COMPANY FOCUS Circa 1972, Tony Carr, Founder of Lacron Ltd holding the internals of a commercial filter – pre-installation
A group of early Lacron filters, note the flat lid and return pipework exiting through the filter base
The range of Lacron filters available circa 1973 – 16”, 18”, 24” and 30” – notice the new 4 fin lid with inlet and outlet bulkhead ports now fitted on the side
Lacron – 50 Years And Counting! With a heritage that traces back for over half a century, filter brand Lacron has been a tried, tested and trusted product within both the UK wet leisure industry and further afield too. Here, we take a closer look at the founding of this iconic filtration brand and its fifty-year journey to the present day
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n 1969 Tony Carr was asked by his then fellow director (David Stevens) if he could arrange to have a swimming pool built at their home in Rodmersham near Sittingbourne in Kent. Tony always had an enquiring mind so he decided to research where the equipment for swimming pools were made, as at the time, a private swimming pool in the UK was quite a rarity. In his quest, Tony discovered that almost all the equipment (particularly the filters and alike) were being imported from the USA. Through his research Tony came across a company called Norcal based near Croydon who were one of the main importers and distributers of swimming pool equipment. Tony set up a meeting with the Managing Director of Norcal – a Mr Bill Trusson – and during that first meeting they discovered that they had both lived in London as youngsters and from that moment a real friendship was born. Over a few glasses of whiskey, Bill explained to Tony that the biggest problem at that time was the shipping cost and the delays in receiving filters from America. At the time it seemed that if the domestic market in the USA was very busy then exports to Europe suffered, plus the fact
that the filters being very bulky, they cost a small fortune to ship across the pond, especially if it was by air freight! Tony collected all the equipment from Norcal required for the swimming pool which he project managed and at the same time, he investigated the possibility to manufacture filter vessels in the UK. The swimming pool was completed and Tony had learned a considerable knowledge of how the pool should be constructed and the importance of the hydraulics and filtration system. Tony also researched and found a local fibreglass manufacturing company based on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, and arranged for them to make some prototype filters. The first batch were manufactured in a lovely shade of dark brown with a flat clear polycarbonate lid which was secured by 8 threaded studs. These early filters were often referred to by the pool trade as ‘Chocolate Drops’. In order to increase sales other colours were introduced which
As time went by Lacron filters were not only used for swimming pool applications but also for irrigation systems, fish farming, animal pools in zoos, horse rehabilitation tanks and many others” 42 October 2023 SPN 42-43_SPN_October_2023_Lacron_Anniversary_alt2.indd 42
were initially marketed as exclusive lines to certain customers of Norcal who had now become the UK distributor for the product. But what of the name I hear you ask… not long after those first few prototypes appeared, Bill and Tony had another meeting and after another couple of glasses of whiskey they settled on reversing the Norcal name and Lacron was born! Those early Lacron ‘Chocolate Drop’ filters (due to the expansion arising from operating pressures) often developed leaks from the studs and lid area, so Tony and his son Chris regularly spent weekends travelling around England repairing any faulty units as a means to give full customer support. To improve product reliability, manufacturing was taken in house at a small industrial unit near Sittingbourne and a new injection moulded and threaded lid was developed. This proved to be a vast improvement over the leaky flat lids of the early prototypes. Soon after the new Lacron lid was introduced, tooling was made for an injection moulded lateral system which was also very well received by customers. In 1972, as the sales of Lacron filters grew at pace, a new Kent-based home was acquired for both the manufacturing, storage and offices for the company – the ‘Oast House’ on London Road in Teynham. The following year, Lacron filters were exhibited at a swimming pool trade show in Paris and from that show, sales of Lacron filters flourished all around Europe and beyond.
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 08/10/2023 22:24