s National Standards Body (NSB), this is the role undertaken by BSI as part of a network that is ultimately co-ordinated by CEN. Many of the standards above are contributed to through UK mirror committee SW/136 /8 (Swimming pools & aquatic equipment) as this allows all of the relevant experts from the represented groups

to have their say on the standards.

It is important to remember that each standard is developed for a period of five years and then is subject to systematic review. There will be public consultation on any European standard, called a ‘CEN Public Enquiry’. It is important to have our say, but important to remember that there are potentially 32 other voices that may not agree with ours, so consensus is very important. The end process is intended to be a workable standard that can be delivered by the whole of Europe, not just some European Member States.

Readers who are interested in contributing to the work on European Standards should contact Matthew Marshall, Programme Manager, Secretary to SW/136/8 on +44 (0)20 8996 7832 or email: matthew.marshall@bsigroup.com Ralph Riley is an independent advisor on sport, recreation and swimming pools, who is Chairman of the British Standards committee (SW/136) covering all sports activities (including swimming pools). He is a Director of PWTAG and also a Director of Swimathon.

SPN October 2015 39 23/09/2015 18:23

POOL & SPA INDUSTRY

All Eyes Are On SPATEX 2016 – 20 Years Old And Stronger Than Ever!

With over 80 exhibitors already signed for SPATEX 2016 (at the time of going to press) and that number growing fast, the show’s organiser, Michele Bridle says the special 20th anniversary edition promises to be an industry spectacular!

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ith four months still to go before the curtain rises on SPATEX 2016 at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, the team has been overwhelmed by the industry’s fantastic response. Since the SPATEX newsline went out at the end of July, with a roll call of our esteemed exhibitors, seven new exhibitors have come on board – Behncke GmbH, Bowman, Pool & Spa Scene, Jetstream UK Ltd, Pool Supplies Ltd, Suntrap and Total Water Products and there are many more in the pipeline.

Michele says: “We have recently welcomed CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute of Management of Sport and Physical Activity) to our ever expanding list of supporting partners. The industry, wide and far, has really embraced us and showed us their support, for which we are supremely grateful.

We are predicting an early sell out with well over a hundred high quality exhibitors, representing the cream of the wet leisure industry from both home and abroad. With the arrival of autumn, our goal is now in sight and we have greatly increased the momentum – planning is well underway for some exciting events to mark our special 20th anniversary edition, news of which we will be disclosing shortly.”

An Upgraded Ricoh Arena Awaits Michele adds: “What better than to have a leading world class venue in which to celebrate our anniversary – SPATEX moved to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena two years ago and hasn’t looked back. It has more than proved itself as a superb location, situated in the heart of the UK, within two hours drive of 75% of the country and offering 2,000 free onsite car parking spaces. And now I am delighted to report that it is getting a multimillion pound upgrade in time for SPATEX 2016!”

A series of planned improvements includes a major upgrade of the Ricoh Arena Hotel to give visitors a total of five bars, three onsite restaurants and over 20 food and beverage outlets. David Armstrong, the Chief Executive

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of Wasps, the professional rugby union club and owner of the Ricoh Arena, says: “We aim to establish the Ricoh Arena as the UK’s leading venue for sport, business and entertainment.”

In a further redevelopment of the facilities, an on-site railway station, with direct links to Coventry and Nuneaton railway stations, will be open in time for SPATEX 2016.

Education – Twice As Good Repeating the success of last year’s double educational programme SPATEX is once again planning a parallel set of free workshops and technical seminars throughout the three days of the show. These have been carefully planned not to overlap in subject matter and

a whole raft of seminars appealing to a new set of visitors is planned, news of which will shortly be released.

SPATEX’s loyal partner, the Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers (ISPE) will be presenting its traditional technical programme of workshops, to run throughout the three days of the show, featuring a wide variety of pool and spa-related topics.

The value of these workshops is well recognised throughout the industry. Keith Moody of La Paloma Contracts, Spain voices the opinion of many when he says: “Each year I come over from Spain to attend SPATEX, not just for the exhibition and display of new products but also for the seminars and workshops. Living and working as I do in Spain, it is important to keep up to date with all the industry training, education and Standards and SPATEX is an unparalleled free source.”

On the Sunday of SPATEX 2016 at 4pm, for 45 minutes, a session entitled ‘Legionnaires’ Disease Awareness’ will look at the steps that can be taken to prevent, detect and combat this silent killer. It only takes one bad outbreak to destroy a business completely. On the Monday at 1.15 pm a session entitled ‘Dealing with Pool Problems’, tackles some commonly encountered problems. For instance, “How much chlorine do I need to put in if the controller packs up?”; “We only ‘floc’ if the pool goes cloudy so why do we need to do it all the time?”; “Why do I need to test the spa every two hours when we have an automatic controller?” and so on.

A number of other sessions are currently being planned and further details will shortly be on the SPATEX website including the full seminar and workshop programme.

SPATEX 2016 takes place Sunday 31 January to Tuesday 2 February 2016 at the Jaguar Exhibition Hall, Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

SPATEX 01264 358558 www.spatex.co.uk

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 23/09/2015 10:46

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Ha

S l l 6 A q e e us ua a St n t a n a le dA 02 1

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STA POOL PLANT – CONTROLLING PH

Controlling pH Robbie Phillips and Richard Lamburn, STA’s Technical Pool Plant Team look at the control of pH – the key to safe, effective disinfection and comfortable, stable pool conditions

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hat exactly is pH? ‘pH is the log of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a volume of water’, or simply a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the pool water.

As the number of hydrogen ions in the solution increases, the pH decreases and the water becomes more acidic. Conversely, as the number of hydrogen ions in the solution decreases, the pH increases and the water becomes more basic. pH is measured on a logarithmic scale which ranges from 0 (acids) to 14 (base), with 7.0 being neutral.

Keeping pool water within ideal pH ranges: • Ensures effective micro-organism destruction • Increases bather comfort • Prevents damage to the pool, its components and equipment.

Ideal pH levels depend on the other four components of water balance (total alkalinity, calcium hardness, water temperature and total dissolved solids), but typically range from 7.2 to 7.8, with an ideal of 7.2 to 7.6 – the lower part of the range the better while still maintaining correct water balance.

Low pH levels can cause chlorine to dissipate rapidly. Equipment corrodes, and pool surface materials etch or crack. There is debate over lower pH levels as at the lower levels the disinfectant effect becomes greater.

However, we will reach a point where bathing comes uncomfortable and the protection of water balance is compromised (corrosive).

At high pH levels, less hypochlorous acid (HOCl) (disinfectant) forms and chlorine becomes less effective. Algae growth might increase, the water may cloud, scaling can occur and circulation pipes can calcify, and filter runs (the time between backwashing filters) often shorten. At high levels skin can be affected.

14

Most Alkaline

13

Sodium Hypochlorite

12 11

Calcium Hypochlorite

10 9

Sodium Carbonate (pH plus)

8 7

Sodium Bicarbonate

Neutral

6 5

Dichloroisocyanuric acid

4 3

Lemon juice Carbonic acid (dissolved CO2)

2

Dry acid (pH minus) Harpic toilet cleaner, Chlorine gas

1 0

Conc. Hydrochloric/Sulphuric acid

Most Acidic

As you’ve probably noticed, pH levels fluctuate constantly. This problem is magnified if total alkalinity levels are permitted to drop.

Pool chemicals, rain, air pollution, the fresh make up water added to the pool, plaster and other pool surface materials and equipment the water comes in contact with, and waste products introduced into the pool by swimmers, all cause the pH to change.

Some products like hydrochloric and sulphuric acid, cyanuric acid, sodium bisulphate, also trichlor tablets are acidic and all cause the pH to drop. Others, like dichlor or carbon dioxide are slightly acidic.

While other chemicals like sodium and calcium hypochlorite, also sodium carbonate are alkaline.

To keep pH in the proper range, the pool operator must test frequently using a photometric method and pH meter, and adjust as necessary.

COMMON PH ADJUSTMENT CHEMICALS Raise pH

Sodium carbonate (soda ash)

As the number of hydrogen ions in the solution increases, the pH decreases and the water becomes more acidic. Conversely, as the number of hydrogen ions in the solution decreases, the pH increases and the water becomes more basic” www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 43_SPN_Oct_15_STA.indd 43

Tiling grout and screed can be destroyed by water lacking in calcium for example, often due to low pH levels. Corrosion of metal parts can cause leaks with potential undermining of pool structure

Lower pH

Hydrochloric acid Sulphuric acid Sodium bisulphate (dry acid) Carbon dioxide (CO2)

The control of pH together with water balance can save substantial costs due to mainly corrosive water conditions.

Tiling grout and screed can be destroyed by water lacking in calcium for example, often due to low pH levels. Corrosion of metal parts can cause leaks with potential undermining of pool structure. They can all potentially cause significant repair bills, together with expensive facility closures and loss of revenue.

STA 01922 645097 www.sta.co.uk

SPN October 2015 43 23/09/2015 18:26

OPINION

The Only Constant Thing In Business Is Change – And The Pace Of That Change Is Constantly Increasing!

“Nothing in life stays the same. Trees grow and cliffs crumble. But when things are constantly changing, and quickly too, how does that make us feel and behave? Do we see opportunities, or a crisis?” Asks Jamie Adams, Managing Director of Golden Coast

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f course, change is good. If it wasn’t for change we’d all be using mobile phones the size of house bricks. We’d be wearing flared trousers and looking at inflation rates of 10% or more. We’d be advertising in the Yellow Pages and have a beeper clipped to our belt in case a customer called.

I don’t think that many of us would want to go back to that, but that was 25 years ago, and in some ways it feels like just yesterday, doesn’t it?

The thing about change in the world today is the sheer speed at which it happens and the fact that things seem to change constantly. It is almost bewildering. And when you are trying to plan for the future of your business, bewildered is the last thing you want to be.

LET’S SEE WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS At a really basic level, running a wet leisure business is easy. You supply goods and services that satisfy the needs of your customers.

But it is at that really basic, fundamental level, that change begins to make things difficult.

What goods will be on the market? We are always looking for innovative new products and products that make the best of new technologies. Some of them are going to catch on and be massively successful; some of them won’t. How do you spot the winners?

What needs are those customers going to want satisfying? There has been a slow and steady shift in customers coming to our industry primarily for fun and relaxation, to more and more people seeking health and wellbeing. But our customers are changing in other ways too.

And the thing is, there are no ‘right answers’, because none of us can see into the future.

Having said that, it is possible to spot trends. You can see general directions that things are going on and take a good guess at how they will affect the wet leisure industry.

44 October 2015 SPN 44_SPN_Oct_15_Opinion.indd 44

BETAMAX OR DVD? HIPSTER OR HIPPY? In terms of products, green looks good.

Whether it is to reduce their energy bills or whether it is for ecological reasons, people are keen to save energy and they are keen to move to sustainable energy sources.

Wind and solar farms dot the landscape. The car industry is putting more and more resource behind electric and hybrid technology. Heat pumps are going in to new build houses almost as a matter of course.

This trend already affects our industry. LED lighting, heat pumps and solar power are all growing areas of the business. Customers understand that they need to pay a little more up front in order to save money in the longer term. Sometimes it feels as if it is we, in the industry, are less keen to promote them because of that higher, initial cost.

Mobile technology and the internet aren’t going to turn out to be a flash in the pan, either.

Devices and applications for measuring and controlling how you heat your home from your smartphone or tablet are becoming commonplace. Are people going to want to turn on their spa, heat their pool and monitor the water quality in the same way? Yes, I think so.

HOW ELSE ARE PEOPLE GOING TO CHANGE? Health and wellbeing is the modern fixation but there are other trends too. People want instant gratification. They have less time and less patience than they used to.

They expect products and installations to be designed and finished to a higher and higher standard. Let’s face it, a modern kitchen drawer closes in a more impressive way than your CD player did.

I THINK WE’LL STICK TO THE OLD WAYS, THANK YOU I’m a believer in tradition and continuity.

Golden Coast has been our family business since 1977.

If employing great people, being fair and being polite and offering the best customer

service that we can all sound like old fashioned values, then I’m old fashioned and proud of it.

But I look at it this way; if our business is exactly the same as it was five years ago, then we are doing something wrong. Because the world has changed, the market has changed, the economy has changed and people have changed.

I’m always asking myself if our business will continue to thrive in its current format. Our management team is constantly challenged to find the next winning formulae.

And we aren’t alone in that.

I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING! A changing future is an opportunity or a crisis, depending on how you react to it.

Kodak, Comet and HMV were all big names that could obviously see how the world was changing but simply chose to ignore it. It doesn’t matter how big you are, if the world changes enough and you don’t evolve, you’ll find yourself extinct.

And then there are businesses that have embraced new technology and become ‘overnight’ sensations. Uber. TransferWise.

Airbnb. And it’s easy to see that technology is at the heart of those business successes, but is it really?

All three of them offer better customer service, a better customer experience. They use a changing world to satisfy their customer’s needs in a new way.

No wet leisure business is a Kodak or an Uber, but we can all learn from them. Accept that the world is changing. Really listen to what your customers are asking for. Keep looking for new ways to keep them happy.

The pace of change isn’t going to slow down, just the opposite, so coming to terms with that and being excited by the future is the one thing that we can all absolutely depend on having to do.

Jamie Adams is Managing Director of Golden Coast, the current Chairman of Pool Industry Promotions (PIP) and a board member of the British Swimming Pool Federation (BSPF).

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 22/09/2015 14:57

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Non slip Decorative Experienced installers Choice of materials

SEAMLESS SURFACES WITH SAFETY BUILT IN Contact us for a quote or site visit.

Telephone:

0044 (0)1622 747909 Email:

sales@flexflooring.co.uk Website:

www.flexflooring.co.uk Flexflooring Ltd, The Mill House, Pympes Court Farm, Busbridge Road, Loose, Maidstone, Kent ME15 OHZ

With over 30 years of experience, PoolLock is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automatic and manual safety covers, automatic slatted covers and heat pumps for swimming pools. Thousands of satisfied customers in Britain over the past 10 years bear testament to the quality, service and reliability of PoolLock products.

In 2013, PoolLock opened its first UK production facility in Gatwick, London, with installation teams that are available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. The result: even better service and faster delivery times for our UK customers.

For more information on our complete range of products, please contact us at

www.poollock.com

SAFETY FLOORING

Affordable Safety That’s Stylish Too There’s literally no room for any slip-ups when it comes to safety around swimming pools and hot tubs, especially if you are a commercial operator.

With flooring materials assessed for how slippery they are when wet and under foot, there’s extra pressure to ensure floors provide a safe level of grip regardless of the conditions. Thankfully, there’s a wide choice of materials available to suit any application and budget. This issue, we examine the options that are enhancing safety in wet leisure environments By Andrea Hartshorne

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ortunately beauty and safety can go hand in hand with the large array of tiles, stones and matting available for pool and spa surrounds. It’s all very well having safety first and foremost in mind but everyone wants style and elegance to enhance their wet leisure enironment. In today’s modern world, with technological advances in safety flooring, this is a reality and the selection of styles and materials on offer continues to grow.

Safety comes first, not just at the water’s edge but also in changing rooms, plant service areas, steps and around water play equipment. Anywhere that water may be present and the possibility exists for a slipping accident. The ranges of flooring options now provide solutions for anything from pools for the very young and the associated play apparatus to sophisticated, up market, private member leisure facilities and many of the safe flooring solutions come at a price to satisfy any pocket. Non-slip no longer equates to zero style and there is a huge selection of flooring materials and colour choices on offer that guarantee to cut out the bumps and bruises and are also impressively easy on the eye – from specially treated slip resistant traditional tiles to the more contemporary granular rubber flooring.

To provide one of the benchmarks of safety, the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) preferred method of testing is the ‘pendulum test’, and many non-slip material suppliers have tested their flooring in this way. It measures dynamic coefficient of friction (CoF) and is designed to replicate a pedestrian heel strike which is the point at which most slips can occur. Floors with an average reading of 36 or above on the scale are considered a low potential for slip. The equipment is portable and can be used in the conditions where slip accidents happen.

In addition to the above, it is worth noting the following from Flexflooring’s Managing

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 47-49_SPN_Oct_15_Safety_Flooring_Feature.indd 47

Director Paul Robinson who advised: “Safety is obviously of paramount importance and especially in a commercial environment.

All surfaces can be slip tested, however I would warn that whatever the claim by the manufacturer, a slip test needs to be done post installation as environmental and installation factors can affect the non-slip properties of most materials and depending on the material used, a test should be redone at a suitable interval.”

Radica from Waxman Ceramics is an established range that has an anti-slip rating of C in barefoot scenarios, as well as a safe SRV rating in both dry and wet areas

ANTI-SLIP TILES FROM WAXMAN CERAMICS Serving the swimming pool and spa industry for over 30 years, Waxman Ceramics is highly astute to the many safety requirements necessary to meet the demanding needs of pool design. Over the years slip resistant tiles have become even more of a necessity, meaning they are more available with a selection of styles at the designers disposal and, as technologies have enhanced, the designs of such tiles have improved – a huge advantage in overall pool finishing.

Waxman Ceramics has a number of tile ranges suitable for pool surrounds and areas

Available in four colour options, Atlanta from Waxman Ceramics is a popular choice among contractors and designers

of high foot traffic, which have undergone anti-slip and pendulum testing by the manufacturer to meet industry standards.

In some cases Waxman can also carry out pendulum testing independently on its tiles, should it be required, meaning customers have a support network if they need further confirmation of a tile’s safety.

Radica, an established anti-slip range from Waxman Ceramics, has undergone such testing via manufacturer and has an anti-slip rating of C in barefoot scenarios, as well as a safe SRV rating in both dry and wet areas.

This, combined with its aesthetically pleasing glazed porcelain façade in a riven finish, makes it a suitably stylish and safe range for poolside areas.

Being well-known for its wide range of mosaic tiles, Waxman Ceramics ensures it has a number of anti-slip options also available in mosaic. Atlanta, a popular choice among contractors and designers, is a glazed ceramic range with the same slip resistant properties as Radica. With the added benefit of four colour options, in mixed and single colour variations, it’s no wonder why this is one of the best sellers.

SPN October 2015 47 22/09/2015 15:00

SAFETY FLOORING NO SLIP-UPS WITH CERTIKIN’S SUNDECK If you are looking for a safe, non-slip flooring that is free draining, cool and comfortable, versatile, low maintenance, hard-wearing and individual then look no further than Sundeck – a rubber chip flooring that is now available as an installation service from Certikin. It is high quality, attractive and functional and suitable for a multitude of applications.

Certikin, using its team of dedicated contractors, will arrange a pre-site visit for a quotation and then schedule the full installation.

A super-safe flooring, Sundeck is made up of a mixture of coloured rubber granules and a two-part epoxy resin. It is laid 6mm thick onto almost any clean, dry substrate such as screed, concrete (if trowel finished) or timber. Being flexible, it is excellent at covering uneven or cracked surfaces. The substrate should include provision for any drainage required since water passes through the Sundeck and will flow into the drainage provided at the substrate level.

Sundeck is offered in ten attractive colours; motifs and colourways can also be incorporated. Aside from pool flooring, it is also suitable for changing rooms, patios, corridors and leisure areas.

CORRECT SOLUTIONS WILL VARY ACCORDING TO FLEXFLOORING Is it non-slip? Is it easy to maintain? Can it be non-porous? What about colour fade? How safe is it? What about chlorine? How long will it last?

These are just a few of the many questions Flexflooring get asked as installers of pool surrounds on a regular basis. Paul Robinson, Managing Director of Flexflooring, responds: “I’m afraid the answer is not always straight forward, as many of these issues are inter-related, not to mention the client’s pool environment.”

Therefore Flexflooring offers a number of solutions to cover the various wet leisure environments.

The Rubbaflex Pool Surround is made from the finest EPDM granules and the best resins to ensure clients get a floor that remains non-slip and bright. Usually porous, there is the option to seal a Rubbaflex Pool Surround by adding eFlex, to make it non-porous.

Rubbaflex Splash Surfacing for commercial wet leisure installations including splash pads and spray parks is also available and has been tailored to deal with the rigours of commercial

A super-safe flooring, Sundeck is made up of a mixture of coloured rubber granules and a two-part epoxy

To provide one of the benchmarks of safety, the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) preferred method of testing is the ‘pendulum test’, and many non-slip material suppliers have tested their flooring in this way” wet leisure environments.

The Mflex Polyurethane Coating is a specialist non-slip coating for the wet leisure industry, ideal for splashpads or concrete paddling pools.

MFLEX is based on a polyurethane anionic dispersion of UV stable aliphatic polyurethane resin, combining a fine rubber (EPDM) granule for non-slip. It exhibits excellent film hardness, flexibility, good water and abrasion resistance coupled with excellent weathering properties.

Finally, there’s their new Resin Bound Stone floor Stonex, which is an aesthetically pleasing and hard wearing finish. Stonex creates a seamless, safe and attractive surface for both domestic and commercial pools.

Made from quartz and stone aggregate plus the best resins to ensure you get a surface that lasts, the Stonex pool surround is porous, with water dispersed via evaporation and natural drainage.

Commenting on customer choices, Paul said: “Rubber has been a popular choice for pool surrounds due to its non-slip and impact absorption properties; however we have seen a growing trend in resin bound stone and epoxy mortar surrounds. Rubber can be difficult to maintain, especially in a commercial environment, where footfall is high, so a good maintenance regime is essential. These harder

ABOVE: Flexflooring’s range includes (from left to right) Rubbaflex (EPDM) (Stanley Munroe (96) V=46), Stonex 3mm (resin bound stone) (Stanley Munroe (96) V=37.2) and Stonex Sand (Epoxy mortar) (Stanley Munroe (96) V=44.8)

48 October 2015 SPN 47-49_SPN_Oct_15_Safety_Flooring_Feature.indd 48

resin bound products are a lot less susceptible to bacterial growth, but additives need to be used to increase non-slip properties, and these additives will wear off over time.”

He concluded: “Unfortunately there will always exist a trade-off between non-slip and ease of cleaning.”

SAFE AND STYLISH SLIP RESISTANCE Non-slip textured stone paving from Golden Coast offers a complete solution. Whether customers have special needs, are growing older or simply include families with young children, poolside safety should always be a prime concern for swimming pool professionals – starting at poolside.

When it comes to safety, a slip resistant surface for entry/exit is essential… as is the ability to create an entirely matching swimming pool hard landscape surround – from patio paving to the coping stones at the water’s edge, all of which can be achieved through Golden Coast’s range of Cranbourne Stone pavings.

Using natural materials, Cranbourne handcrafted ‘sculptured’ stone, such as Timsbury Sandstone, can be used to create a range of effects, from cottage to contemporary, while avoiding the expected stark contrast between coping and paving stones.

Through Golden Coast, a range of natural textured stone for regular sized pools is available, alongside made-to-measure offerings for bespoke pools. It is even possible to have steps leading into the water crafted in the same material.

Customers can choose from a wide-ranging range of natural looks and hues, including: smooth simulated white stone, textured sandstone, natural riven sandstone, fossil pearl limestone, graphite grey limestone or grey flamed granite.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 22/09/2015 15:00

SAFETY FLOORING Using natural materials, Cranbourne’s textured stone achieves a wide range of looks and avoids the expected contrast between coping and paving stones

Designworks Tiles’ colour matching service for drainage grills and covers, ensure the look will be seamless

SAFETY A PRIORITY WITH DESIGNWORKS TILES In areas surrounding swimming pools, spas and hot tubs, there’s no doubt that safety should be one of the main considerations during the design and installation process. In areas that could potentially be hazardous, it is vital that the right products are specified and that they are up to the task to ensure the safety of all users. Designworks Tiles’ range of pool and pool-side tiles has been created with these considerations in mind and offers a selection of superior quality tiles, rigorously tested to ensure that they offer high levels of slip resistance. A beautiful range of slip resistant mosaics is also available, for an added level of safety within pools and spas.

The collection complies with industry standards and features detailed technical information to ensure that the appropriate

product is used in the right area. Methods include pendulum tests and wet ramp barefoot tests. All of the tiles are hard wearing and many are suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Putting safety first doesn’t mean that you must compromise on aesthetics. Their collections include a vast selection of colours, sizes and finishes from minimal plain porcelains to realistic stone effect tiles and decorative products. Large format tiles, mosaics and mosaic effect tiles, which offer easier installation, are all available.

Designworks Tiles prides itself on providing a full selection of formats to enable uniform finish for walls and floors.

Matching coving pieces, step treads and swimming pool grips, and Designworks Tiles’ colour matching service for drainage grills and covers, ensure the look will be seamless.

Restoration Of The National Lido Of Wales CASE STUDY:

Following a major restoration project costing £6.3m, Lido Pontypridd, – The National Lido of Wales reopened this summer.

Spearheaded by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, Heritage Lottery Fund and Cadw the redevelopment has totally transformed the landmark Grade II listed lido.

The project included the remodelling of the lido, to provide three heated pools.

Kent based specialists Flexflooring were involved in the project and have been busy with the restoration of many council run lidos in what seems to be a growing trend.

Kier, the main contractor appointed Flexflooring to install 400 square metres of their Artic blend around the pool’s perimeter.

This was installed with a UV resistant binder ensuring the surround maintains its original colour.

Kier first installed the concrete base which was then allowed to cure for 35 days.

Flexflooring then ground the surface to remove any laitance and to improve the mechanical key. They then primed the surface with a solvent free polyurethane binder before using their latest piece of machinery, the P207, known to their team as Marius, to install a consistent finish at 6mm.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 47-49_SPN_Oct_15_Safety_Flooring_Feature.indd 49

Ceramic tiles, stone and paving, rubber tiles and matting, rubber chip flooring – these are just some of the options available when dressing the surrounds of a pool, spa or wet leisure area.

Gone are the days of the plain, Designworks Tiles’ range of one colour, bobbly pool and pool-side tiles offer a selection of superior quality tiles that everyone tiles, rigorously tested to seemed to have ensure that they offer high levels of slip resistance surrounding their pool. The dramatic and striking effects that customers want are not just possible but an affordable reality.

In addition to the materials on offer, with so many choices in colour and finish, flooring can lend itself in assisting any wet leisure area by offering a subtly understated feel to shout out fantastic at the other end of the scale. Leisure related companies and domestic owners will protect both their visitors and themselves by making sure their wet leisure areas are safe, secure (and impressive) from the floor up!

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Certikin North 0113 393 4545 www.certikin.co.uk Designworks Tiles 01392 473037 www.designworkstiles.com Flexflooring 01622 747909 www.flexflooring.co.uk Golden Coast 01271 378100 www.GCTrade.co.uk Waxman Ceramics 01422 311331 www.waxmanceramics.co.uk

SPN October 2015 49 22/09/2015 15:18

TILED SPAS & SWIM SPAS

Luxury Tiled Options That Create A Lasting Impression

By working with Rigo Spa, Certikin are able to offer an impressive tiled spa line up and a solution for any situation

For commercial facilities that require a compact luxury water experience with durability built in, it’s hard to beat a tiled spa or swim spa. With unique finishes combined with installation flexibility and resilience, it’s no wonder these products are enjoying such success. Their bespoke nature has made them a hit for high-end domestic installations and designers love them too thanks to variety of options on offer. This issue, we take a look at what’s on the market By Jon Wadeson

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hen a spa or swim spa is on the ‘want’ list, for many customers, an off the shelf solution just won’t do. Sometimes it’s due to access issues, but increasingly it’s because of the need to have that illusive something special, a real one off. That certain something that makes a statement or creates the perfect first impression that really lasts along with the product itself! Whether we like it or not, appearance is everything in today’s world so for many, the flexibility that tiled spas and swim spas offer can’t often be beaten and that’s thanks to the wide range of luxury finishes, materials, styles and sizes on offer.

“Over the last four to five years, it’s definitely swung more towards the tiled spa market now as people become more used to installing them and the options that are available. A lot of companies were confident of installing acrylic spas but now they’ve got used to the tiled spas – the options, the tile choices and how you can bespoke the spas – they are definitely pushing the tile

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offering more,” said Certikin International’s Commercial Manager Steve Nelson, who added: “At Certikin, the amount of tiled spas is far exceeding expectations and the amount of companies that are installing tiled spas is growing every day.”

Demand for tiled spas and swim spas is strong across both the commercial and domestic markets too, with the volume split between the two starting to even out. “In high end installations, high net worth clients are demanding a tiled spa rather than acrylic option as they want their spa to match their pool,” said Steve. “Commercial tends to be the private health clubs and with tiled spas being able to have them split means a lot of them are replacing acrylic spas in hard to reach locations. We’re also seeing the remnants of spas from the boom of the health clubs in the late 90’s coming to the end of their life and tiled spas going in to replace them.”

Whatever the requirement and use, the tiled spa and swim spa sector offers numerous

options to today’s discerning customers and it’s a sector that is going from strength to strength. This issue, we take a look at some of the bespoke solutions that are on offer.

CERTIKIN AND RIGO – THE POWER OF TWO The Commercial division at Certikin is a real success story and it can justifiably claim to be a major player in the highly competitive commercial marketplace. As previously mentioned, one sector that has shown particularly impressive growth is tiled spas for both the domestic and commercial sectors and much of this success is due to the close working relationship and co-operation with its Liverpool based supplier, Rigo Spa Ltd. The partnership between Certikin and Rigo began in April 2011, some three years after Rigo was established by its joint owners and directors, Tom Coan and Richard Gowland. The company was launched with the aim of offering the industry a full ‘turn-key’ package consisting of design,

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TILED SPAS AND SWIM SPAS Designed specifically for our climate, Spa De La Mare’s spas and swim spas are easy to maintain and are very energy efficient

With Rigo Spa as their supplier, Certikin’s Commercial division can provide an outstanding service for their customers and satisfy the requirements of the most demanding contract

fabrication, installation and maintenance, which they still do to this day.

Certikin’s Commercial Manager, Steve Nelson said: “With Rigo as our supplier, we can provide an outstanding service for our customers and satisfy the requirements of the most demanding contract. The impressive tiled spa line up includes ten standard domestic skimmer spas, seven standard commercial overflow spas, five standard vitality spas, four standard swim spas and one snail plunge pool and an infinite amount of bespoke options!”

Steve added: “Everything can be tailored to suit a specification and décor, from the size, shape, number and type of jets and the choice of tiles and this goes for domestic, light commercial and heavy-use overflow applications. The possibilities are endless.”

Rigo’s Richard Gowland says proudly: “We use the finest materials on the market to manufacture our fibreglass tiled products with stainless steel leg frames and market leading internal fittings.In addition to this we have our in-house team co-ordinating with Certikin to meet the requirements for all the different options on the tiled spas.”

Watch out for the eye-catching new tiled spa brochure from Certikin coming soon that will enhance your opportunity to sell and promote the tiled spa range.

TILED SOLUTIONS FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS TO THE UK AND BEYOND! Founded in 1980, Guernsey based Spa De La Mare can confidently claim to be one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fully tiled spas and swim spas, which are now distributed around the world.

The company has developed exacting standards for their product based on a combined 70 years’ of experience of current owners Dean Gallienne and Mike Fossey.

Their success in the pursuit of excellence has resulted in the company winning seven consecutive SPATA awards for Best Spa Company, providing independent confirmation of the highest standards of quality and service that they offer.

Created using the same concept, both

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the spa pools and the swim spa range offer an unmatched quality with a finish of Briare porcelain, which gives them a unique character. They offer the maximum of comfort in the minimum of space.

Designed specifically for our climate, Spa De La Mare’s spas and swim spas are easy to maintain and are very energy efficient, both in power output and heat retention and can be adapted to suit the client’s vision, commercially or privately.

When it comes to installing your spa or swim spa, Spa De La Mare’s team of dedicated technicians see all projects through from start to finish. They have worked with everyone from A-list celebrities and royalty to the man in the street – clients that have in common an appreciation of the value and sheer quality of the Spa De La Mare range of products. Whether inside or outdoors the company’s technicians work closely with their clients to create a solution to fit with the ambiance of the surrounding

environment, whether contemporary or traditional.

HIGH DEMAND FROM CHESHIRE WELLNESS Tiled spas and swim spas have been a popular product at Cheshire Wellness for the last 25 years and the company has found the versatility in shell design and specification has always been a winning factor for clients wanting a personalised hydrotherapy product.

The beauty of finishing a spa or swim spa with mosaics or large format tiles enables the product to complement any interior design or the aesthetics of a room, be that indoor or outdoor. The tiles themselves provide infinite choice and a longer lasting, more durable surface. Another important factor in choosing one of their prefabricated tiled products is a drastically reduced installation programme time compared to a concrete pool, spa or swim spa as the products are all completed and tested in their ISO 9001 accredited factory.

Spas That Comes In Two Parts (Or More!)

One of the great USPs of the Certikin tiled spa is that it can be delivered split into two, three, four and even eight sections!

It’s the perfect solution for new build or refurbishment projects where access is a potential problem. This opens up the opportunity to replace or include a spa where previously considered not possible. The spa is rejoined on site by a highly skilled team and the joint hidden by tiling. All the spas come fully finished from the factory and can be tiled in a vast range of designs from 20mm mosaics to large format tiles or the customer’s own choice can be used.

Their high specification includes water hydrotherapy

jets for localised massage, air injectors for all over massage, an underwater light, a floating heat retention cover and full support leg kit. The number and arranged of fittings can be installed in almost unlimited layouts in each spa, with the functionality double-checked by Rigo.

Highly versatile, they are available for use in domestic, light commercial and heavy-use overflow applications and come in attractive round, square and octagon shapes. All the spas come fully tiled from the factory and in a choice of attractive glass mosaics. Alternatively, the customer can supply his own choice of tiles.

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TILED SPAS & SWIM SPAS

CASE STUDY:

This popular curved-end swim spa from Cheshire Wellness provides timeless elegance and is a huge success in mainland Europe

At Cheshire Wellness, they have a few firm favourites. Their most popular curved-end swim spa provides timeless elegance and is a huge success in mainland Europe. Another stunning design is the ‘infinity spa’, finished in large format natural stone and mosaic combination. They recently completed a great renovation project for one of their national clients, replacing a leaking acrylic spa with a new bespoke mosaic tiled spa. It’s amazing the difference a fresh tiling design can bring to a spa. As they are able to create all of their prefabricated spas at their factory, this meant that no building works were required on site for the client, with no interruptions for their clients’ use of the facilities.

In terms of latest technologies, they’re a fan of the River Jets in swim spas, a market alternative to the Endless Pool option. The River Jets look more compact in the swim spa and complements the aesthetics of their designs.

CATALAN STYLE WORKING WELL FOR AQUAVIA SPA Spanish brand Aquavia Spa has been gaining significant ground in the European market due to its stylish designs that are finding favour with dealers seeking alternative options for their discerning customers. Eight years ago a multi-million Euro injection of capital funding was the catalyst to creating a cutting-edge Aquavia Spa production facility in Cervera near Barcelona. The factory now creates diverse products with unique features to compete with established brands that have cornered the European and global markets.

Aquavia offer four dedicated ranges; the Exclusive, for owners requiring sophisticated design; Premium, with elegant and fully-equipped hot tubs and swim spas; Aqualife, providing contemporary functionality and value; as well as the Professional range for commercial and public use including the tiled spas. Along with maximum quality, the Aquavia Spa factory is also committed to providing its

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CERTIKIN SPA GRABS ALL THE HEADLINES AT THE HEADLAND! Overlooking Fistral Beach in picturesque Newquay, The Headland Hotel has earned itself a reputation for being a haven of calm and tranquility, bordered as it is by the soothing sight of the Atlantic Ocean. It is this quality that the owners wanted to capture when it came to the refurbishment of its existing pool with the addition of an impressive wellness suite.

The hotel turned to the services of specialist pool builders of over 13 years standing in the South West, Apex Pool Engineers Ltd of Goonhavern and it was they who recommended the highly sought-after Tranquillity Wellness range from Certikin.

Every detail was considered to ensure maximum relaxation and pampering and included was a 3m diameter overflow tiled one-piece spa with double clusters of jets and air were all duly installed in time for a grand opening late spring.

Paul Heather of Apex Engineers said: “This is the first time that we have installed the Certikin one-piece tiled spa and it went in like a dream. Throughout the whole project, we worked closely with Certikin’s Commercial division, and in particular Steve Nelson. He was first class in his recommendation of equipment and advice with any installation issues.”

Over the last four to five years, it’s definitely swung more towards the tiled spa market now as people become more used to installing them and the options that are available” dealers and their customers with excellent after-sales service and long-term warranties.

The Professional range offers an array of options with shell finishes in acrylic colours, stainless steel and mosaic tiling.

Models include the Elegant, Kish, Hawai, Hydra, Martinique Oasis 40, Oslo, Bali, Izaro, Capri-Rodas, Antigua, plus the Barcelona in-ground. The Hawai and the Hydra spas are the largest options produced by the factory in the commercial spas range and provide capacity for 11 and ten people respectively within their octagonal shaped designs. A mosaic finish is incorporated into the Hawai, while the Hydra has an acrylic finish and both designs have been launched to target discerning commercial facilities.

Dedicated commercial features are also provided by the seven-seater Izaro, which is the factory’s most fully-equipped and luxurious spa in the Professional range. It provides users with the The Professional range from Aquavia Spa offers an array of options and includes numerous models including the Kish

ability to benefit from the chromotherapy techniques provided by the LED projector.

Filtration systems are sold separately for the Professional models, which include options such as an automatic chlorine dosing dispenser and an ozonator.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Aquavia Spa +34 973 533 795 www.aquaviaspa.com Certikin International Ltd 01993 777200 www.certikin.co.uk Cheshire Wellness 0151 336 3417 www.cheshirewellness.co.uk Rigo Spa Ltd 0151 236 4259 www.rigospa.com Spa De La Mare 01481 701333 www.spadelamare.com

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A NEW CLASS OF HOT TUB

Whether the demand is for standard technology hot tubs with all the features or premium outdoor pools, the Villeroy&Boch product range has it covered: innovative technology, outstanding quality and impeccable design right down to the very last detail. Simply put: qualities for which the Villeroy &Boch brand has stood since 1748.

Come and see us and discover the great variety now offered

by Villeroy&Boch: UK POOL&SPA EXPO 22 – 24 November 2015 Pavilion Hall NEC Birmingham Stand E10

Why not become an exclusive specialist dealer?

Please contact us at: Villeroy&Boch AG theodorou.christos@villeroy-boch.com Phone: 0044-7730 667207 WWW.VILLEROY-BOCH.CO.UK V&B_SwimmingPoolNews_A4/3bleed_PRINT .indd 1

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HIGH-END HOT TUBS

Tubs At The Top-End

With a RRP £15,595 inc VAT, the Hydrus is part of Spa Crest’s Vision series

There’s no stopping hot tubs at the moment and as with many lifestyle products, that applies to the premium end of the market too. Promising an experience that was once reserved for the rich and famous, the luxury end of the hot tub market is a key battleground for both manufacturers and retailers. With models featuring the latest technology and innovations, hot tubs over the key £10,000 mark aim to provide users with the ultimate experience. This issue, we look at the brands and models competing at this luxury end of the market By Jon Wadeson

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hilst not accounting for the largest amount of sales, hot tubs over the magical £10,000 mark still represent a very key and lucrative section of the sales market in the UK and beyond. Many brands are reporting decent and in some cases very strong growth as an increasing number of customers have both the appetite and funds for high-end products that command a premium price tag thanks to them featuring all the latest technologies and innovations.

There will always be a luxury end to any market and more often than not, despite lower volumes, margins are better and it’s often the top-end of a market that weathers the financial storms much better. This makes them an essential part of any overall offering.

There’s plenty of choice available too with many flagship models being regarded and

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often used as the ambassadors for each brand and this issue, we take a look at just some of the options on offer at the luxury end of the hot tub market.

HIGH-END HAPPINESS FROM ARTESIAN Artesian Spas have always strived to be at the forefront of luxury spa technology and pride themselves on being a high-end, innovative company. A customer will already expect a superior design for comfort and quality of build, but Artesian push further to provide a hydrotherapy experience like no other! Artesian Spas have two Premium lines of spas, their Island Class and Platinum Elite Class, both of which heavily focus on hydrotherapy, energy efficiency, water quality and user experience.

As most are already aware, Artesian have an array of patented technology on these

ranges including their Helix™ jet design and DirectFlow™ technology. The Helix™ jet utilises a special shaped jet cylinder to create a powerful double helix spiral of water flow, providing one of the best deep tissue massages possible from any hot tub. DirectFlow™ technology is exclusively available on Artesian’s Platinum Elite range and is another fantastic innovation of recent years, whereby each person within the spa has their own personal control for their specific seat. This technology introduces a Variable Flow Control (VFC™) which can be likened to a dimmer switch, allowing the user to set their massage pressure to low, high or anywhere in between without affecting the water pressure anywhere else in the spa as a diverter would. The individual control also has the ability to turn the pump and air inducers on/off for a single seat. The small 1.4hp energy efficient pumps, along

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HIGH-END HOT TUBS

Artesian Spas pride themselves on being a high-end, innovative company producing models such as this, the Platinum Elite Class Pelican Bay

with the DirectFlow™ technology have created the most powerful yet energy efficient spa range on the market.

Artesian Spas also offer a whole host of other innovative features on their most luxury ranges, such as Wavemotion technology, Crystal AOP water purification, and the ability to control your stereo and even your spa wirelessly. There is even a new computerised topside control that allows you to delve further into the mechanics of the spa than ever before, so there really is something for every gadget fan with an Artesian spa.

CALDERA CANTABRIA AIMS TO BE IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN! Supplied exclusively in the UK by Certikin International, the Caldera Spa range offers high-end models with its Utopia™ Series of hot tubs. Featuring five models known for their thoughtful styling and performance enhancements, the Utopia Series offers the pinnacle of hot tub enjoyment for discerning spa owners. Signature features like the EnergyPro™ heating and circulation system, integrated FROG™ in-line water care, Hot Tub Circuit Therapy™, and the convenient LCD Advent™ control panel complement a host of exclusive points of distinction on the Utopia Series models.

Sitting right at the top is the flagship model,

the Cantabria. This magnificent spa doesn’t need to justify its position as the range topper of the popular brand – its quality speaks for itself and it is as stunning as it is imposing.

A very spacious spa, measuring 2.74m by 2.35m by 97cm deep, it is a true eight-seater with no skimping on space! Such is its size, the spa comes with a Cover Lifter as standard. Its high specification includes 74 powerful water jets, 14 air jets and three 2.5hp pumps plus Spa Frog and Ozone. It comes with the latest blue tooth technology with amazing sound quality as standard and the much-talked about Ultramassage system which has an electronic sequencer which operates valves to send water to each jet to give up to six different massage patterns and speeds.

HANDCRAFTED AND UNIQUE PRODUCTS FROM COAST SPAS For almost 20 years, Coast Spas’ innovations have been changing the hot tub industry. From lighting and filtration systems to design and entertainment integration – the Coast Spas brand has been a relentless pioneer in the shaping the modern hot tub. Handcrafted in Canada, Coast Spas continues to hold the highest standards for quality and reliability as one of the only hot tub brands in the world that are built in an ISO 9001:2008 quality certified facility.

Their high-end Luxury Curve and Cascade Series Spas are the very definition of a premium spa. The seating and massage jets are carefully engineered to maximise space and comfort all while providing the highest level of hydrotherapy with powerful jet pumps and oversized plumbing. A luxury hot tub is deep and their hot tubs are some of the deepest in the world. This provides the bather with more leg and foot room and offers seating that is more upright and comfortable. All premium Coast Spas’ models have a commercial-grade Cyclonic Filtration pressurised filtration system

as a standard feature. This removes the hot tub filter from the main hot tub area – because after all – who wants to sit in the same water as their filter?

Coast Spas also offer the only portable infinity edge hot tubs in the world, including the world’s only infinity edge swim spa. A true declaration of taste, class and style – an infinity edge hot tub is at the pinnacle of luxury in the spa world. This is not your neighbour’s hot tub and you can be assured that family and friends have never seen a hot tub like it. The infinity edge offers zero water displacement, no loud bobbing skimmers and the very best view that money can buy.

JACUZZI® OFFER REVOLUTIONARY DESIGN AND LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE The latest hot tub range from Jacuzzi® establishes a new standard in garden luxury by combining innovative technology, a ground breaking design and the legendary Jacuzzi® hydromassage.

The J-585™ incorporates a revolutionary waterproof glass touch screen control with smartphone integration. The integrated smartphone app allows the user to heat up the water on their way home, activate maintenance reminders and even alert a local dealership of any service needs.

The J-585™ features a superior hydromassage for which the Jacuzzi® brand is known and a new PowerPro® FX Directional Jet, designed to relieve tension and improve circulation in the hip area through a bold spiral-action massage. Additionally, the new PX Jet placement delivers a focused massage to key pressure points in the wrist.

With a cutting edge curve design, you’ve simply never seen a hot tub that looks like this.

The weatherproof Curvalux™ exterior mimics the weave texture of designer outdoor furniture, accented by the glow of innovative exterior corner lights. Multi-colour internal lights behind dual waterfalls fuse sight and sound.

The J-585™ is as much of a design piece as it is a dynamic hydromassage experience.

With elevated edges the stunning hot tub A true declaration of taste, class and style – an infinity edge hot tub from Coast Spas is at the pinnacle of luxury

Sitting right at the top of Caldera Spas’ Utopia™ Series is the flagship model, the Cantabria

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HIGH-END HOT TUBS

With a cutting edge curve design, you’ve simply never seen a hot tub that looks like the J-585™ from Jacuzzi®

measures 231 x 231 x 92 cm and offers room for six to seven adults, making the J-585™ a perfect gathering place.

Available in eight shells and two cabinet options, the J-585™ has optional features of Bluewave® Spa Stereo, Premium Speakers and Amplified Sub-Woofer.

STABLE OF PRODUCTS HELPS SPA CREST WITH HIGH-END Spa Crest Europe have benefitted from the strategic branding within their stable of products, with three distinct product lines aimed at the top, middle and bottom of the acrylic spa market. Tony Welsby, Spa Crest Europe’s Managing Director, explained: “Within Spa Crest Manufacturing’s product range, hot tubs are marketed under three distinct brands, Spa Crest, Coastal and Vision, with Spa Crest being presented as good, Coastal as better, and Vision as best.”

So, how does this strategy benefit prospects who are looking for a high end hot tub whilst assisting Spa Crest retailers faced with such a prospect in closing a sale? Tony continued: “As with any market, there is always a proportion who are not price-driven and look to buy the best, and this end of the market has held up

The twin-lounger Gemini is part of Spa Crest’s top-end Vision series

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well and expanded over the last year or so.

We even get people occasionally ask dealers, straight off the bat, ‘what’s the best one you do?’. It’s important to ask lots and lots of questions about the client’s needs, desires and aspirations, not just their budget. This will help you gauge where they sit in the market, and narrow down to two or three likely models which suit their criteria. Then, having the three separate brands within the stable makes it very easy to point high end buyers straight in the direction of the Vision range, as, whilst it has the same excellent build quality and reliability of any Spa Crest hot tub, it has demonstrably superior features, specifications and performance benefits over the other two brands which build value and justify the £10,000 price breaks compared with the other two brands, and which high end buyers demand.”

VITA’S TOP-END TUBS PROVING TO BE VERY POPULAR Aqua Warehouse Group, distributor of Vita Spa’s in the UK, have noticed a significant increase in their higher end 700 series sales during 2015, with sales up an incredible 78% on 2014 so far to date.

“It was immensely important that with the economy and our industry growing again that we had our high end spas full featured and competitive in the £10,000 price bracket, a bracket we’ve not really targeted before,” commented Graham Message of Aqua Warehouse Group. “It was also important that our dealer network understood our 700 series and are able to promote the wealth of features it has compared with other manufacturers at a similar price to us,” continued Graham.

The 2015 Vita 700 series has had some nice features added with Smart Touch Controls, Symphonic Wave Seat, Wi-Fi and UV purification now fitted as standard in the UK. In this modern world we live in where most devices are now touch screen operative, the new Balboa Smart Touch controls has simplified the spa use as it’s as simple as using a smartphone, even when wet!

Many brands are reporting decent and in some cases very strong growth as an increasing number of customers have both the appetite and funds for highend products that command a premium price tag thanks to them featuring all the latest technologies and innovations” Vita’s new Symphonic Wave Seat is fitted to all 700 models and this special seat offers a totally different and fast moving massage from four rows of jets that cover the whole back.

This versatile massage sequence allows only one row of jets on at any one time and quickly move down each row before returning to the top row again, an incredibly soothing addition to any hot tub.

Vita Spa also go that little extra when it comes to water management. Some manufacturers use Ozone in their spas, a few use upgraded UV for their purification, however the Vita 700 series takes the belt and braces approach to purification and uses both UV and Ozone units fully to maximise their water management system that works alongside the high volume circulation pump.

With all these features, a competitive price point and fantastic margins for the dealers you can see why the Vita Spa 700 series is proving so popular.

The 2015 Vita 700 series features models such as Chateau and has had some nice features added such as Smart Touch Controls

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HIGH-END HOT TUBS

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Artesian Spas 01302 730295 www.artesianspas.co.uk Certikin International 01993 778855 www.certikin.co.uk Coast Spas +1 604 514 8111 www.coastspas.com Jacuzzi Spa & Bath Ltd 0113 272 7430 www.jacuzzi.co.uk Spa Crest Europe Ltd 0844 871 8730 www.spacrest-europe.com

The new Just Silence model from Villeroy & Boch features a minimalistic European design that focuses on cubist shapes and a bicoloured concept

CUSTOM-MADE RELAXATION FROM VILLEROY & BOCH The new Just Silence model from Villeroy & Boch features a minimalistic European design that focuses on cubist shapes and a bicoloured concept. Thanks to the patented JetPak™ II technology which is exclusive to Villeroy & Boch, the tubs have a multitude of individual massage functions for a relaxation experience that caters to personal needs.

The massage functions can not only be selected individually, but new functions can be added and adapted at any time. The removable back rests that hold the jets can be exchanged and attached to any seat, even when the product is tub is filled with water.

There is a choice between eight JetPaks™ and users can enjoy their favourite massage, for example of the neck or lower back, in their favourite seat, sitting up or in a reclined position. The JetPaks™ are easy to handle and low-maintenance.

The outdoor Just Silence is designed with a current European architectural style in mind that is understated and simple. This new puristic look and modern design is accentuated by the JetPaks™s. LED lights are integrated in the narrow rim of the tub.

In the dark, they illuminate the outdoor whirlpool all around and create a unique lightness. The result is a design that really works. The ergonomic tub is cast in one piece and has been intentionally constructed without the usual ‘clutter’ of many other products.

The colour scheme is deliberately minimalist as well. The outer panelling, bright and modern in attractive Light Grey, is combined with a white interior shell.

This gives the Just Silence a lightweight character which can easily be combined with all available colours of an outdoor space – harmonising perfectly with patios or lounge style gardens.

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Another distinctive feature of the Just Silence is the new arrangement of the seats which has not yet been seen in this form in the market. Up to five people can sit in the tub across from each other at an angle – a position that allows sufficient leg room and is ideal for relaxation and conversation.

THOSE SEEKING THE HIGH-LIFE SHOULD CONSIDER THE HIGHLINE One of the leading companies in the European hot tub market and renowned for their strong focus on technology, Hungarian manufacturer Wellis produces spas that are full of innovative features and that are certified to meet or exceed German TUV quality standards.

Having started in 2003, the manufacturer has gone from strength to strength and has five clearly defined ranges. As the name would suggest, their ‘HighLine’ series of hot tubs cater for the high-end sector of the market and this series of hot tubs offers high power combined with the latest technologies.

The series includes a dozen models including the Elbrus Premium model.

This seven person massage spa will wow users and retailers alike with its underwater colour LED therapy lighting. The Elbrus is made of premium materials which include antibacterial acrylic sheet, Poli-Max polyurethane foam reinforced body, vacuummoulded ABS floor pan and a UV-resistant brushed plastic side cover. UV-C water disinfection system, a WPC frame and aromatherapy are all provided by the high-end spa. A main control unit and

Villeroy & Boch +49 (0) 686 4810 www.villeroy-boch.com Vita Spa UK 01245 477 400 www.vitaspa.co.uk WELLIS Hungary Ltd +36 2956 4380 www.wellis.eu

two extra control panels are also included with this model allowing massage control from any of the seats and the Pulsar™ system enables a choice of nine tailor-made massage programmes in one of the seats.

A fantastic AquaSOUL™ sound system and smartphone WiFi application are included in the basic equipment of the Elbrus too.

Wellis produces spas that are full of innovative features including the seven–seater Elbrus Premium model

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SWIMEX: The quality affordable solution!

Fixed Enclosure for Schools & Private Customers All sides lift from ground level to 2m • Superbly made! #1 UK Swimming Pool Enclosures Supplier

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ENCLOSURES

Eye Catching Pool And Tub Enhancing Enclosures

Although Arch full height enclosures start from 5m wide, the company is known for their larger enclosures up to 23m wide (16ft – 82ft) and any length

Providing all year round swimming, regardless of the unpredictable UK weather, a pool enclosure reduces both maintenance and running costs for commercial and domestic pool owners plus it adds safety too. There’s no doubt that having an enclosure is an investment, but having one means owners can maximise the full potential of their swimming pool. From the big to the small and to suit any size and shape of pool, we take a look at the options that are available to cover up By Karen Witney

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espoke or budget, pool enclosures are a sure-fire way of extending the season, reducing running costs, preventing kids or animals from entering the pool whilst unsupervised and generally adding to the whole pool fun concept. Enclosures have evolved hugely since they first came onto the UK market and can be fixed, telescopic or attached to existing walls. Hot tub owners are also opting for enclosures rather than gazebos to enable them to star gaze whilst soaking. Available in many shapes and sizes these good looking cover-ups are just the thing for our sadly short British summertime and with workable guarantees plus full installation services, pool and hot tub owners, both residential and commercial, will be over the moon that you showed them exactly how to take cover.

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ENCLOSURES DESIGNED FOR THE UK CLIMATE Telescopic Pool Enclosures have been installing bespoke retractable and fixed enclosures in both high and low options on residential pools, commercial pools and spas since 1991 and to date, have provided hundreds of installations throughout the UK. The company offer a wide range of exclusive products from Europe and have both high buildings and low retractable enclosures that can be motorised and are unique in the UK. All are made to measure and unlike most standard sizes that are available, the large enclosures are designed for the UK climate with a proper glazing system (the only one in the UK) to allow for a gasket and pressure bead so all glazing can be easily replaced if need be. This is unlike

other enclosures offered that have their glazing held within a trench in the aluminium extrusion so that if it should discolour or break, replacement can be quite difficult, if at all.

With a wide range of possibilities, the enclosures can be single or double glazed with many roof options in 16mm triple walled polycarbonate such as Solar Reflective or tinted or if preferred, glass, allowing far greater use with improved insulation and less issues with condensation misting.

Being bespoke, the enclosures may have different combinations of fixed or retractable sections that are offered in any RAL colour (not fluoresce or metallic) and options include self cleaning glass, double glazed with solar reflective glass, tinted, patterned or clear with door options as sliding, bi-fold

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ENCLOSURES With a new partnership and a brand new Endless Summer range, when it comes to enclosures, Certikin are able to cater for every possible permutation

so that the enclosure is not accessible to children.

Certikin offers a free site survey.

Installation is optional to give full peace of mind, or supply only and provide guidance should it be preferred.

ARCH HIGH ENCLOSURES MEAN ALWAYS SWIMMING IN COMFORT

doors and separate fly-screen doors to keep out insects when doors are opened.

The enclosures are constructed on site and take a greater time to complete allowing for more attention to detail. As they are constructed on site, there are no issues with access or location. Full planning and building regulations are taken care of and all projects are managed to ensure customer satisfaction.

Large span enclosures are possible too and incorporating walls and buildings is no problem as they use glulam beam goalposts to enable a central or off centre beam to offer greater flexibility in choice.

For those with smaller budgets Telescopic Pool Enclosures have other low mid height and high enclosures, with Spa & Hot Tub Enclosures, Retractable Garden Rooms and Pool Decks, there’s something for all purposes and pockets.

The Low Enclosures that the company offers are the lowest on the market and are amongst the few that are available with interlocking sections – so large to smallest or smallest to large – and there are no gaps when closed thanks to a neoprene skirt. The enclosures are available in tracked or untracked models, although tracked is recommend if they are motorised, and are glazed with clear solid or minimum 8mm twin walled polycarbonate.

Telescopic Pool Enclosures offer long guarantees with 15 years on glazing and ten years on installation and product (excluding motorisation).

CERTIKIN’S NEW ENCLOSURE OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS Certikin is now able to offer a more extensive range of pool and spa enclosures than ever before, thanks to its new partnership with leading enclosure designer and manufacturer, Aqua Comet. In addition, the brand new Endless Summer range of high quality, custom-made enclosures includes fixed models (with opening side windows) and various telescopic options.

Every possible permutation is catered for including low level, high level, lean to, fixed and sliding options. One of the most popular ranges is the Galaxy, which is fixed with sliding windows and comes in three different designs. A unique feature is the so-called ‘Iris’ end – an optional extra which is rounded in shape and has wide opening doors.

The Orion is another stunning range that offers telescopic opening and closing without railings through the use of an extremely strong yet visually light-appearing structure.

Aesthetically elegant, the enclosures are aluminium in structure with twin skinned polycarbonate walls. Any RAL colour is available including a unique wood style finish which allows the enclosure to blend into its natural environment. The enclosures are suitable for many applications (both commercial and domestic) and not just swimming pools and spas – indeed they can offer an outside ‘living’ room for any use. The easy to handle sliding doors can be locked

Arch have many different models to choose from, full height, low level or super flat and are they designed for home, schools and commercial use.

Although Arch full height enclosures start from 5m wide, the company is known for their larger enclosures up to 23m wide (16ft – 82ft) and any length.

To accommodate these larger widths they have five different structural arch designs.

It is not a case of ‘one size fits all’. They have been structurally designed taking into account wind and snow loadings and weather conditions we are likely to have in this country. The size of the profile used is governed by the width required. Their largest arch allows for a 23m wide enclosure. The calculations for each individual enclosure are provided for building regulation approvals.

Rails provide stability and smooth operation. However this is not enough to prevent an enclosure being blown off the rails in a high wind.

For telescopic enclosures, Arch Enclosures can link several mobile vaults together thus reducing the number of vaults and the number of ground rails. This is important as each mobile vault telescopes into the next.

Therefore with many moving vaults the height and width of the enclosure is reduced. The more vaults the lower the head height.

The Super Flat Telescopic Enclosure from Arch Enclosures is a modern solution for those looking for a non-obtrusive, elegant and stunning looking cover, but still providing complete safety. And, is an easy retrofit.

A four vault cover is only 0.52m high.

Clear polycarbonate glazing adds to the ambience at night when the pool lights are on. Extended rails allow the cover to be telescoped completely clear of the pool and it is installed on super flat 12mm rails.

The arrest system allows the segments to

Low Level Telescopic Pool Enclosures such as this one from Arch Enclosures are becoming more and more popular for those wanting to extend the swimming season

The Super Flat Telescopic Enclosure from Arch Enclosures is a modern solution for those looking for a non-obtrusive, elegant and stunning looking cover, but still providing complete safety

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ENCLOSURES Summit are now able to offer the Visio enclosure for the domestic swimming pool market

The Visio enclosure from Summit Leisure was originally manufactured for the spa and swim spa market and has proved a great success

lock and unlock each other automatically as they slide.

Low level telescopic pool enclosures are becoming more and more popular for those wanting to extend the swimming season, provide security and save on cleaning and heating costs but do not want a full height enclosure. The safety system allows the segments to lock and unlock each other automatically as they slide.

Five different models are available in widths up to 8m. Each model has a choice of two heights, two glazing options and a choice of colours. Extended rails allow the enclosure to be telescoped completely clear of the pool.

A tape measure, mallet and drill is all the equipment needed to install the enclosure which is fitted in less than a day.

SUMMIT LEISURE RING THE BESPOKE CHANGES The range of static and retractable pool enclosures from Summit Leisure caters for every possible requirement. Low, medium and full height models in standard or bespoke design and the ability to span up to 24 metres puts the company in a position to be able to cover any requirement for just about any pool. All models are based on the same concept: Incredibly strong and attractively designed marine grade powder coated aluminium profiles available in any RAL colour and engineered in a choice of roof shapes. Toughened safety glass side and end wall glazing are features along with a special patented guiding mechanism that permits the enclosures to be trackless in most instances.

Summit also offer a budget range of low profile enclosures called the Ultima, which is designed to compete with the lower end of the market. Although the Ultima isn’t in the same price range, they still incorporate a very high standard of engineering and some unique features: trackless, choice of opaque or clear glass roof, louvered vents to the side of the unit for ventilation and the option to be motorised, which makes it a serious alternative to traditional safety covers.

At Summit the static Visio Enclosure is also one of the best engineered on the market. The Visio enclosure was originally manufactured for the spa and swim spa

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market. This static structure was designed to extend the use of a spa or exercise pool but had the added advantage of good ventilation by allowing the roof panels to open up.

The Visio enclosure has proved a great success and so with further investment and engineering, Summit are now able to offer this enclosure for the domestic swimming pool market and they are the only company that is able to offer this wonderful concept within the UK. Summit have seen many changes within the last few years and have noticed a growing popularity towards the bespoke designed enclosure for domestic and commercial use and an increase in the lower end bracket.

With this in mind, more investment has been made and shortly the company will be releasing their latest range to cater for these ever growing sectors.

ALBIXON MEETS DEMAND WHATEVER THE NEED ALBIXON has its own production facility, including their own powder-painting factory and the company works with quality German suppliers of materials (aluminium and polycarbonate). With their tailor-made production, the company are able to keep costs down and they export to 53 countries and have 25 years’ experience in the production of enclosures.

Through constant innovation ALBIXON holds dozens of patents and quality certificates such as TÜV, AFNOR, ISO, GSB Int. and QUALICOAT. Also worth mentioning is their membership of the prestigious FPP Association and cooperation with international suppliers Bayer, ARLA and Constellium.

Various types of ALBIXON enclosures are meeting the demand of a wide range of clients and uses. Is your customer looking for a low profile shape or do they want to utilise inner space under the enclosure? Do they want to enclose the pool or are they looking for a suitable solution for the spa?

Just choose from ALBIXON’S wide range and enjoy all the benefits of any selected product.

The range includes the Casablanca, a model which boasts smooth lines and modern design. It is made in high and low variant

Available in many shapes and sizes these good looking cover-ups are just the thing for our sadly short British summertime” which meets even the highest expectations for the pool enclosure.

In the company’s smart line, the Klasik and Klasik Excellence are models that fits in every garden and are gradually becoming the best-selling type of enclosure in Europe.

There’s also the Dallas and this type of low enclosure fits just anywhere and boasts a versatile and practical design.

The ALBIXON BOX is an enclosure is for standard pool sizes and is packed in a box for ease of shipping and offers the enclosure protection.

ALBIXON is also able to manufacture customised/non-standard enclosures upon request.

The Casablanca from ALBIXON. A model which boasts smooth lines and modern design. It is made in high and low variant which meets even the highest expectations for the pool enclosure

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ENCLOSURES SWIMEX AMALGAMATES AND SAVES SCHOOL POOLS Swimex Enclosures Ltd – the new company amalgamating Swimex’s Enclosure and SwimTech’s Technical Service businesses together under one umbrella – is Saving School Pools! With its pool dealer partners, Swimex is involved in several ‘Save our School Pool’ projects. Some schools are faced with a dilemma – put a proper cover over the old pool (sometimes with old buildings often brilliantly supplied by the PTA some 25 or 30 years ago), to get more usage with local swimming clubs and swim-schools, or fill in the pool and lose that facility completely (itself a costly exercise).

As Official Galaxy Partner in the UK, Swimex are able to assist schools with this dilemma. The Galaxy is an arched fixed building with concertina bi-fold front, lift up sides and is available up to 14m wide for commercial pools.

The fixed Swimex Galaxy complements the superb telescopic EasyGlide (Eureka Pool Cover) of which they have installed

Just one of Swimex’s solutions is the Galaxy – an arched fixed building with concertina bi-fold front, lift up sides and available up to 14m wide for commercial pools

over 700 alone, up to 17m wide.

Swimex Managing Director Chris Elliot says: “The fabulous Galaxy product offers

CASE STUDIES: SWIMEX SOLUTIONS

RESCUE SCHOOL POOLS Swimex has come to the rescue for several SOS projects in 2015 and for 2016 offer a full turnkey or will work in partnership with other contractors for ground concrete work, tiling etc.

With Poolman in Chelmsford, Swimex combined at Earls Hall School (Essex County Council) to replace a very old, dilapidated design with a brand new Galaxy fixed building with lift up sides – including a couple of sections raised to extra height at one end Hertingfordbury School pool to accommodate the existing prior to refurbishment air handling unit on top of the changing rooms. Swimex’s team completed the contract for Poolman by putting a bespoke Galaxy and then brand new rubber flooring throughout.

At Hertingfordbury (Hertfordshire County Council), Swimex won the turnkey against competition and with partner Renfurb, completely demolished the old unsafe building over the unused pool, to retile the pool, install a new Galaxy, with The refurbished pool complete integrated separate Boys and with new Galaxy enclosure Girls changing rooms and new larger central pool house. The new facility, opened in May 2015, includes automatic dosing system, LED lights for full rubber floor throughout including the night and winter operation and of course a new thermal cover. changing rooms, new filtration, a fully

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a cheaper alternative from a mature manufacturer. Now there is a feeling of confidence out in the market, we are very glad that our pool professionals, old and new, some working with us since the old Eureka days with Jeff and myself, are now talking to Swimex about fixed Galaxy, to complement our EasyGlide telescopic enclosure, offering their clients a choice.”

For 2015/16, Swimex has a new company structure. Now moved on are former Finance Director Matthew Clipstone and Rob Owen, Installer. Their places are taken by Janet Perkins (who has vast finance and contract experience in the construction industry) and Piers Owen who is promoted to Technical Contract Team Leader.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: ALBIXON 020 3318 0497 www.albixon.com Arch Enclosures 01444 411411 www.archenclosures.co.uk Certikin International 01993 778855 www.certikin.co.uk Summit Leisure 01264 850001 www.summitleisure.co.uk Swimex Enclosures Ltd 01832 275333 www.swimex.co.uk Telescopic Pool Enclosures 01722 323460 www.telescopicpoolenclosures.com

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SPN OCTOBER 2015_Layout 1 22/09/2015 00:04 Page 65

www.archenclosures.co.uk

All of your needs -

¨ 01444 411411 or 01444 411376 â enquiries@archenclosures.co.uk

Y Supplied

covered

and installed nationwide

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WINTER DEBRIS COVERS

The Winter Cover Up

Plastica’s tried and tested Criss Cross winter debris cover

For outdoor pool owners, the arrival of autumn means that it will soon be time to put the pool into hibernation for the colder months. One invaluable product for many that will be ‘winterising’ their pools is a quality winter debris cover. Keeping the pool clean and ready for a quick start start-up when the warm weather returns, winter debris covers are the perfect defence against leaf drop and UV, whilst safeguarding children, pets and wildlife from the water. This issue, we cover what’s on the market By Karen Witney

D

ebris or not debris that is the question!

And the obvious answer is NOT!!!

Of course outdoor pools should be protected and put to bed for their much needed winter hibernation after another summer of work and play. Once all the winterising steps have been taken, water balanced, pool vacuumed, backwashed, equipment drained, winter chemicals added then the final step is installing the winter cover. When winter winds distribute debris across the pool area a debris cover will prevent any nasties entering the pool and encouraging algae growth. Most winter covers are manufactured from a specifically formulated tight mesh that allows rainwater to pass through

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but nothing else. Made to fit almost any pool shape or size, including above-ground, a winter debris cover is a cost effective protective pool cover-up until winter passes and the time comes for that much welcome spring opening.

With that in mind, now is the time to advise on winter pool protection, says Golden Coast.

Having enjoyed the summer peak of activity in their outdoor pools, it’s now time to remind customers that winter is approaching and protection is needed if they are to get the most out of next year’s pool season.

The company adds that defence against the effects of freezing is an obvious concern but pool structures can also be damaged by UV rays – even in the coldest months. An effective

winter cover will exclude leaves and other debris, and will form a barrier to UV, as well as safeguarding children, pets and wildlife.

Meanwhile, winterising chemicals will take care of the water’s health and chemical balance, and a simple floatation device can be used to prevent complete freezing over of the pool surface.

“It’s important that pool owners should take precautions to ensure continued year-on-year enjoyment of their facilities,” says Golden Coast’s Managing Director Jamie Adams, adding: “And it makes excellent business sense for pool installers to take the initiative in giving timely advice to customers on winter covers and other aspects of winterising.”

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WINTER DEBRIS COVERS ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS COVERED? As you might expect, Golden Coast is ready with a variety of covers that meet differing customer needs and budgets. The company stresses that a summer solar cover should not be used for debris and UV exclusion over the winter as it will be damaged by frost and its life will be shortened. An exception to that rule is found in its EnergyGuard range of solar covers. These can be used in winter, as well as summer. Truly versatile, they save energy, water and chemical consumption by insulating the pool and absorbing the sun’s radiation during warm periods – all while continuing to keep out debris and protect the pool all year round.

Constructed using GeoBubble technology, their many additional benefits include inhibition of algal growth.

Golden Coast’s purpose-designed Swimmer winter debris covers are made from a durable polypropylene mesh specially formulated to filter out debris while allowing clean water into the pool. Available in a range of sizes and shapes to ensure a tight fit for any pool, they can also be manufactured to accommodate structures, such as intruding ladders and outside step sections. Customers may choose a Classic version or the Superweb option. This, which is supplied with a ten-year guarantee, offers crisscross webbing, stainless steel spring fixings, reinforced strap points and other extrastrength features.

As exclusive UK distributor for the full range of stylish and advanced automatic slatted pool covers from DEL, Golden Coast has recently introduced the manufacturer’s unique IVERNEA winter shield. It provides an economical way of protecting slatted covers, while excluding debris. Made from robust polyethylene fabric, the shield is available in a choice of green or blue to blend discreetly with its environment, and is surrounded by a

The IVERNEA winter shield from Golden Coast protects slatted covers on outdoor pools over the closed season

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Aquaflex’s winter debris covers offer the perfect solution to keeping leaves and other unwanted items out of the pool

peripheral screen that captures leaves and dirt, as rain water filters through it. With its clip and elasticated cord attachment system, it fits directly onto the slats of the cover and avoids the need for any unsightly fixtures on the pool surround. IVERNEA is compatible with all of DEL’s slatted covers, as well as products from other leading manufacturers which use PVC or polycarbonate slats.

AQUAFLEX’S DEBRIS DEFENCES Aquaflex debris covers are a popular choice with the pool trade and for very good reason.

Winter protection is vital for any pool and Aquaflex’s winter debris covers offer the perfect solution to keeping leaves and other unwanted items out of the pool whilst shielding the pool water/liner etc, from what even in winter can be damaging UV rays from the sun. Made from specially formulated, top quality, durable polypropylene, this tight mesh allows rainwater to pass through but keeps the pool water crystal clear.

There are two types of debris cover available from Aquaflex; The Emperor and The Sovereign, both of which are supplied with a storage bag and a three year pro rata guarantee. All covers can be manufactured to accommodate ladders etc intruding into the pool as well as step sections outside the pool.

All varieties of shape and size can be supplied, with standard sizes generally available from stock. All rectangular covers are made one foot (0.30m) larger than the pool all round (i.e. add two feet (0.60m) to the width and length of the pool to calculate the cover size.

The Emperor is anchored using stainless steel, spring assisted ‘P’ anchors and is also available with criss-cross reinforcing straps between all anchor points. Additional protection from abrasion is provided by the anti-chafing strips on all straps and large square reinforcing panels on all corners.

The standard interval between straps is 4’ to 5’. Closer spacings (usually 3’) as well as continuous anti-chafing panels around the perimeter of the cover, are available as optional extras.

The Sovereign is anchored using rubber tensioners and ‘P’ anchors.

These tensioners are connected to the cover by eyelets spaced at 4’ to 5’ intervals around the perimeter. Each eyelet point is protected by an anti chaffing strip.

For complete protection, coupled with low cost, the Aquaflex Easibag cover is the answer. It completely seals off the pool for the winter so that light is prevented from entering and causing algae growth. Debris and water which build on top of the cover need to be removed in the spring before removing the cover. In order to make it easier to remove the cover in the spring, an optional mesh drain is supplied. If desired, the PVC covering the mesh can easily be cut away with scissors.

Unless otherwise requested, all Easibag covers are made 2’ (0.61m) bigger all round than the pool. This means that the cover will be 4’ (1.22m) wider and longer than the pool itself.

Samples of Aquaflex debris cover material are freely available and the latest brochures of Aquaflex products and price lists can be downloaded from Aquaflex’s website. Known for their excellent customer service and support just call any of the experienced team to answer any queries you may have or to obtain further information.

YOU’RE SPOILT FOR CHOICE WITH PLASTICA For over 40 years Plastica have been manufacturing winter debris covers. From humble beginnings the company now manufactures from their 120,000 sq ft facility on the south coast.

Designed and manufactured by Plastica in the UK, the PoolSaver Manual Safety-Covers is one of the best value for money safety covers on the market. Designed for use all year round, the product offers great winter protection during off-season. Manufactured from solid, opaque material the cover virtually eliminates all light, resulting in an algae free pool when

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WINTER DEBRIS COVERS

Certikin debris cover on sail shaped pool neatly incorporating step unit

Plastica’s hands on winter debris covers in the making

spring arrives. PoolSaver is manufactured to AFNOR test specifications for added peace of mind.

Available in Deluxe and Criss-Cross versions, Plastica’s Traditional Mesh Winter Covers have been tried and tested over the past 40 years and are still a firm favourite with the pool trade.

New for 2015, the company’s Supreme Heavy Mesh Winter Covers are similar in design to traditional mesh covers, but feature a mesh thickness of 288gsm, which is nearly twice as thick as conventional mesh covers. They are semi-opaque to ensure outstanding prevention against algae infestation.

Also new for 2015 are their Opaque Debris Covers. These solid, tarpaulin winter covers are available with either webbing straps or bungee fixings. Designed to eliminate all sunlight, Opaque Debris Covers are the winter covers of choice in mainland Europe and are now becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Samples are available on all types of Plastica winter debris covers upon request.

CERTIKIN COVERS UP FOR WINTER Having notched up over 40 years of making covers, Certikin is one of the country’s leading specialists in providing top quality winter debris covers.

As you would expect of a top of the range cover, they are made of grade ‘A’ woven polyethylene, which has been proven to withstand the most rigorous of British climates.

Together with specially formulated anti-chaffing pads, reinforced corners and polished stainless steel spring fittings, it means that they are the very best on the market.

There are three standard options to choose from – the Maple, the Criss Cross which additionally features webbing straps stitched across the full length and width of the cover for extra strength, and the Cedar which

also includes a tough PVC skirt stitched to the underside of perimeter and fixings at approximately 1m centres.

Each are individually made to the customer’s specifications, fit perfectly and look attractive – be it kidney, kite, oval or a simple rectangular shape. Available in green, blue, grey and tan, all covers are supplied in a box and with a storage bag and have a five year guarantee.

A cover will keep the pool clean for when it is opened up again in the spring – the heavier weave Maple Ultra cover option, which combines the classic style and simplicity of the existing maple cover but with the superior strength, eliminates almost all light penetration; considerably reducing the chance of algae growth. Surface water will slowly seep through the fabric, keeping all other debris on top.

Finally there’s the Certikin Above-Ground Winter covers which are ideal for timber pools. Covers are manufactured from the same materials as standard debris covers and can be made to almost any size and shape; ladder entry points can also be included.

Their standard design allows the cover to fold 50mm over the edge of the timber frame, but other preferences of sizing can be accommodated if specified at point of order.

Certikin Above-Ground Winter covers are available in green and blue.

PLASTIPACK PROVIDE GLOBAL POOL COVERAGE Since its inception in 1999, Plastipack Ltd has matured into a global distributor of pool cover and water-saving materials with a reputation for quality, innovation and dedication to outstanding customer service.

Within the niche market, their in-house development team’s focus is to create materials that meet the global call to action around the

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shrinking of carbon footprints. Technical and marketing support is part of the service as they endeavour to contribute to the much needed mind shift around environmental awareness.

Plastipack has grown since their formation to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of swimming pool cover materials.

Their EnergyGuard and CoolGuard swimming pool covers are a great investment because they can be used all year round.

A typical woven mesh winter cover prevents leaves and debris from entering the pool. It will allow light through and therefore require chemical treatment to prevent algae growth.

When used in conjunction with a woven mesh debris cover, the EnergyGuard and CoolGuard covers have a black underside that blocks the light from entering the water, therefore stopping photosynthesis and inhibiting algae growth.

This means that a pool owner will save many hours of preparation time by not having to filter, backwash and vacuum the pool, as well as saving money on chemicals and electricity usage. A great start for the new swimming season! SPN

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Aquaflex 01722 328873 www.aquaflex.co.uk Certikin North 0113 393 4545 www.certikin.co.uk Golden Coast 01271 378100 www.GCTrade.co.uk Plastica Ltd 01424 857802 www.plasticapools.net Plastipack 01424 851659 www.plastipack.co.uk

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AQUA EXERCISE EQUIPMENT

Pools Are No Longer Just For Swimming

Easy Pools have been supplying the 100% French made Archimède range of aquatic exercise equipment to the UK for a number of years

Exercising in water provides resistance to activity and reduces the impact to the body, so with these benefits, it’s no surprise that aquatic exercise for general fitness, rehabilitation or just plain fun has taken off. Whether it’s providing exercise sessions in the water or turning pools into complete gyms, commercial operators are now providing a wide range of options to cover a multitude of needs. Aquatic exercise is crossing over into the domestic pool scene too so this issue we put the sector under the spotlight By Jon Wadeson

A

qua, or aquatic exercise, is a sector that despite being a huge fitness phenomenon across Europe and beyond, is only really now starting to take off in the UK. And that’s somewhat of a surprise as there are many benefits associated with exercising, as opposed to swimming, in a pool.

With water providing resistance but at the same time also providing support, burning off calories while during a pool workout with an aqua bike, aqua treadmill or other equipment is a great way to exercise for a wide variety of people who have different fitness levels and very also very different needs.

Those that are already fit benefit greatly from the resistance that the water provides and often burn off as much as twice the

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calories that a similar land based workout would.

Where as those that are coming back from injury benefit from the support and almost weightless conditions that water provides with a smooth workout and decreased weight, and therefore less strain, on joints, muscles and ligaments. The buoyancy and low impact benefits also assists those that are over weight, or people who have muscular or joints problems such as arthritis plus pregnant ladies seeking a less strenuous form of exercise than that which traditional options often provide.

Aqua exercise is a more inclusive form of using a swimming pool too as those that participate don’t need to be able to swim or have the level of fitness that regular

swimming often requires. In commercial settings and with the number of classes on offer on the increase, aqua exercise provides a great social setting and a fun full body workout experience for everyone, at every fitness level.

Offering aqua exercise classes is a great revenue booster too and doesn’t need to take up much space or time for facilities that offer it. Importantly, it can also often be a point of difference between competing leisure facilities and an often unique experience that can be enjoyed by all and scheduled around other peak time activities.

With the UK sector poised to follow in the footsteps of other European countries, this issue we take a look at some of the options on offer.

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AQUA EXERCISE EQUIPMENT

Aqua, or aquatic exercise, is a sector that despite being a huge fitness phenomenon across Europe and beyond, is only really now starting to take off in the UK. And that’s somewhat of a surprise as there are many benefits associated with exercising, as opposed to swimming, in a pool”

Generating a lot of interest from the commercial sector, Certikin’s AquaBike is available in a wider range of colours

CERTIKIN SAYS GET “ON YER AQUABIKE”!

Water is fantastic for exercising in because of its natural resistance but add a bike and it’s even better!

Launched at LIW last year and generating a lot of interest from the commercial sector, the AquaBike is lightweight at 17kg (measuring 120 x 60 x 140cm) and is ideal for use in leisure pools, health facilities and rehabilitation centres. It can be transported quickly and easily into any pool.

It is adaptable to the depth of pools ranging from 120 cm to 170 cm and can be used with or without water shoes. It comes in orange, green, red, blue, dark blue and yellow.

ARCHIMÈDE RANGE OFFERS AQUA EXERCISE OPTIONS GALORE! Easy Pools have been supplying the 100% French made Archimède range of aquatic exercise equipment to the UK for a number of years.

Featuring the very best raw materials and components available, each of the products is verified at each step in the manufacturing process and all equipment is checked on exiting the company’s workshops.

Designed for the commercial sector, the Pro Range of aqua bikes from Archimède feature additional corrosion protection and come with a 2 year warranty

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The comprehensive Archimède range consists of aqua bikes for the commercial and domestic markets, plus aqua treadmills, aqua cross trainers and even an aqua trampoline!

Designed for the commercial sector, the Pro Range of aqua bikes feature additional corrosion protection and come with a two year warranty. They can be used in pool water depth of between 3.5 to 5 feet so can accommodate users between 5 and 6 feet tall. Their pedals are equipped with toe clips and straps (although aquashoes are recommended) or can be equipped with comfortable wrap around foot straps for bare foot pedalling and two flaps under the pedals act as a flywheel with pedalling getting harder as speed increases. With three models in the Pro Range, resistance can be increased through the use of a unique Double Resistance System which features flaps plus blades or cups.

Each Pro model features four rubber suction cups so no matter what type of pool they sit in, the pool floor will be protected at all times.

If sitting and exercising is not needed, then walking, running and exercising underwater have never been easier with the Self Powered Treadmill Aquarunner from Archimède. It features two independent tracks that allow asymmetrical movement from both legs.

Aquarunner offers a new and original aquatraining programme to all individuals and is The Self Powered Treadmill Aquarunner from Archimède.

It features 2 independent tracks that allow asymmetrical movement from both legs

usable in water heights between 4 to 5 feet.

Finally, and offering something completely different, there’s the Professional Mini Trampoline. The product is versatile in that it and can be used both in and outside of the pool. It features a stabilising balance bar to double the number of exercises and the rebounder has been designed for use in a wide range of operator environments.

When not in use, you can neatly and efficiently stack multiple units vertically, so only the footprint area of a single product is needed. Suitable for all ages, all fitness levels and abilities, Professional Mini Trampoline is an excellent cardio-training machine with great calorie-burning effects. It also reduces trauma to joints thanks to its flexible elastic cords which make rebounds gradual when compared to traditional coiled spring alternatives.

THE COMPLETE PACKAGE FROM H2O SPIN-IN LTD AND ITS PARTNERS H2O Spin-In Ltd are the UK distributor of Poolbiking, one of Europe’s leading producers of aquatic exercise equipment. The company are also the trading partner aquAllure who provide pool biking sessions at locations in London.

The Poolbiking concept was born from the passion of a French entrepreneur for aqua cycling, and the expertise of a celebrity personal trainer with the idea of becoming the best manufacturer of aquatic fitness machines. The company have been manufacturing stainless steel products for swimming pools for 15 years and with this experience combined with their dedication to quality, innovation and a committed team, the Barcelona based company now offer a wide range of trailblazing solutions from physiotherapy to health improvements and are one of the aquatic fitness market leaders.

They work closely with doctors, physical therapists, sports men and professionals, and thanks to them they develop the best

SPN October 2015 71 23/09/2015 18:18

AQUA EXERCISE EQUIPMENT H2O Spin-In Ltd are the UK distributor of Poolbiking, one of Europe’s leading producers of aquatic exercise equipment

With a moving pool floor, a pool can become a multifunctional area that can be adjusted to meet the needs of sportsmen and women, the elderly, the handicapped and children

biomechanics applied to water and get the best results in rehabilitation and sports enhancement.

The company has three divisions: Fitness, Hotels and Rehabilitation and they tailor each machine to each sector; the result is a range suitable for each client: fitness centres, rehabilitation centres, hotels and spas.

H2O Spin-In Ltd can offer fitness clubs and leisure facilities these different tailored solutions according to their needs and requirements.

“By introducing these no-maintenance aqua-bikes into the area of your leisure facility – which are expensive to run – you create a new fitness area, attract new customers and turn your swimming pool into a profit centre. We are also offering full

training and support,” said the founder. In fact, H2O Spin-In Ltd proposes a full training package with one of their master trainers from their partner aquAllure.

AQUATIC THERAPY AND EXERCISE OPTIONS FROM SWIMMING POOL FITNESS A moving swimming pool floor vastly increases the versatility of the pool environment for aquatic therapy and exercise. Floors can be adjusted, altering the water depth to suit each user and this accessibility and versatility is sure to attract a wide range of users.

The pool becomes a multifunctional area that can be adjusted to meet the needs of sportsmen and women, the elderly, the handicapped and children.

UNDERWATER TREADMILL PROVIDES IDEAL AQUATIC THERAPY SOLUTION CASE STUDY:

The Clavadel in Guildford, Surrey is a 32 bedroom, purpose built care centre specialising in post operative rehabilitation and convalescence. One of their most important facilities is the 6m x 4m hydrotherapy pool with moving pool floor and integrated underwater treadmill supplied by Swimming Pool Fitness.

This pool is split equally into two areas with one side offering a 3m x 4m moving swimming pool floor with an integrated underwater treadmill.

The moving pool floor allows all of their clients to receive the ideal care and rehabilitation with aquatic therapy. The floor can be lifted to the top of the pool for easy access even with wheelchairs and the depth adjusted to alter the intensity and resistance for every user.

The addition of the underwater treadmill brings the floor to life by giving users the opportunity to walk, jog or run at different intensities whilst feeling the reduced weight bearing, pain relief and improved circulation associated with aquatic therapy.

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The in-pool treadmill is the next step in active, water based rehabilitation. Due to the movable floor the therapist has the ability to adjust the water depth to the demands of the patient. This makes it possible to start the rehabilitation almost right after surgery. Next to that, therapy is suitable for anybody at any stage of rehabilitation.

The underwater treadmill can be used for rehabilitation purposes as well as for physical training or weight loss purposes. The treadmill is fitted with a touch screen control, for easy adjustment of speed and depth.

Underwater treadmills are available as integrated in-floor models, but also available as drop-in models that can be removed from the pool area.

With two or more movable floors, it is possible to use the pool for different groups at the same time. For instance, one part of the pool can be used for exercises with children, while the other part is used for exercises with adults. A moveable safety curtain serves as a protection for the underlying space and both floors can be adjusted independently.

Moving floors from Swimming Pool Fitness are easy to use and require the minimum of adaptation to the pool construction.

The company offers a wide range of possibilities to meet client specifications and they can be applied in new, as well as existing pools.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Archimède / Easy Pools Ltd 01444 411411 www.swimpools.co.uk Certikin International 01993 778855 www.certikin.co.uk H2O Spin-In Ltd 020 8935 5043 www.aquallure.co.uk Swimming Pool Fitness 01299 252575 www.swimmingpoolfitness.co.uk

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wellis.eu

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SHOW PREVIEW

A Brisk Return To Brum We preview the fourth UK Pool & Spa Expo which with a new schedule, returns to Birmingham’s NEC in late November By Jon Wadeson

T

he UK Pool & Spa Expo returns to the NEC’s Pavilion during 22 - 24 November and whilst some annual events seem to come round quicker and quicker each year, this one actually has with this, the fourth edition taking place a good four months ahead of the previously scheduled date.

It means a second event during 2015 for the exhibition and whilst some will view this as far from ideal, the move follows an unsuccessful attempt to merge the exhibition with SPATEX which would have resulted in a single event at the start of the calendar year.

However, after it was clear that no combined event would happen, the show’s organisers decided to move the exhibition in-line with the other events on the global show timetable. The change will also see next year’s event running in October, ahead of Lyon. Event Director Claire Saunders explained: “With change comes progress, in order to move forward, stay abreast of what is best for the industry and break new ground, we must adapt. The new dates come into line with global events. It allows us to stand apart from any other show in the UK and is therefore perfectly placed for companies to showcase their newest products to the UK marketplace.”

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According to the team at show organiser’s New Events, staying at the NEC was an obvious choice. With the rail, road and air transport links arriving right on site it makes it the ideal location for both domestic and international exhibitors and visitors and with the new Resorts World, the social scene opens up a whole new networking arena (not to mention a luxurious choice of hotels, bars and restaurants).

Also staying the same will be the panel forum which was a real success earlier this year. Alongside it there will be seminars on safety and energy efficiency as well as the opportunity to gain a Certified Pool Operators certificate at an onsite two day course.

So what’s new? Aside from the date change, the event team has been working hard on trying to get the right balance of exhibitors to the show. There had been a number of comments that the event leant too much towards the spa and hot tub sectors and whilst it has certainly enjoyed success attracting many well known brands from those sectors, special attention has been paid to the swimming pool companies and how to make sure there is a good balance of each.

Portrait Pools, Doughboy and On-site Pool Linings will be leading this particular parade with a number of ancillary companies giving

the support that the New Events team hope will attract not only pool seekers, but also owners and upgraders. Crown Pavilions, Pooldek by Stage Systems and The Brio Group are all new for this edition but many old favourites will also be returning.

They include the team at Aqua Warehouse Group (whose brands include Vita Spa, LA Spas and Aqua Spa Supplies) who will again have a large presence at the show along with substantial offerings from Wellis, Passion Spas, Spa Solutions, Superior Spas and Villeroy & Boch. After a year’s absence, returning for this edition are Hydropool too.

With free parking, free Wi-Fi and free tickets to the show, it is clear that UK Pool & Spa Expo are doing everything they can to bring value to both visitors and exhibitors of the wet leisure industry. The organisers are excited about the latest scheduling strategy which makes sense and takes some pressure off the start of the year for many companies and they feel it will take them forward and make them become the right choice for pool and spa professionals both in the UK and around the world.

UK Pool & Spa Expo 01483 420229 www.ukpoolspa-expo.co.uk

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SHOW PREVIEW

Cologne’s Shows Continue To Grow Closer Together Taking place in late October, we preview Cologne’s aquanale, one part of a duo of exhibitions that are proving to be a winning formula By Jon Wadeson

T

he next editions of aquanale (the International Trade Fair for Sauna, Pool and Ambience) and the International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities, FSB, are being held in Cologne from 27 to 30 October 2015 and all the signs indicate they are both going to be a success.

With two shows coming together as one, the event has gone from strength to strength over recent editions and with the relocation to the modern Northern Halls of Koelnmesse, aquanale and FSB also have a new hall concept that is divided up into themes. Already existing synergies in the private and public swimming pool, sauna and wellness sector will be more efficiently presented, which will further improve the event for both exhibitors and trade fair visitors. In addition to the exhibitors, the joint supporting programme, which once again this year targets visitors from the private and public swimming pool sector, is also worth some attention.

Once again, all areas of the private and public swimming pool, wellness, sauna and spa sectors are comprehensively represented in Cologne, all under one roof in Hall 6 and divided into six clearly defined themed worlds.

As such, the Cologne trade fair duo maps one of the biggest marketplaces of the swimming pool industry following the successful amalgamation of the wet leisure areas of aquanale and the FSB area ‘Public Swimming Pool Construction’ back in 2013.

The biennial exhibition attracts many high quality brands from across Europe and beyond and this year’s event is no exception. It will also feature names including Alukov and

NIVEKO who will present a fully functional overflow pool from their EXCLUSIVE line so visitors have an opportunity to view one of the many overflow pool solutions they offer

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All the signs indicate that aquanale 2015 is going to be another successful edition

Aquacomet with their ranges of enclosures, The Tintometer with their water testing solutions, Pentair with their wide range of innovative products, NIVEKO who will present a fully functional overflow pool from their EXCLUSIVE line so visitors have an opportunity to view one of the many overflow pool solutions they offer, plus Alpha Wellness Sensations who many may know from their UK show attendance with their high quality saunas. The list of names is an impressive one and goes on and on.

There will be a number of names and brands exhibiting in Cologne that will be familiar to those attending from the UK too. Flying the flag and exhibiting their latest products will be Certikin International, Elecro Engineeing, ITS Europe, Golden Coast, Waterco Europe and Triogen to name just a few.

A complete and comprehensive list of all the exhibitors can be found on the exhibition’s website.

6TH COLOGNE SWIMMING POOL & WELLNESS FORUM For the sixth time, aquanale and FSB will be presenting trends and themes that affect the wet leisure, sport and wellness industry in their congress programme. The 6th Cologne Swimming Pools and Wellness Forum will provide information, ideas and practical tips as well as an outlook of the development of the industry on all four days of the trade fair. Koelnmesse is, together with the bsw (the German Association of Swimming Pools & Wellness e.V.) and IAKS (the International Association for Sport and Recreational Facilities e.V.) trade associations and in

conjunction with further partners, organising an informative and theme-oriented expert programme that is tailormade for the target group of public swimming pool operators as well as for swimming pool builders, hoteliers, planners and architects. The event will be located in Hall 6 for the first time, where appropriately the swimming pool areas of both trade fairs are located.

Participation is free of charge and it is not necessary to pre-register.

In the ‘Technology & Knowledge’ category, the theme is the new European norms for privately used swimming pools. Structures, contents and solution approaches will be presented here along with a dedicated section on the new EU Biocides Regulation.

The ‘PlanerForum Pool Construction’ will focus on the sustainable renovation of public swimming pools and in the ‘Hotel Pools & Sauna Facilities’ sector, the emphasis is being placed on energy efficiency and economic viability while ‘Health Factor Bathing’ will focus on the significance that water holds for vitality and wellbeing. Safety in swimming baths and questions regarding staff development are also on the agenda of the congress. Crossindustry themes such as the type-specific communication and personnel management round off the programme.

INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING POOL CONGRESS EXPANDS SUPPORTING PROGRAMME For the first time ever, the trade fair duo is also hosting the 8th International Swimming Pool Congress of the German Society for Natural Bathing Waters (DGfnB). Around 1,000 congress participants from all over the world are expected to attend the event from 28 to 30 October 2015.

So whether it’s the latest products or perhaps the latest trends you’re looking for, all in all, there’s a wide range on offer in Cologne in 2015 and something to suit everyone. aquanale +49 1806 603 500 www.aquanale.com

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SHOW PREVIEW

Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Grows Alongside Domestic Sector Recovery The Piscina & Wellness show expects to grow by 11% in terms of the number of direct exhibitors and exhibition space compared to 2013

We preview Barcelona’s Piscina & Wellness exhibition which is benefitting greatly from the Spanish wet leisure industry’s impressive growth in sales so far this year By Jon Wadeson

T

he Piscina & Wellness show taking place 13 - 16 October this year expects to grow by 11% in terms of the number of direct exhibitors and exhibition space compared to 2013. This increase is in part due to the four day event benefitting from a climate of recovery in Spain that has seen the country’s domestic sector record an increase in sales of over 8% in the first quarter of 2015 with some 11,000 new installations. That’s 10% more than in the same period last year, according to ASOFAP (the Spanish Association of Swimming Pool Manufacturers).

The level of exhibition space taken at Fira de Barcelona is a clear sign of the international interest that the Spanish swimming pool market is generating once again and the tourist industry’s heavy investment in water-based facilities and wellness equipment.

Organised by Fira de Barcelona in partnership with ASOFAP, it will be attended by exhibitors from 25 countries and it is estimated that around 300 will be exhibiting at the October event, occupying space in excess of 12,000 sq. m. Many leading brands will be present in each of the exhibition’s three theme areas: Residential Swimming Pools, Wellness & Spa, and Public Swimming Pools (which include sports and recreational facilities).

After Spain, the country with most exhibiting companies is China, followed by France, United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Turkey. In this respect, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona has maintained

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one of its main characteristics: its international scope, with more than 60% of its exhibitors coming from foreign markets. Regulars to the event and flying the flag from the UK will be Artesian Spas who will be exhibiting their full range of hot tubs including the unique Platinum Elite range. They will be joined by Aqua Spa Supplies with their range of hot tub and spa accessories, atg UV with their water treatment solutions, heat recovery experts Calorex, heating equipment manufacturer Elecro Engineering and ITS Europe with their water testing products to name just a few.

Thanks to cooperation agreements signed with the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation, the Spanish Federation of Camping and Holiday Park Companies (FEEC) and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, the event organisers have an extended offering and have been working hard to attract new demand segments related with sport, tourism, health, leisure and wellbeing, without neglecting the professionals who traditionally comprise a large part of its visitors: architects, engineers, builders, installers and distributors of swimming pool and wellness material and equipment.

The high proportion of visitors from abroad (37% in the 2013 edition) is another factor that draws exhibiting companies, creating opportunities for business contacts with professionals from around the world that will help boost their exports. Morocco will be the guest country at this year’s event. It is also planned to organise business meetings

between foreign exhibitors and visitors and business rounds with ‘hosted buyers’ – buyers invited by the exhibition – from a number of countries, mainly from Europe, the Mediterranean area and Latin America, but also from growing Central African countries.

Eloi Planes, Chairman of Piscina & Wellness Barcelona’s Organising Committee, explained: “The Exhibition’s internationality is still one of its cornerstones, helping to fuel export growth, foster international business relations and promote experience and know-how exchange among professionals from different countries.

The swimming pool industry is evolving; increasingly innovative and more sustainable, with a closer association with wellness, it is currently perceived as a resource for offering new experiences to users.”

A GREATER PRESENCE OF WELLNESS At this year’s event, there will be a much greater focus on wellness. Not only has it been added to the exhibition’s name, but its presence in the exhibition and the activities on offer has increased by 15%. Thus, the exhibition will host the second edition of the Wellness & Spa Event, an international forum which will bring recommendations for increasing the financial return of wellness centres, attended, among others, by architects, consultants, business owners and managers of centres in various countries.

The exhibition will also recreate a fully functioning wellness centre, designed and equipped with the latest solutions supplied

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 23/09/2015 18:21

SHOW PREVIEW

As in 2013, products that feature innovation and sustainability will again be on display and will compete for an award

Electro Engineering are just one of a number of exhibitors that will be flying the flag for British companies

by the exhibiting companies. “This area will provide visitors an opportunity to see, touch, understand and experience the key materials, equipment, products and services for the wellness business. As an example of a profitable, eco-sustainable wellness centre focused on the new consumer’s preferences, this space will act as a source of inspiration, enabling prospective buyers to see how the latest innovations in wellness that will be featured at the event can be applied in real life,” explained Josep Jonàs, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona’s Director.

sustainability and four with design and refurbishment of facilities already in use.

The awards will consist of diplomas, to be presented at an evening event held on 14 October at the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona show.

From 15 October onwards, the products and facilities that have won the 2015 Piscina & Wellness Awards and their European counterparts, the EUSA Awards, will be exhibited, with an award-giving ceremony hosted by the exhibition.

AWARDS WILL RECOGNISE INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

This year, there will be the Innovation Zone.

This is a cross-functional area which will transform the exhibition into an industry hub, offering a range of activities on internationalisation, financing, technology and innovation. There will be interviews and business meetings with international buyers, coworking spaces, and presentations and talks. There will also be an area for displaying the trade fair’s most innovative products and services, together with a speaker corner where selected companies will give technical presentations.

The second Wellness & Spa Event will welcome around 30 speakers, including some of the sector’s most highly renowned Spanish and international architects, consultants,

As part of its commitment to research and development applied to pool facilities, the exhibition will once again include the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona 2015 Awards for innovation and sustainability. All operational facilities in the sector that have been built or refurbished in the last two years, and all products on display at the show designed in accordance with innovation and sustainability criteria may compete for an award.

The jury, made up of professionals selected by the Catalonia Institute of Construction Technology (ITeC), will be choosing the winners in six different categories this year, two connected with product innovation and

The Exhibition’s internationality is still one of its cornerstones, helping to fuel export growth, foster international business relations and promote experience and know-how exchange among professionals from different countries” www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 78-79_SPN_Oct_15_Show_Preview_Barca_rev.indd 79

OTHER ATTRACTIONS FOR 2015

entrepreneurs and managers. All of them will analyse the wellness industry and provide recommendations for developing the tourism and economic potential of these facilities.

Networking spaces between professionals will also be provided at the event.

Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will also host lectures and seminars, including the second edition of the Waterpark Symposium, in partnership with the European Waterpark Association (EWA) and the World Waterpark Association (WWA), which will address the safety regulations and efficient management of recreational facilities in water parks, hotels and camp sites.

For its part, ASOFAP will organise training courses for swimming pool installers and pointof-sale professionals.

Lastly, with the Barcelona Experience programme, the exhibition will provide the opportunity to see some of the city’s most innovative facilities. There will be visits to wellness centres, water parks and demonstrations of water sports in the city’s swimming pools, in the latter case thanks to the cooperation agreement signed with the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation.

Piscina & Wellness Barcelona +34 9323 3200 www.salonpiscina.com

Artesian Spas will be returning to Barcelona and launching their new Limited Edition TidalFit Swim Spa that has so far proven very popular in the UK market along with their brand new Isla Margarita Island spa

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WORLD NEWS

Fluidra Acquires South Africa’s Leading Pool Company Fluidra has announced that with a 72% holding, it now has control of South African company WaterLinx, the continent’s pool market leader.

In South Africa, WaterLinx has a market share of more than 30%, with sales of €32m. The company has four production centres and ten sales branches located throughout South Africa.

South Africa is the sixth largest market for pools in the world, with nearly 800,000 residential pools and 2,000 public pools. Thanks to this move, Fluidra is advancing in Africa (and in South Africa more specifically), where it will be promoting the sale of valueadded products for private pools, as well as the commercial pool and irrigation areas. The country is also a gateway for other markets on that continent, because it has a major influence on the countries around it, like Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as well as all of the other Sub-Saharan countries.

Staff at WaterLinx’s Johannesburg Head Office

South Africa is the most modern and advanced economy in SubSaharan Africa, accounting for 23% of the continent’s GDP. With a population of 52 million people, the country is experiencing a rise in its middle class and has become one of the BRICS countries with the greatest growth potential, as well as the only African country forming part of the G20.

Fluidra opened its first affiliate in this country in 2009, with sales branches in Johannesburg and Cape Town. In Africa, Fluidra also has own presence in Morocco and Egypt.

The move further confirms Fluidra’s strength and leadership in international markets.

The Futuristic Sauna That Simply Fits Anywhere!

Anyone who’s ever dreamed of having their own private sauna, has previously needed sufficient space for it. That space could then no longer be used for other purposes once the sauna was installed. Until now that is.

That’s because the designers at KLAFS have developed a whole new, radically different sauna design – the S1 – the world’s first sauna that retracts at the touch of a button.

The key highlight of this sauna is its minimal space requirements. In its fully retracted position the S1 is a mere 60cm deep, just like the average wardrobe. Yet the S1 is a really stylish, high quality, beautifully designed sauna down to the last detail and with room for the whole family.

By pressing a button on the new, extremely compact and slim controls on the front panel, the S1 extends into a ready-to-use sauna in just 20 seconds and is nearly three times as deep. That’s because it consists of three

elements, which can be completely fitted into each other virtually silently and synchronously, thanks to patent-pending eMove technology.

The flexible connection technology between the individual elements also ensures that the S1 easily overcomes any small irregularities in the floor and can put a wide variety of floor coverings to the test with its unique skills.

The new KLAFS S1 is also designed as a completely self-contained, mobile system. In this way, a guest bedroom, workroom or living room stays just the way it was wherever the

sauna is located. The sauna can be moved just like a wardrobe if you move out.

When it comes to design variety, the sauna of the future blends in with the KLAFS tradition.

The S1 is available in three sizes (small, medium and large) and offers numerous trim and panel options.

KLAFS GmbH & Co. KG +49 (0)791 501-0 www.klafs.com

NSPF® Expands With In-House PR Specialist The National Swimming Pool Foundation® (NSPF®) has recently appointed Jacki Krumnow to the position of Public Relation Specialist. Ms Krumnow has been hired to help create magic within the foundation by pushing for the NSPF to become a household name within the aquatics industry.

Ms Krumnow was welcomed on to the team after the Chief Marketing and Information Officer, Alex Antoniou, made the decision to hire an in-house Public Relation Specialist. “Hiring Jacki as the Public Relation Specialist is a natural evolution for the growth of NSPF. We are excited for what the future holds for us and Jacki’s skills and talents will play a major role in shaping the future for NSPF.”

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Jacki joins the NSPF after graduating with a master’s degree in Public Relations from Kent State University in 2014 and brings a fresh thought process and recent discoveries to the team. She will not only take the helm of NSPF’s news media outreach, but also contribute heavily to the foundation’s blog. Jacki has been an avid blogger for nearly four years and is excited to contribute to the expansion of knowledge for the pool, spa, and aquatics industry.

Jacki will be attending the NSPF’s World Health Aquatic™ Conference this October and looks forward to meeting the industry leaders and learning more about the ins-and-outs of aquatics.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 22/09/2015 15:12

WORLD NEWS

IN BRIEF CHINESE EXHIBITION EXPANDS FOR 2016 Following a successful Sauna & Spa & Pool China 2015 which was held at the China Import & Export Fair Complex during 9 – 11 May, show organisers have announced plans to expand the event in 2016 which include moving to a new venue.

This year’s show attracted nearly 200 famous brands presented by over 100 exhibitors and attracted an impressive 13,230 professional visitors from over 60 countries or regions.

Next year, China International Sauna & Spa & Pool Fair 2016 (known as Sauna & Spa & Pool China 2016) will be held from 13 – 15 May and moved to PWTC Expo in Pazhou, Guangzhou with exhibition space enlarged to 20,000m2.

Organisers expect more than 350 renowned brands to be exhibited and 20,000 professional visitors from the domestic and overseas markets are expected to be invited.

BROTHERS FINED FOR SELLING DANGEROUS SPAS Two Australian brothers have been given substantial fines and ordered to pay costs and compensation after selling or offering to sell banned spas that featured potentially deadly ‘potty skimmers’ and failing to supply goods that had been paid for.

Spas that contain this type of skimmer (which gets its name because it resembles a child’s potty) must have a protective cover on them that can only be removed by use of a tool. The cover is necessary to prevent a person becoming lodged or caught in the skimmer box due to the effects of suction.

Nicholas and Gerasimos Lord purchased spas made in Jiangsu Province, China which were then shipped to Australia and supplied despite Fair Trading issuing them with an embargo notice.

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First US Natural Swimming Pool Opens In Minneapolis When it comes to wet leisure developments, there is one sector where the US is firmly behind Europe – and that’s in natural swimming pools.

Bathers across numerous European countries have enjoyed them for decades, but regulations in the US have meant that public pools across the pond have had to be treated with chemicals. That is until now.

After months of delays, the green, chlorine-free waters of the Webber Park Natural Swimming Pool in Minneapolis have now opened to the public.

No chemicals are used on the 500,000 gallons of water that make up the swimming pool, instead it’s cleaned using a natural filtration system.

Every 12 hours, water is drained out of the pool and treated in a separate area using layers of gravel and about 7,000 aquatic plants, and then the clean water is pumped back into the pool.

Some of the delays were due to problems with the pool’s unique water management systems which need ongoing monitoring and additional specialised robotic equipment used for maintaining the pool and these issues have meant that until they are resolved, the pool is open three days a week. Daily use and a Grand Opening Celebration is expected in summer 2016.

The project started some ten years ago, with construction of the pool only getting under way in 2013.

The pool, which features lifeguards and has a capacity of 500 bathers, has not come cheap. It has cost more than $6m (£3.9m), well above the original $4m estimate.

Like all naturally filtered swimming pools, the Webber Park pool has a major environmental advantage over conventionally treated pools thanks to the omission of chemicals in the water treatment process. This green benefit therefore fits perfectly with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s responsibility to ‘permanently preserve, protect, maintain, improve, and enhance its natural resources, parkland, and recreational opportunities for current and future generations’.

Relocation Provides Expansion Opportunity For US-Branch Of European Spa Brand Recently, Passion Spas USA had to move their inventory to a new warehouse when the premises they formerly occupied were required for another purpose. This would normally be bad news for any company, however on this occasion, the forced move has actually been a blessing in disguise as it has provided an opportunity for the company by leaving it in a position to expand.

“In 2012 we launched Passion Spas USA and since then we have grown rapidly, becoming one of the largest selling spa brands in the Midwest!” said Rick Mouw, the brand’s US representative.

Passion Spas started in the Netherlands, which gives special significance to the fact that their US division is positioned in Holland, Michigan.

“Across the pond, it has become widely recognised as the largest selling spa brand in Europe,” said Mouw, adding: “And we are quickly moving to become one of the largest brands in the USA as well!”

Home hot tubs by Passion Spas are distinctive for their beautiful lines, their wide array of massage

features developed in close partnership with physiotherapists, their profoundly effective water maintenance systems, their energy-efficient heating systems, and their precision engineering.

“Passion Spas combines exceptional styling and design with more standard features than any spa on the market,” Mouw added.

Their complete line up has something for everyone, be it an entry-level spa from their Pure Collection or a fully-featured swim spa from their Sport Collection.

As Passion Spas USA settles into their new space, they look forward to building a brand that is increasingly earning an international reputation for excellence and quality.

Passion Spas USA +1 855 355 3088 www.passionspasusa.com

SPN October 2015 81 22/09/2015 15:12

SPN OCTOBER 2015 BUYERS GUIDE_SPN BUYERS GUIDE TEMPLATE 23/09/2015 17:48 Page 82

BUYERS GUIDE CEILING SYSTEMS

DESIGN & TILING

FLOOR SERVICING

HOT TUB EQUIPMENT

The Complete, Nationwide, Pool Repair and Refurbishment Service

0161 799 1222 24HR EMERGENCY CALL OUT 07903 779516 info@universalpool.co.uk

• Complete vapour barrier • 12 year guarantee • Maintenance free • Available in over 250 different colours & finishes

t +44 (0)1276 681000 f +44 (0)1276 406900 e info@stretchceilings.co.uk

www.stretchceilings.co.uk

CONTROL PANELS

DIVING – REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE

HEAT EXCHANGERS

Need a custom built Control Panel for your pool or spa?

Are the ‘off the shelf solutions’ not quite good enough?

CN Controls design and build control panels to their customers specifications for: • Commercial Swimming Pools • Domestic Swimming Pools • Commercial and Domestic Spas

Visit www.cncontrols.co.uk or call 01295 266704 for your bespoke quotation today Electrical Control Systems to your requirements

COMMERCIAL & SPECIALISED

DIVING LTD Experts in underwater emergency repair & all maintenance 24/7 EMERGENCY CALL OUT Nationwide 07885 941969 Call now on

01202 580007 DEHUMIDIFICATION & VENTILATION

www.specialised-diving.co.uk

Swimming Pool DehumidiďŹ ers

Specialists in all underwater pool repairs and maintenance

Wall mount

54 to 197 litres a day

Floor Mount

Through Wall

DehumidiďŹ cation

LPHW heating

Remote humidistat

Choice of ďŹ nishes

Low noise level

To learn more about the new range of swimming pool

freecall 0500 418458 www.meaco.com sales@meaco.com

82 October 2015 SPN

BOWMAN

ÂŽ

Manufacturers of swimming pool heat exchangers for chlorine, saline and spa pools.

EJ Bowman (Birmingham) Ltd Chester Street, B’ham B6 4AP, UK Tel: +44 (0) 121 359 5401 Fax: +44 (0) 121 359 7495 Email: info@ejbowman.co.uk

PLAY EQUIPMENT

Planned preventative maintenance surveys Grouting Tiling Cleaning Anchor points Plastics

The Complete, Nationwide, Pool Repair Underwater Service

0161 799 1222 24HR EMERGENCY CALL OUT 07903 779516 info@universalpool.co.uk

All our divers are registered with the HSE and are covered by relevant insurances.

SWIMMING POOL ENGINEERING SERVICES CONDITION SURVEYS CLEANING • RE-GROUTING TILING • DRILLING POOLSIDE EQUIPMENT

UK DISTRIBUTOR • In depth technical back up • Quick delivery • Complete heat exchangers in stock

sales@gvsswimmingpools.co.uk www.gvsswimmingpoolsonline.co.uk

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

SPN OCTOBER 2015 BUYERS GUIDE_SPN BUYERS GUIDE TEMPLATE 23/09/2015 17:48 Page 83

BUYERS GUIDE PLAY EQUIPMENT / FLUME & WATER SLIDES

POOL BUILDERS

ON-SITE LINING

POOL COVERS

ON-SITE LINING SINCE 1988 automatic pool covers quality that floats® since 1968

EXTREME pool lining system

®

Installation by our own fitters Can be fitted into any shape pool 10 year guarantee

Contact us and see how we can make your dream pool a reality... t: 01704 544 222 e: info@portraitpools.com w: portraitpools.com

PLAY EQUIPMENT / FLUME & WATER SLIDES

Suitable for commercial and domestic pools Cost effective and proven system

Portrait Pools & Enclosures Ltd 13 Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1RP

extreme@plasticapools.net

ON-SITE LINING

POOL COVERS

On‐Site Pool Linings Ltd

SWIMMING POOL COVER SYSTEMS

Tel: 01424 857741

Full in-house design and manufacture facility

Flume Slides Safety Solutions

5mm and 8mm heat retention covers

Filtration Service & Maintenance

Installation by Plastica engineers

HippoLeisure HippoLeisur p re e Part of the Manu Manuplas plas Group Group

T T:: E: W W::

+44 (0) 1752 771740 sales@hippoleisur sales@hippoleisure.com e.com www .hippoleisure e.com www.hippoleisure.com

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

AN ADVERT THIS SIZE IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE IS JUST £395!

THAT’S 6 ISSUES OR 12 MONTHS COVERAGE FOR JUST OVER £1 PER DAY!

delifol Interactive Water Play

More information available at www.oase.be or info@oase.be

• We are the Sole UK Distributors for delifol • delifol material is guaranteed for 10 years • We have our own on‐site fi ers • We have 3 new grey colours/pa erns

Energy savings of up to 30% Fully Automatic Service Contracts available Over 40 years experience

01709 542128 Email: dave@on‐sitepoollinings.com

www.on‐sitepoollinings.com www.delifol.com

CHOOSE AN EXISTING CATEGORY TO APPEAR IN OR SPECIFY YOUR OWN!

commercials@plasticapools.net Tel: 01424 857743

TO ADVERTISE CALL TONY WESTON ON 01474 813433

E. TONY@AQUA-PUBLISHING.CO.UK

SPN October 2015 83

SPN OCTOBER 2015 BUYERS GUIDE_SPN BUYERS GUIDE TEMPLATE 23/09/2015 17:49 Page 84

BUYERS GUIDE POOL COVERS

POOL COVERS

POOL COVERS

POOL COVERS

For all domestic pool covers and rollers

Pyramid Foam®

Simply the best security covers by aquamat

Slatted cover with above ground rollers

Axelle roll-up security covers manufactured in the UK by aquamat

The best retro fit systems made by aquamat in the UK

security cover works as a winter debris cover heat retention

24v DC systems powered by a solar, rechargeable battery or direct from a control panel

closed cell chemically bonded polyethylene foam available in 6mm and 8mm

Bubble covers

available in two colours, mid-blue & white

Heat retention foam covers

thermal conductivity ASTM C177 0.0420 w/mK @ 40°C

Roll-up security covers

incorporates Ultra•Fresh® bacteria protection 3 year warranty

Winter debris covers

material lies flat when welded

Slatted covers

totally inert having no effect on water quality

Electric and manual rollers

eco friendly with 42°C max temperature

Contact aquamat on:

Contact aquamat on:

Contact aquamat on:

Contact aquamat on:

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

POOL COVERS

POOL COVERS

POOL COVERS

POOL ENCLOSURES

Commercial pool cover and roller systems

Replacement Slats

Submersible slatted cover systems

Top quality heat retention foam covers 6mm and 8mm in blue or white. All systems are designed and manufactured in our own factories

24v DC systems for total safety full repair and service available nationwide suppliers to the 2012 Olympics over 50 years of making pool covers

aquamat replacement slats made to measure in the UK 60mm replacement slats that fit all the old systems available in PVC white, blue, grey, duck egg blue, beige, cotswold green, solar cap and translucent blue

and also available in polycarbonate crystal clear, solar cap, granite, ruby, lagoon, sandstone and emerald

24v DC in-tube motors Full range of colours in PVC and polycarbonate Manufactured in the UK in our own factory

Contact aquamat on:

Contact aquamat on:

Contact aquamat on:

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

sales@aquamatcovers.co.uk tel. 01453 884411 fax. 01453 884499

84 October 2015 SPN

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

SPN OCTOBER 2015 BUYERS GUIDE_SPN BUYERS GUIDE TEMPLATE 23/09/2015 17:49 Page 85

BUYERS GUIDE POOL ENCLOSURES

POOL ENCLOSURES

POOL HEATERS

PRESSURE TESTING & LEAK DETECTION EQUIP

AMAZONE FOLDING POOL ENCLOSURE

For a completely open air pool in minutes - release the anchors and gently push.

AS IT ROLLS, IT FOLDS, SIMPLE AS THAT! The Swimex Group has brought together four of the biggest European names in the industry to provide the complete telescopic and fixed pool enclosure service. From design to installation (with our own teams) and after sales service, the Swimex Group is the first choice for all wet leisure projects – residential, schools, health clubs, holiday parks and more. Working with the trade or direct, Swimex offers the ideal pool enclosure solution – from the smallest low-level to huge free-standing buildings. Over 1,000 buildings in service in UK since 1998.

Call 0800 804 8025 or visit www.swimex.co.uk

POOL ENCLOSURES

Retractable and static glass pool enclosures for domestic and commercial use

Tel/Fax: 01525 874868 E: sachon@pool-enclosures-unlimited.co.uk W: www.pool-enclosures-unlimited.co.uk

POOL ENGINEERS

Thermalec Pool & Spa Heaters have been manufactured at our factory in the UK for nearly 50 years, to the highest standards and have been installed in the harshest environments because they are the reliable heater for industrial use.

• THR models from 3kW to 120kW • Zenith models from 8kW to 168kW Titanium elements are used in both THR and ZENITH models.

Suitable for sea / salt water pools and spas.

Bespoke heaters are also available for: Ponds, under- floor heating, central heating, cheese vats, baptismal fonts, diver training pools, luxury yacht spas.

Buy your Original spare parts direct from us.

Parts available for all our existing range of heaters as well as many of the heaters previously manufactured by Thermalec.

SAUNAS

We are also distributors for Salt Chlorinators, Electrochlorinators and Anodes (a must for all salt water pools).

Specialists in design and construction of new and complete or partial refurbishment of existing swimming pools for leisure, hydrotherapy and special needs. Complete service offered including filtration and chemical dosing systems, heating and ventilation and full after-sales service and maintenance. Contractors to Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, MOD, Facility Maintenance Companies, Schools, Leisure Centres, Clubs, Holiday Parks etc.

www.thermalec.co.uk Call: +44 (0)1752 313343

POOL HEATERS

Tel: 01277 225416 Fax: 01277 224761 Email: info@hydrospec.co.uk Web: www.hydrospec.co.uk

SPAS & HOT TUBS

AN ADVERT THIS SIZE IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE IS JUST £295!

THAT’S 6 ISSUES OR 12 MONTHS COVERAGE FOR LESS THAN £1 PER DAY! TO ADVERTISE CALL TONY WESTON ON 01474 813433

E. TONY@AQUA-PUBLISHING.CO.UK

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

SPN October 2015 85

SPN OCTOBER 2015 BUYERS GUIDE_SPN BUYERS GUIDE TEMPLATE 23/09/2015 17:49 Page 86

BUYERS GUIDE SPRAYED CONCRETE

SPRAYED CONCRETE

SWIMMING POOL EQUIPMENT

SWIMMING POOL EQUIPMENT

GUNCAST G U N C A ST S SWIMMING WIM MING P POOLS OOLS

Sprayed pool and spa shells for the trade X Q ui ck ,

clean, ef ficient & r e l i a b l e s e r v i ce

X O ve r

4 0 y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n ce

X R esidential

& commercial

X A ny

shape or size including cover pit & deck level

X N ationwide X

Struc tural design calculations

X

Full CAD designed drawings

X F u ll

PI insurance for design & construc tion

X

10 year guarantee

C Contact o nt a c t u uss ffor or a q quote u ote Working to all appropriate BS EN Standards

Tel: 01782 631204 Mob: 07799 660837 Or call Terry direct on: Mobile: 07799 660837 Email: info@sprayedconcreteservices.ltd.uk Web: www.sprayedconcreteservices.co.uk

SPRAYED CONCRETE

U ni t 4 am p er s C o mm o n Unit 4,, H Hampers Common IIndustrial ndustrial Estate, Estate, Petworth, Pet wor th, W es t S ussex GU28 GU28 9NR 9NR West Sussex T el: 01798 01798 343221 343221 Tel: Fax: 01798 01798 3 42341 Fax: 342341 Email: zzoe@guncast.com oe@guncast.com Email:

SWIMMING POOL EQUIPMENT

Certikin manufactures, distributes and exports a vast range of superb swimming pool and leisure equipment throughout the UK & overseas.

As the UK’s largest distributor, dealing solely with trade businesses, Certikin has become synonymous with top quality products and service backed up with a level of expertise that simply cannot be beaten.

Certikin International Ltd T: +44 (0) 1993 778855 F: +44 (0) 1993 778620 E: info@certikin.co.uk

Suppliers of Pool plant Equipment, Measurement and Control Systems, and complete range of Chemicals.

Solution partners for Evoqua and exclusive agents for Melspring International.

Providers of all types of chemical dosing systems and pumps.

x Service maintenance x Breakdown cover x Training x Consultation Tel; 01526 322214 Email; sales@jakwater.co.uk www.jakwater.co.uk

www.certikin.co.uk

SWIMMING POOL EQUIPMENT

TILING & TILING REPAIRS COMMERCIAL & SPECIALISED

DIVING LTD Experts in all underwater tiling and grouting 24/7 EMERGENCY CALL OUT Nationwide 07885 941969

ELECTRIC HEATERS

Suitable for Pools, Spas & many other applications. With Titanium Elements.

Call now on

01202 580007 www.specialised-diving.co.uk

SALT CHLORINATORS PH CONTROLLERS

ANODES & LADDER ANODES

The right product at the right price delivered on time is just a part of the customer service we offer.

But it’s the part we get right first.

A must for saltwater pools For full details of all our Swimming Pool Products Contact us on:

Tel: +44 (0) 1752 313343 Email: sales@thermalec.co.uk or visit our website

www.thermalec.co.uk 86 October 2015 SPN

Trade Suppliers to the Wet Leisure Industry

01271 378100 | goldenc.co

AN ADVERT THIS SIZE IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE IS JUST £295!

THAT’S 6 ISSUES OR 12 MONTHS COVERAGE FOR LESS THAN £1 PER DAY! TO ADVERTISE CALL TONY WESTON ON 01474 813433

E. TONY@AQUA-PUBLISHING.CO.UK

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

SPN OCTOBER 2015 BUYERS GUIDE_SPN BUYERS GUIDE TEMPLATE 23/09/2015 17:49 Page 87

BUYERS GUIDE UNDERWATER LIGHTING

WATER MONITORING & CONTROL

WATER TREATMENT

Dr. A. Kuntze

Inline Monitoring and control

ADVERTISERS INDEX Aqua Spa Supplies

30

Aquaflex

22

Aquanale

19

Arch Enclosures

65

Archimède/Easy Pools Ltd

73

Artesian Spas

Dr. A. Kuntze

CONTROLLER CONTR OLLER SENSOR

s KƉƟ Đ /ŶƚƌŽĚƵĐĞƐ ƚŚĞ Į ƌƐƚ > ŵƵůƟ ĐŽůŽƵƌ ůŝŐŚƚ ƚŽ ĞĂƐŝůLJ ƌĞƉůĂĐĞ ϯϬϬt ,ĂůŽŐĞŶ͘ KŶůLJ ϱϬt ĞŶĞƌŐLJ ĐŽŶƐƵŵƉƟ ŽŶ͊

www.EVAoptic.com Available in the UK & Ireland:

UV SYSTEMS

ASSEMBLY WITH H W DEFINED FLOW

Dr A Kuntz Kuntze e UK T: +44 (0)1788 422050 E: sales@kuntze.co.uk www.kuntze.co.uk

E. TONY@AQUA-PUBLISHING.CO.UK

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk

77

Bowman

34

Certikin International

53 & 66

Compass Ceramic Pools UK

65

Complete Pool Controls

08

• Silky smooth feeling water • No bather irritation – even for sensitive skin and eyes • Improved water clarity • Compatible with any standard filtration system • Long term bacteria reduction • Harmless to health of both swimmers and the environment • Effective low chlorine treatment (90-100% reduction of chlorine)

Crown Pavilions

06

Elite Spas

33

For more information phone

Gullberg & Jansson

42

08450 063 063 (opt3) www.pro-pure.com

Hanovia

22

Heatstar Europe

29

IoS

19

ISPE

77

ITS Europe

05

Jacuzzi

59

Lighthouse Pools

41

Lovibond/Tintometer

13

NIVEKO

27

Pleatco

IBC

Plastica

14 & 42

Polygon

14

PoolLock

46

SCP

16

Spa De La Mare

08

SPATEX

73

STA

45

Superior Spas

30

Surex Limited

33

Swimex Enclosures Ltd

60

T&A

27

Telescopic Pool Enclosures

65

UK Pool & Spa Expo

24

Villeroy & Boch

54

WATER TESTING

WATER TREATMENT

Design, supply, installation and service of filtration and water treatment equipment including new and refurbishment schemes

AN ADVERT THIS SIZE IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE IS JUST £295!

THAT’S 6 ISSUES OR 12 MONTHS COVERAGE FOR LESS THAN £1 PER DAY! TO ADVERTISE CALL TONY WESTON ON 01474 813433

atg UV Technology

THE SAFEST & HEALTHIEST POOL WATER TREATMENT

SwimLine UV water treatment

www.hanovia.com t: +44(0) 1753 515 300

OBC

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Filters / Valves & Pipework Vessel Refurbishment / Re-lining Filter Media Replacement / Cleaning Chemical Dosing & Control Systems Plate Heat Exchangers Strainers / Circulation Pumps Flow Meters Anti-vortex Grilles / Pool Lining & Tiling UV Systems Inverter Drives / Pool Covers Integrated Control Systems Diving Services / Leak Detection Service Contracts / Spares

Fairlocks Pool Products

IFC

FIBALON/Pool Supplies Ltd

77

Flexflooring Ltd

46

Gaffey Technical Services Ltd

34

Golden Coast

13 & 45

Waterco/Certikin International 11 Waxman Ceramics

21

Wellis

74

SPN October 2015 87

IN MY VIEW

The Domestic Pools Of The Future With constant warnings of climate change and a shortage of water a real possibility in the years ahead, independent consultant and Chairman of SPATA’s Technical Committee Peter Lang gives his view of what the typical domestic pool may be like in the future

W

henever the summer season draws to a close, one wonders what the weather will be like in the years ahead and if one is in any way involved in the swimming pool industry that includes the question “will there be a hose pipe ban?”

With the constant talk of “global warming” there are many pundits saying “water is going to be the biggest problem in the future” – drinking water of course. But what would happen if the UK had to deal with some of the issues being faced by pool industry colleagues in other parts of the world, such as some parts of America and Australia?

With water shortages in this country over the last ten to 15 years, the industry has come up with several suggestions to keep domestic swimming pools full of water. The use of cartridge filters, rainwater harvesting, extending backwash periods, recycling backwash water are just some examples, but will there ever come a time when more stringent laws and regulations will make us have to think “out of the box” or “think laterally”?

Will swimming pools respond by having standard pool depths to be a constant figure of, say, one metre, to save water and reduce running costs?

Will pool companies emptying pools be obliged by law to re-use the water, by storing it in temporary holding tanks (such as inflatable pools)?

Already the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 state that swimming pools must not leak. If all pipes and punctures in the shell have to be accessible so that any

inspection can check the pool properly and regularly, should the pool shell be built out of the ground with the plant more easily accessible underneath? If something like this did happen, would this: make liner pools impossible to install correctly; concrete pools too costly due to the supports that would be required; and could this make one-piece GRP or stainless steel pools more often the norm?

Energy saving requirements may well mean that in the near future, all pools (irrespective of whether they are indoor or outdoor) will have to be insulated, but will this extend to heating? Will there be strict controls on maximum water temperatures?

Will heat pumps, solar systems and other renewable technologies be the only means of heating a pool that would be allowed by law?

Equally, will pumps have to be electronically controlled by energy input to maximise efficiency, as well as reducing energy consumption? Will all pools have to have a bank of photovoltaic cells to power the plant?

Will all pools be required to have cartridge filtration to reduce water wastage? Or will

With the constant talk of ‘global warming’ there are many pundits saying ‘water is going to be the biggest problem in the future’ – drinking water of course. But what would happen if the UK had to deal with some of the issues being faced by pool industry colleagues in other parts of the world” 88 October 2015 SPN 88_SPN_Oct_15_In_My_View.indd 88

pools have some new media other than sand and cartridge, in order to improve the water quality and to reduce the use of chemical additions to the pool water?

Will other water savings products, such as rotating centrifuges, already on the market be mandatory in the next decade, or so?

Will we ever see swimming pool water treatment being moved from a primary sanistiser such as chlorine or bromine to other treatments? Will there still be a requirement for treatments such as UV and / or Ozone? If that is the case, will the swimming time have to be amended and be strictly regulated to reduce pollution and increase UV time? Will all pools have to have a sheet cover to black out the pool to prevent the build-up of algae?

So what could a typical domestic pool be like in 2030?

It would be a double skin GRP/ceramic structure with insulation between the two skins. It would be suspended above the ground by a minimum of one metre for inspection purposes. It would have a constant depth of one metre and be no greater that 10 by 5 metres in plan.

It would have a turnover of eight hours, have only 2” pipework, or greater, to reduce head loss and improve circulation flow reducing energy and chemicals used. The pool would be filtered by cartridge, heated by solar and powered by photovoltaic cells. The pool can only be used twice a day for a period of one hour. When not in use, the cover must be on. Access is by ladder, hoist, lift or even out of a first floor window of the adjacent property (if the pool was close enough)!

Is this scenario likely, or is it all ridiculous?

Who knows for now, but 2030 is only 15 years away!

PETER LANG Peter is an independent consultant and SPATA’s Technical Adviser. He is a SPATA Inspector and Chairman of SPATA’s Technical Committee

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