commercial feature
Putting waterpark fun back at the forefront ABOVE: A total of 3.5 million litres of water flow through the pools, slides and lazy river at Gumbuya World in Victoria BELOW: Amanda Minogue says customers want reliability, efficiency and simplicity when looking after their pools
BOTTOM RIGHT: The pump selection is absolutely critical to the project’s success
62 SPLASH! June/July 2020
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hether it’s in the backyard or the centrepiece of a water park, the ultimate purpose of a swimming pool is fun; and Davey Pool product manager Amanda Minogue says innovations that make equipment operation less cumbersome help bring the fun back to the forefront. “While the function of pool equipment is getting more sophisticated, the operation is becoming simpler,” Minogue says. “Customers don’t want to get involved in the complexity of managing their pools, and that’s true in both the residential and the commercial markets,” she says. “What they want is reliability, efficiency and simplicity.” Davey has recently committed to a new program of innovation investment that is focused largely on using internet of things technology (IOT) to change the way pools are managed. “It’s a really exciting time for Davey because we are investing in product innovation at a level we haven’t seen before,” says Minogue. “Connected product is definitely the way of the future.” Davey recently released the Chloromatic Nipper, a “clever” compact chlorinator that uses Davey’s
intelligent controls to keep pool water swim-ready all year. “This is an exciting new product and there is more to come,” she says. “Soon we’ll be launching a modular chemical control option which basically means customers will be able to use an app to monitor and remotely manage their pool. This kind of connected option is in really high demand in the market because it means whether you’re coming home from work on a hot day with the kids in the car, or you’re just getting back from holiday, you know the pool will be ready.” She says reliability and product quality is even more important in commercial pool applications. “You don’t want to close down a waterpark because a pump doesn’t work one day. Plus, we sell products right across the globe, into some of the harshest environments in the world. So, we take reliability very seriously. Sometimes customers open their pump and say it looks like it has been run through water – that’s a good thing, because it means it has been tested on the