Innovating into the future with Kevin Rust of Spa Electrics How is business at Spa Electrics? Business at Spa Electrics is great! We are grateful to be part of an industry that has always supported one another through hard times, such as COVID-19. The team here is working on some exciting new products to introduce to the market very soon, drawing on the ideas and needs of our customers at all times as we continue to grow the business both locally and overseas.
How did the COVID pandemic affect your business? We were fortunate enough as a business to be able to continue operating during the majority of the COVID-19 lock-down periods in Melbourne, however there were many challenges to work through - from the constrained supply of parts, through to logistical delays, to operating our business remotely, running separated manufacturing shifts - and of course, delivering on our promise of excellent customer service, including timely delivery, despite all of this. I’m pleased to say that each and every one of our team members worked hard to modify their way of working, learn new skills, think differently - and at all times work in a COVID-Safe manner. I’m very proud of how we navigated through this difficult time, but also see that many of the challenges are still ahead of us! What are the challenges of being an industry supplier? As we all know, the pool and spa industry is quite dynamic, with consumer demand being driven by many factors. In recent times it has been COVID-19 influencing buying patterns, while over the past 18 months we saw extreme weather patterns creating havoc, in the form of bush fires and flash flooding. All of these industry influences flow through to how many pools go in the ground and what products we need to stock. That informs what parts we buy and how much we order from our suppliers. Our supply chain is about 10 months from the order of raw materials to the actual products being delivered. So the biggest challenge for us is planning effectively, a year in advance, for what the weather is going to do – what could go wrong?!
What does innovation look like at Spa Electrics? Here at Spa Electrics, we pride ourselves on supplying the market with innovative and high quality products. Innovation to us means listening to our customers, understanding what is most important, and then translating that information into well engineered, high performing and intuitive products that exceed the demands of the industry. How did you become involved in the swimming pool and spa industry? I had always enjoyed pools and spas from a consumer perspective and with my passion for the trades and background in business, I was excited at the prospect of a business opportunity when a friend of mine floated the idea. A small company called Spa Electrics was up for sale in 2004, and I was looking for a new opportunity to engage with. They were selling underwater pool lights - mainly in Victoria - and had been quite successful in that limited market for about 25 years. After a few discussions with the previous owners, I quickly realised that the business had a lot of potential and so with a few mates and a couple of family members, I decided to take the plunge and the rest is history!
What do you love about the industry? I personally love the pool and spa industry because it’s both dynamic and innovative. Things are constantly evolving and there are always opportunities to advance our products to better our customers. The relationships that are built within the industry and the connections that are made, are something that I have never seen before. It’s almost like everyone is just one big happy family! Everyone knows each other and we always look forward to industry events to catch up over a beer. Where to from here for Spa Electrics? I’m really excited for the future of Spa Electrics. It has been amazing to watch our company grow from only having 7 staff members, to now having over 70. I believe that we set the industry standard with our products and I want to keep building on that. We will continue to provide the market with innovative products using the highest quality materials and employing the smartest engineering minds. We are very excited to show you all what we have been working on very soon!
“I personally love the pool and spa industry because it’s both dynamic and innovative. Things are constantly evolving and there are always opportunities to advance our products to better our customers”
AQUA MAGAZINE | EDITION 4 - JUNE 2021
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