Pool Builder: Paragon Pools
Head to Head With
JOE VASSALLO BY JOE TRUSTY Photos: Paragon Pools
F
We asked the pool industry veteran for his take regarding the increase in demand, “In 30 years, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Vassallo.
or Joe Vassallo, the path to becoming a top builder in the Las Vegas market wasn’t always a linear one.
Recalling setbacks that came with the Great Recession in 2008. “Las Vegas went through a very rough period,” said Vassallo, “where we were having more foreclosures than anyplace else in the country. In order to survive that (time period) we started doing more of the remodeling and repair work. A lot of people were probably underwater at best.” The inability for homeowners to get full market value for their homes during the Great Recession meant that many opted to remodel their existing pool and stay in their homes. A sophomore pool company at the time, Paragon Pools was able to
16
POOL MAGAZINE - VOL 2, ISSUE 1
ride out the recession doing remodels. That was a make-or-break time period that saw many seasoned builders leave the industry. What followed would be a contraction in the industry that would last for the next five years. “The remodeling and repair business became kind of a lifeline for us and then finally we moved out of that bad time into some better times. Right now things are just going through the roof. I’ve got way more business than I can handle,” said Vassallo. While supply and demand issues still remain a problem, Joe Vassallo says that it is a better problem to have than the one he experienced a decade during the Great Recession when no one was looking to buy a swimming pool.
