The Lo Down on Lo-Chlor Chemicals

- with Paul Simons and Jeff Feldman

How did the company Lo-Chor originate?

Jeff Feldman: Lo-Chlor Chemicals began in 1979 and was the brainchild of the late Andrew Simons, who sadly passed away in 2006 at the age of 59. Andrew was one of the most well liked and respected members of the pool industry and his extensive knowledge was matched in kind by his modesty, thoughtfulness and generosity. He is still sorely missed by all those who had the privilege of knowing him and, in my case, having him as my friend.

Andrew and I had known each other socially through sport for a number of years and had built up a firm friendship during that period with him living in Sydney and me in Melbourne.

Shortly after the business commenced operation, he invited me to join him, working out of Melbourne. 40 years later, I am still going! The company has continued to keep me on work experience as they still can’t quite make their mind up if I am suitable for the job!

Andrew had a chemical background and - as so often happens in life - circumstances allowed him to put all his years of study to a far different usage than he had originally planned through being a pharmacist. Andrew was asked one day if he could help solve a pool problem. Having enjoyed solving the problem using his chemical expertise, he decided that he would like to increase his knowledge of pools and spas and possibly find other ways to solve problems with them.

His first discovery was that a copper base would create the most useful and efficient type of algaecide. From that single discovery, the company of Lo-Chlor Chemicals was born.

Lo-Chlor Pool Conditioner - his first innovation - is still being sold today and is still one of the company’s most popular products. The formulation is exactly the same as Andrew created 40 years ago and the only thing that has changed is the name, which is now Lo-Chlor Pool Algaecide.

It was a truly ground-breaking product when it was first introduced and something totally unheard of here, being an algaecide designed to kill and control algae for an extended period of time. It was the first long-life algaecide to enter the Australian pool market.

Initially, Andrew manufactured the algaecide in the garage of his home and he would then load up his car to visit pool shops to show them the benefits of putting it on their shelves for their customers.

How did the name Lo-Chlor come about?

When we first brought out the Pool Conditioner, our main selling point to pool shops was that by using it, it would allow pool owners to use lower amounts of chlorine. In those days, chlorine was the main source of income for pool shops and the sole product that they were then recommending for algae. I can’t tell you how many shops we were kicked out of after using this sales pitch! However, we persevered and before long, the industry as a whole realised the many benefits of using a long-life algaecide in conjunction with a sanitising system.

From those humble beginnings in 1979, when Andrew commenced trading with just the one product in just the one size, we are proud to say that we have grown to be the largest manufacturer of speciality pool and spa Chemicals in the world. Our first factory was in Marrickville, and we are still located in the same area but now in a purpose built – and much larger – facility, where we manufacture and produce virtually all of our range of speciality chemicals.

After servicing our customers in Europe direct from Australia for many years, in 2007 we decided to establish a European operation in the United Kingdom. This enabled us to provide a better service and faster delivery to Europe and strengthen our presence in the European market. We continue to service markets in the USA and New Zealand through distributors as well as exporting from here to a variety of other countries.

The company is proudly Australian, with our ranges of both pool and spa specialty chemicals being Australian made. It is still owned by the Simons family with Andrew’s son Paul now steering the ship.

Having been with the company since its inception, it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to see the way that it has progressed from its humble beginnings to where it is now.

Even though Lo-Chlor has grown in size, I would like to think that nothing has changed with regard to our attitude and gratitude towards every single customer that has made the decision to purchase any of our products. When we started, Andrew and I appreciated every single order that we received, from the single product that we initially had to offer and even though we now have a multiplicity of products to offer, we are still equally appreciative of every order. It’s just a shame that Andrew is no longer around to see the fruits of his endeavours.

What do you like most about the pool and spa industry?

In one word, the simple answer is “people”. The people we deal with and the friendships and close relationships that have evolved as a result are what we like and value most. Over the many years that I have been involved with the company, I have acquired numerous long-standing bonds and friendships with both customers and other members of the industry. These are by far the most important and treasured memories that I will retain from my involvement.

Even though it has progressed enormously over the years, I feel that, unlike many other industries, the pool and spa industry has managed to retain many old-fashioned, yet still important, values. Number one on this list is personal relationships: the relationship between the customer and supplier and the relationship between the pool shop and the pool owner.

To this day, we still both describe and treat our customers as you would a valued friend and we act towards them in exactly the same manner as one would do to any friend – by trying to help them as best we can. Providing our customers with old fashioned service and assistance - together with the quality of our products - was our aim at the inception of the business and over 40 years later, nothing has changed in this regard.

This philosophy is put into practice on a daily basis by our sales team, most of whom have been with us for many years. They all regard their customers as friends rather than just someone with whom they are doing business with and their experience and knowledge also enables them to provide customers with technical support as well as retail and marketing advice.

We always view our proposed relationships with customers as being long term and mutually beneficial and we find that, by having a good two way relationship with our customers, we are able to impart on them both knowledge and guidance that they can in-turn pass on to the consumer. We consider every customer to be an individual with individual needs and we therefore endevour to tailor assistance to suit singular needs rather than a standard format to suit everybody.

How is business at the moment?

Paul Simons: I’m Paul Simons and having left Jeff to write about the past, I’ll try and give you some of my thoughts about the present and future.

Andrew was my father and sadly, as Jeff wrote, we lost him way too early, as he still had so much to offer the industry that he had been so highly regarded and respected in for so many wonderful years.

It is with great honour and pride that I now run the family business and never a day goes by that I do not remind myself how lucky and fortunate I am to be able to be involved in this amazing company.

Working with the likes of Jeff is an honour and a privilege (even if he is still on work experience!) and I cannot thank him enough for what he has done for the company and for me personally over the years.

Business is usually slow at this time of the year, but we are busy planning for next season as we feel it is going to be one of the busiest on record for a chemical company like Lo-Chlor. The last 18 months has seen a dramatic increase in new pools being built and pool renovations being completed, so there is going to be more demand for specialty chemicals than ever before.

If we had to use one word to describe how business is now, it would be “challenging”. Obviously, the world we live in now is vastly different and the challenges with border closures, lockdowns and Covid related decisions by government have meant running a business like Lo-Chlor has become vastly different and we have had to adapt like many other businesses.

The shortage of containers for shipping worldwide has seen import freight costs more than triple and it has become increasingly harder getting raw materials from other parts of the globe. Never before have we seen a shortage of supply like this, and the Northern Hemisphere’s consumption of raw materials (USA in particular) indicates we are in for a tougher time as we move into the next swim season.

What changes have you seen over the years?

Jeff: Over the last 40 years, I have, of course, seen numerous changes and far too many for me to elaborate on in detail. Some, in my opinion, are good and some not so good.

Technology has taken over many of the modes of operation in which businesses carry out their daily tasks and this has advanced the speed and precision of things such as Water Testing and the manner in which large groups of customers can be notified of information or marketing with just one email to cover them all.

All of these things, plus of course mobile phones, have undoubtedly assisted the pool shops in their ability to provide faster service to their customers as well as keep in touch with them electronically, in very easy ways, as much as they choose to do so.

However, in my opinion, these innovations have in many instances removed from pool shops their focus on the verbal dialogue that they pursue with customers, particularly whilst performing a water test.

In my mind, this is the ideal opportunity to build rapport with a customer as well as offer them verbally whatever advice and guidance they require. In the past, without the electronic aids available today, the only way to perform a water test was manually, and the only way to pass on advice on the results was verbally.

So often I have seen shop customers hand in a water sample, to be left standing silent whilst the test is performed, and then be handed a print out with a few things highlighted for them to do – virtually no verbal communication.

With all the advancements that have taken place, I think that there are some things that haven’t changed and shouldn’t be changed. There will never be a substitute for building a relationship with a customer and gaining their trust. This can only be done verbally, and I hope that this fact is never lost in our industry as it is one which has differentiated us over the years from so many other industries where speed is regarded as the priority rather than customer rapport, trust and building relationships.

What are the challenges of being an industry supplier?

The challenges for our business come when we are forced to depend on other companies to complete the process from customer orders through to delivery. Freight is becoming increasingly difficult within Australia and finding a reliable freight company to deal with is increasingly hard. We do not use our own vehicles, so we have to rely on a third party.

Our manufacturing processes have been streamlined over the years and we are more efficient than ever. We complete 100% of our orders on time and in full but then we place our faith in the hands of the freight companies. What used to take 3 days to deliver can now take up to 2 weeks in some instances.

Other challenges beyond the issues mentioned above come from the cost of manufacturing in Australia and being able to compete with the majority of our competitors who source their products solely from overseas.

With that being said, people in our industry have the utmost respect for the fact that we are Australian made, Australian owned and we pride ourselves on looking after not only our staff, but our customers as well.

How has the COVID pandemic affected your business?

To be honest, COVID has had a positive impact on our business. Pool chemical manufacturers like Lo-Chlor were deemed essential by the government 18 months ago so we were able to run our business as normal. Like many other companies, we have learnt that you can work remotely where need be, eliminate almost all travel and operate smarter and more sensible in the way you run your operations and staff.

The biggest impact for us is the loss of faceto-face contact with our customers during the various lockdowns. Our business is built on relationships and the most important part of that is being able to sit down with clients and enjoy a chat, a cup of coffee and good company.

What does innovation look like at Lo-Chlor?

Over time, Lo-Chlor has led the way in product development, unique problemsolving solutions and water management in a different way to its competition. Some of the products we have developed over the years have revolutionised pool water treatment and the way consumers maintain their pools in a healthier and more costeffective way.

Looking into the future, we see this trend continuing. Lo-Chlor is constantly striving to find new ways to help pool owners maintain safe and healthy swimming environments while also enjoying therapeutic benefits in their bathing experience.

Innovation for Lo-Chlor is about fine-tuning water chemistry without complicating it for the end user. It is about targeting solutions that are more proactive than reactive and offering a continuous insurance policy for pool owners all year round. Maintaining a healthy pool environment has never been more important but for Lo-Chlor, it is about doing it with natural, non-toxic, healthier alternatives.

Where to from here for Lo-Chlor?

When I look at the business and how it has developed over the years, I am so proud to be able to say we have stuck to the core values that Andrew instilled in so many of us all those years ago.

Not only did he influence people within our company, but he also had a huge impact on all fields of the industry over the 30 years he was involved in the business.

The future looks very much like the past. Our No.1 goal is to ensure that the people we work with not only respect those who work within our organisation, but to enjoy what they do, otherwise it is not worth getting out of bed in the morning.

Above and beyond that, our main focus into the future is the customer. Making sure the customer - whether it be the pool owner, the service technician, the manager of the retail pool store or the owner of the business – are the top priority for everyone at Lo-Chlor.

From the warehouse employees who pack and pick the orders, to the logistics and operations team, to the sales team and senior management - our main focus is the customer and ensuring they not only receive the best possible service but receive the best quality, training, education and of course the best product.

This is why our slogan has always been… BECAUSE IT WORKS!