Splash August September 2013

Swimming Pools / Leisure / Aquatics / Spas / Health

Issue 89

August/September 2013

Latest trends For paving and coping The kids are alright Swimming helps asthmatics The long path To commercial pool construction Poolrite sold Evolve, Zodiac, Allchlor share assets

www.splashmagazine.com.au

Take a closer look at HAYWARD, visit www.hayward-pool.com.au or

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PUMPS

FILTERS

CLEANERS

CONTROLS

TriStar VS Pump

ProSeries™

TigerShark QC

OnCommand™

The new energy solutions variable speed TriStar© Pump has all the features of our popular TriStar© with the added benefit of variable speed control.

These single piece constructed vessels are NSF rated at 350kpa, incorporate a unique service easy umbrella lateral design and also include the durable VariFlo© 50mm multiport valve by Hayward.

These rugged robotic cleaners utilise a true pleated cartridge filtration system and a large debris canister and will run for the normal 4 hour cleaning cycle or 1 hour Quick Clean (QC).

Automates up to four features, three valves, heater and solar controls. Add the floating waterproof AquaPod© remote for pool and spaside convenience.

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34

26

Contents 54

Combined show reaps rewards in Auckland The fourth SPLASH! New Zealand was held in June, boasting a new venue and a new concept.

Why do loyal customers shop at your store?

Larry Bloom, former CEO of BioLab, explains recent research into pool owners’ shopping behaviour.

30

The kids are alright New Australian research shows that swimming is a healthy activity for asthmatic children.

56

50

SPASA South Australia Awards The winners from the 2013 Awards.

64

32

The long road to commercial pool building Geoff Ninnes offers his advice on how to move into the commercial sector.

34

The big blue The incredible million litre aquarium in Berlin.

44

The first Australian 25m Myrtha renovation The much-loved Fanny Durack public pool in Petersham is getting a new life.

Variable speed pumps Cal Stanley looks at the technology that’s changing the way we think about filtering pool water.

The rough and the smooth Veda Dante gets expert advice on pool coping and paving.

Assess the risk to avoid debt How to get paid first when a client gets into financial trouble.

46

The new trolley warehouse concept A new concept where trade customers browse through a store-like environment.

50

Doing the dog paddle Matt Giovanisci of Swim University offers his advice on teaching dogs to swim.

52

SPASA Queensland Awards The winners from the 2013 Awards.

66

66

68

regulars News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Global news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Pool DAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Industry moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Have your say. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Commercial news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Tenders of the month . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Expo news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

New products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Top tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Ad index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

August September 2013

SPLASH!

7

The softest summer on record.

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Published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd ABN 940 025 83 682 41 Bridge Road, Glebe, NSW, 2037 Australia Ph: (02) 9660 2113 Fax: (02) 9660 4419 Managing Director: Simon Grover Managing Director Interpoint Events: Simon Cooper Editor: Chris Maher Phone: 0412 048 639 Email: chrismaher@intermedia.com.au

editorial There’s a lot to love about this industry

Contributors: Veda Dante, Cal Stanley, Larry Bloom, Roger Mendelson, Matt Giovanisci Advertising Manager: Karen Jaques Phone: (02) 8586 6135 Email: kjaques@intermedia.com.au

Of all places and times – it was just after I said “I do” that the managing editor of a publishing house came up to me and asked me to join the swimming pool and spa industry. I’d invited him to the wedding to relax and enjoy the glorious autumn day on the harbour foreshore, but he obviously had too much work on his mind. I later took up his offer to reinvigorate a fledgling title called Poolside, and began a long journey discovering the ins and outs of the industry.

Designer and illustrator: Ben Akhurst Production Manager: Catherine Murden Head of Circulation: Chris Blacklock For Subscriptions Call: 1800 651 422 Copyright All material in this publication is copyright to the publisher and/or its contributors. No material may be reproduced without the express permission of the publishers.

Disclaimer: This publication is published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd (the “Publisher”). Materials in this publication have been created by a variety of different entities and, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher accepts no liability for materials created by others. All materials should be considered protected by Australian and international intellectual property laws. Unless you are authorised by law or the copyright owner to do so, you may not copy any of the materials. The mention of a product or service, person or company in this publication does not indicate the Publisher’s endorsement. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Publisher, its agents, company officers or employees.

Any use of the information contained in this publication is at the sole risk of the person using that information. The user should make independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information before relying on that information. All express or implied terms, conditions, warranties, statements, assurances and representations in relation to the Publisher, its publications and its services are expressly excluded save for those conditions and warranties which must be implied under the laws of any State of Australia or the provisions of Division 2 of Part V of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof. To the extent permitted by law, the Publisher will not be liable for any damages including special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages (including but not limited to economic loss or loss of profit or revenue or loss of opportunity) or indirect loss or damage of any kind arising in contract, tort or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such loss of profits or damages. While we use our best endeavours to ensure accuracy of the materials we create, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher excludes all liability for loss resulting from any inaccuracies or false or misleading statements that may appear in this publication.

This issue of SPLASH! magazine published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd (Intermedia) may contain magazine or subscription; offers, competitions, forms and surveys (Reader Offers) which require you to provide information about yourself, if you choose to enter or take part in them. If you provide information about yourself to Intermedia, Intermedia will use this information to provide you with the products of services you have requested and may supply your information to contractors that help Intermedia to do this. Intermedia will also use your information to inform you of other Intermedia publications, products, services and events. Intermedia may give your information to organisations that are providing special prizes or offers that are clearly associated with the Reader Offer. Unless you tell us not to, we may give your information to other organisations that may use it to inform you about other products, services or events or to give it to other organisations that may use it for this purpose. If you would like to gain access to the information Intermedia holds about you, please contact Intermedia’s Privacy Officer at The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd, PO Box 55, Glebe, NSW 2037.

Copyright © 2013 - The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd.

SPLASH! contains NO advertorial.

Proudly supported by

I learned there is a lot to love about it. We deal with a product that makes people happy: pools and spas are attractive, fun, healthy and a great fit with the Aussie psyche.

Chris Maher Editor chrismaher@ intermedia.com.au

A lot of the people in the industry are no-nonsense straight-talkers who’ll give you an earful if they don’t like something, but are equally happy to offer credit when it’s due. And while the competition can sometimes be fierce, the players generally show respect to each other, and that’s one of the things that makes this industry a pleasure to work in.

A business-to-business magazine is a vastly different beast to a consumer title, and when I came across to Intermedia to help relaunch the long-running SPLASH!, I had the chance to become even more enmeshed in the pool and spa world, meet more great people and discover ever more intricate aspects of the industry.

From the outset, the publisher stressed that SPLASH! is an independent magazine, and it’s a badge we wear proudly.

There has been some turmoil in the industry over the past several months, and some of us risk getting caught in the cross-fire from the combatant sides. Nonetheless, we remain committed to our independence and to telling the whole story as much as it can be ascertained.

That might mean we cop a bit of flak every now and again. But we’ll continue to do what we do, because we believe the industry deserves it.

This issue’s cover The clean modern look of this poolscape is highlighted by the light tones of Chelmstone’s Marblestone, making the dark pool really stand out. Veda Dante looks closely at poolside paving and coping on page 34.

The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the above supporters, nor should any product advertised in SPLASH! magazine be seen to be endorsed by the above.

Members of

Audited Circulation Average Net Distribution Per Issue 5,724 CAB Yearly Audit Period ending 31st March 2013 August September 2013

SPLASH!

9

news

Acquisition

Poolrite finally sold to Evolve Evolve keeps pumps and filters; Zodiac gets Magnapool and skimmer; Allchlor buys chlorinators After the longest running pool industry saga in recent memory, The Evolve Group has finally purchased the assets of Poolrite Pty Ltd and Poolrite Research Pty Ltd, gaining unabridged ownership of the Poolrite brand and products.

At the same time, Evolve has divested some of those assets to third parties, most notably the Magnapool brand and the Poolrite skimmer to Zodiac Group Australia. The Poolrite chlorinators have been bought by a new entity, Poolrite Chlorinators Pty Ltd, set up

by Allchlor with Clearwater founder Len David.

Evolve will retain the full pump and filter range (“the heart of the pool”) as it is the best fit with their manufacturing base, including their plastics expertise.

Evolve Group managing director Ty Hermans says the purchase represents a strategic approach to acquire and divest specific assets and equipment to best-placed interested parties.

“We were very keen to work with companies who’ll benefit us in the future – companies who are best in field and best-placed to take these products into the future and do a great job of it. It’s sensational that Zodiac Australia has bought this Australian technology and has the potential to take it to their international network,” says Hermans.

“Allchlor has purchased the chlorinators – and they are experts in that field. Their focus will be on resurrecting some of the chlorinators that had made Poolrite’s name in the past,” he says.

“Those parties can breathe life into the brands and products that built Poolrite into one of the leading manufacturers of swimming pool equipment in Australia.

“Our vision is too see The Evolve Group become the leading manufacturer and supplier of pumps and filters to the market.”

He says there is a lot to be said about providing certainty in this space for the industry.

“Poolrite had some great products and it’s now about getting them back out to the market in the best way possible. We have partnered with industry leaders in their field and this will ensure that these great products have a long and prosperous future.”

and filter in the industry, and we are going to focus on this. When builders, pool shops and retail customers think about which pump and filter they are going to install, we want them to think Poolrite, not only because they are bulletproof, but because we are going to back them up with the industry’s best warranty policy and backup service.”

He also says that Evolve will be a one-stop shop for all Poolrite spare parts, and that it’s important everyone knows that Evolve now has a great deal of stock available.

“If they want stock, it will all be available from Monday morning (August 5). We have a lot of stock that had been caught up in the administration, but it’s all available now. Some of it is for older products which might not go back into production, so this is your chance to get a hold of it.”

Anyone interested in stock should email mel@evolvegrp. com to find out more.

Hermans says they also have a few big new innovations coming in the near future, including new technology in tank design.

Evolve Group

“We’ll be handling the heart of the pool: the pumps and filters that really brought Poolrite to be number one,” says Hermans.

“Those two key products are very reliable. In any pool system we think we’ve got the best pump and arguably the best filter. From September we’ll have them rolling off the lines.

“Our view is that Poolrite built a reputation for manufacturing the most reliable pump

Zodiac Group Australia

Zodiac has acquired the IP rights to market and sell the Magnapool products and system in Australia and abroad. It has also acquired the Poolrite skimmer box and associated products.

Zodiac plans to rebuild inventory and recommence marketing investment in the Magnapool brand, with a view to re-launching in October 2013 to dealers and consumers.

Zodiac will commence taking orders for Poolrite skimmer boxes immediately.

Steve Walls, managing director of Zodiac Group Australia says they are very excited about this tactical acquisition.

“It fills a couple of key gaps in our range and provides our dealers with even more market-leading products to offer their customers,” he says.

“Poolrite skimmers have always been recognised as the best in their field. Likewise, the Magnapool system is a great concept that meets a clear market need for alternative pool sanitisers. We are looking forward to getting the product back into the marketplace and growing the brand and range again.

“With our Global Water Care R&D team based here in Australia, the Magnapool acquisition also provides us with some really exciting opportunities to add further value to our innovative offering.”

Poolrite Chlorinators Pty Ltd

The new chlorinator company has been formed with a number

Poolrite purchased by Ross Palmer’s Palmer Group from GWA 10

SPLASH! August September 2013

Voluntary administrators called in: staff upset they hadn’t been paid

Administrators confirm interest from a manufacturer A manufacturer – widely thought to be AstralPool Australia – seems likely to buy Poolrite

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Fe b 20 ru 12 ary

Ja 20nua 12 ry

ec 20 em 12 be

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Magnapool launched into Europe, head office set up near Lyon

D

O c 20 tob 12 er

Poolrite licenses manufacturing rights to Evolve

M 20 arc 13 h

DOCA proposed

by Evolve Poolrite liquidated; DOCA offer rejected by creditors in favour of AstralPool bid

Ex-staff band together to put in an unsuccessful bid for Poolrite O c 20 tob 12 er

O c 20 tob 12 er

ly Ju

0 20

0 20

Palmer becomes more actively involved in running the company

20 12

Palmer calls for investment in Poolrite 9

Relocates manufacturing to Brisbane 20 10

Magnapool launched in Australia

6

Poolrite founded by Peter Wolpert in western Sydney

19 78 19 99 20 0 2

Go online for article links

Timeline of the long running Poolrite saga

AstralPool pulls out, citing devaluation of Poolrite caused by purchase delays

900

A conclusion to a long process600

In October 2012,300Evolve came to an arrangement with Poolrite to manufacture, market, sell and 0

Staff and creditors

Staff will need to get their entitlements paid through the Federal Entitlement Guarantee (FEG).

Poolrite liquidators SV Part2013 ners haveYear-to-July lodged the verification forms and are awaiting a response from FEG. Unfortunately, unsecured creditors will not get a return as there are insufficient funds to fully pay the two secured creditors, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Westpac Banking Corporation.

Massive winter for Queensland Winter pool DA numbers show a giant leap for Queensland.

The months of May, June and July 2013 showed a 239 per cent leap over the corresponding period in 2012. It is even better if you just look at the past two months, with Queensland jumping a massive 319 per cent. As risky as it is to look at individual months, it is also tempting to note that the Queensland July numbers have jumped 510 per cent.

While the numbers are still way behind historic highs, they show strong improvement and might at last be a sign that Queensland is recovering from that States’ two years of woe.

Western Australia has also shown a leap in winter numbers, with the two-monthly comparison showing a 55 per cent rise.

National two-month figures show a rise of 30 per cent.

Annual national figures are relatively steady with a two per cent decline over the years-to-July, with Queensland up 38 per cent, Western Australia up 17 per cent and South Australia up nine per cent. New South Wales has declined over the year by 13 per cent, and Victoria has seen a drop of 19 per cent.

Comparison Years-to-July

distribute Magnapool and Poolrite products. Shortly afterwards, voluntary administrators were called in and a series of bidders looked at purchasing the assets of Poolrite.

Through that process AstralPool Australia went close to completing the purchase, but ultimately the sale did not progress.

Evolve then moved quickly to sign a contract for the purchase of the assets.

A final hiccup came when the administrators discovered a pre-existing arrangement granting IP rights to a Palmer company, Aquarius Pty Ltd until 2025. The administrators accepted a deal from Palmer to terminate the arrangement in exchange for concessions (see splashmagazine.com.au for the full story).

Once that issue was cleared up, Evolve was able to purchase Poolrite’s assets unencumbered, and the deal was settled on August 2.

Year-to-July 2013

Administrators become aware of 3000 2012 contract granting IP to Aquarius 2500

Creditor committee rejects Palmer 2000 offer of IP and $100K in exchange 1500administrator’s indemnity for

April May June July

Evolve signs contract with 21 day settlement period

A u 20 gu 13 st

0

J 20 uly 13

500

J 20 uly 13

J 20 uly 13

J 20 uly 13

1000

NSW

VIC

QLD

Administrators granted leave by Supreme Court to compromise debts and accept offer

WA

SA

Evolve settles and finally purchases Poolrite, announcing part divestment to Zodiac and Allchor

30

1200

25 900

20

15

600

10 300

0

5

Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July

Year-to-July 2013 2000

3000 1500

2500 2000

1000 1500 1000

500

500 0

Two-Monthly Comparison

Year-to-July 2012 3500

Year-to-July 2013

35

Year-to-July 2012

Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July

y 2013

Year-to-July 2012 1500

3500

Approvals by State

of partners, chief of whom are Allchlor and Len David.

Ray Mander from Allchlor says the first cab off the rank will be to ensure comprehensive chlorinator parts are available for existing customers. The second stage will be the release of robust and affordable systems, based on the best of the Poolrite catalogue. Third, they plan some very innovative releases.

Allchlor has been a Queensland chlorinator specialist for more than 25 years, servicing up to 1000 units per month, including products from Zodiac, Poolrite, Davey, AstralPool and others.

Consequently, they have a massive range of spare parts and chlorinator cells, and they wholesale these across Australia.

They have been manufacturing very reliable Poolrite replacement cells for a number of years and in the past 10 months have been providing service, parts and advice for the vast majority of Poolrite dealers and customers.

Victorian Len David was the founder of Clearwater and turned it into a worldwide brand before selling it to Zodiac. He currently manufactures high-end coated titanium for the industry and has been a consultant to a number of the majors. Year-to-July 2012 1500 Anyone with a chlorinator query can call Allchlor on (07) 1200 3277 2554.

NSW

VIC

June & July 2012

QLD

WA

0

SA

June & July 2013

2000

1500

1000

500

0

These figures give a valuable indication of the way the market is trending. However, they are not comprehensive. For example, they do not include pool projects that are approved as part of a new home, smaller projects under the cost threshold, or renovations that don’t require a DA. Also, not all councils are forthcoming with data; councils in some states such as Queensland are particularly reluctant. For further information and more complete reports, call Cordell Information on 1800 80 60 60.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

11

news

Warranties

Compass clearing Queensland claims Compass Pools Australia – through Compass Pools SEQ – has stepped in to complete the work left after the collapse of one of their Queensland dealers, Compass Pools Northside. They have been completing jobs with help from SPASA Queensland’s Watertight fund and in some instances taking over contracts.

The earlier estimate of 70 pools as reported on splashmgazine.com. au has been revised to 52 claims for incompletion, with an additional 12 to 14 small claims that have not proceeded to the paperwork stage as yet, and four which are not related to the collapse.

Of the 52 claims, nine customers had paid substantial sums but had not received anything from Northside. A second category included 23 customers who had the shell and most of the equipment installed but were waiting for ancillary products such as water features. A third category

Other claims

involved customers who had paid a five per cent deposit but work had not commenced.

Compass urgently sought to address the nine customers in the first category.

“These people paid a substantial sum but had received nothing from Northside when Warren Druhan’s company went into voluntary administration,” says Compass Pools Australia chief operating officer, Anthony Cross.

“These have been our top priority. We worked with the

SPASA Watertight Trust and we came to the party, providing a significant discount on our cost price of pool shells and pool shell equipment. The SPASA trust fund paid the balance, saving about $50,000 though those discounts.”

At the time of writing, eight of those nine were fully installed or more than 75 per cent complete, and the last one was due to be installed within days. So by the time SPLASH! publishes, all will be at least 75 per cent complete.

Regarding the second group of 23 customers who were waiting for ancillary equipment, in most cases water features, Cross says they are already through one quarter of those claims.

“We’re doing three per week, which means it should all be done in the next six weeks, so before the end of September.”

The third group of 20 customers had paid a deposit – on average about $2000 – and signed a contract, but no substantial work had commenced.

“Rather than making them claim a refund through SPASA, we stepped in and signed new contracts (less the deposits) for those who wanted it; 16 re-signed, three wanted their deposits back and one couldn’t proceed because of planning issues,” he says.

Cross says Compass Pools SEQ definitely has the capacity to build those pools in a timely manner.

Aussie mermaid stars at Cannes Originally from Byron Bay, Hannah Fraser has found a niche career that’s taken her around the world – she’s a professional mermaid. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to

12 SPLASH! August September 2013

see her promoting her latest film, Tears of a Mermaid, in Cannes by swimming in a giant fishbowl. There are also links to her website where there are some spectacular scenes

from her movie. If you or one of your children are interested in becoming a mermaid, look to page 74 where you can find some Aussie-made mermaid fins for sale.

“We’ve re-engaged several of the contractors and staff who previously worked for Northside, plus we’ve added new management and a construction supervisor to the team. We’re installing two new pools each week, we’ve taken over the sales centre in Chermside and we’re making new sales all the time. We plan to sell a few hundred pools per year in the greater Brisbane area.”

Cross says that despite some anxiety during the first few days, the customers have appreciated the efforts to sort out the situation and resolve it as quickly as possible.

“I’d be very surprised if anyone was unhappy with the ultimate response,” he says.

Watertight protection

Adrian Hart of SPASA Queensland says he expects all the work will be completed by the end of the year.

“The important thing to consider is that all those people would have been left wondering where to go and what to do next if we didn’t have the Watertight

scheme in place,” he says.

“It’s also important to note that it won’t impact on other customers or SPASA members as there are adequate funds in the trust account to cover these claims and any other claims that might arise in the near future.

“I’ve done an analysis of the fund over a ten year period,” he says. “Every year there’s some form of claim, even if it’s for someone who went out business years ago – because we provide cover for statutory warranty of structural defects. In a ten year period there would probably be three of four bad years. This is a bad year, but it’s no worse than any other bad year in the past.”

Meanwhile, the Queensland State government has set up a home warranty subcommittee to look into the possible inclusion of swimming pools into the government home warranty scheme.

They should report back to the government before the end of the year, possibly in November.

More information will be available at that time.

Licensing

National licensing to start in 2014 The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has made progress on the National Occupational Licensing Scheme (NOLA) reform and has agreed to additional State-based consultation on the final Decision Regulatory Impact Statements, approved by the Office of Best Practice Regulation to better inform decision-makers of stakeholder views.

All State governments have recommitted to work towards a final decision on the reform by the end of 2013, which will take into consideration the outcomes of the further State-based consultations with national licensing planned to commence in 2014.

Keep informed by subscribing to the free online newsletter.

1. AstralPool steps back from Poolrite AstralPool Australia was not able to agree on terms for the purchase of Poolrite’s assets.

Have your say

Each issue we ask you some questions online and publish some of the answers. To take part, simply make sure you’re receiving our eNews. Go online at splashmagazine.com.au to subscribe.

Q: Should the government provide swimming pool completion warranties in your State? What is your experience with warranty schemes?

SPASA Qld offers the Watertight Contract Benefits Scheme which provides tremendous consumer support in the absence of a state run scheme. Just this year consumers have had pools completed or rectification work undertaken for Credibility Qld Pty Ltd and Rothwell Pools.

Without this Association-managed scheme, these consumers would have been many thousands of dollars out of pocket: in some cases as much as $8000 to $10,0000.

The state is considering adding swimming pools to its Home Warranty scheme however the decision will most likely not be known until November. Advice received by the Government if they wish to cover swimming pools is to create a scheme separate to the Home Warranty Insurance scheme with a different rating system – no doubt dearer.

Adrian Hart, SPASA Queensland

Q: Should mandatory pool inspections be carried and if so, when and by whom?

Given my prior experience with local government and private inspectors – a definate ‘No’. To them it is not about the children, but rather about further revenue generation.

Adam Short Inspections should be carried out on completion of the pool, resale of property or leasing of property, the pool should be inspected every 10 years to ensure no breaches of safety requirements. More frequent inspections would be seen as a money grabbing exercise.

David Fricker, Queensland

Top five online news stories

The most popular online news stories at splashmagazine.com.au were...

2. Contract signed: Evolve buys Poolrite Evolve Supply Chain Pty Ltd executed a contract to buy the assets of Poolrite Australia.

3. Infinity pools under threat in NSW Peter Glass says NSW changes to the BCA will have considerable impact on pool design and construction.

4. Rap video makes tuneful fun of pool care SPLASH! partner Matt Giovanisci and diva Nina Ward put together a catchy, fun rap video.

5. AstralPool launches trolley warehouses Video story on the new trolley warehouse concept, in which trade customers browse and select items as if they’re in a big box store.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

13

news

Anniversary

Kiwi company celebrates 40 years Mayfair Pools is celebrating 40 years of manufacturing fibreglass swimming pools.

The Mayfair Pools system was invented by two brothers in Hawke’s Bay back in 1973. At the time they were making Concord Caravans, the world’s largest one-piece fibreglass moulded caravans. They received a single contract for a swimming pool, and then it all took off very quickly.

They developed a revolutionary system for making fibreglass swimming pools and started pre-moulded swimming pools in their factory.

Soon they discovered disadvantages with this system which led them to invent the most successful current Mayfair system. The success of the company began with television coverage of a commercial swimming pool they built in Hastings. Once word spread, the company expanded nationwide and

2013

The Mayfair group with the 2013 winning pool

soon licensed their patented Mayfair Pools system throughout New Zealand and Australia.

“We are proud of proud of what has been achieved in marking this milestone and excited for all of the Mayfair Pools agents,” says Keith Atkins, owner and President of Mayfair Pools.

Today the company has agencies throughout most of New Zealand and is one of the largest swimming pool builders in the country.

Regulation

Heating clarification in NCC The confusing clause in the National Construction Code (NCC) that might have been interpreted as demanding solar pool heating be installed in preference to any other system is likely to be changed.

Changes are proposed to the 2014 Building Code for swimming pool heating and pumping (Clauses 3.12.5.7) and spa pool heating and pumping (Clause 3.12.5.8).

Greg Op de Coul from Rheem Australia is an advisory committee member of the NCC/ABCB and is also the heating representative from SPASA Australia.

He says they are not expecting any comments to be submitted, therefore the content will be published and form part of Volume 2 in the 2014 NCC/ABCB code which is due to be released in May of 2014.

“Previously the NCC stated that the first and only form for heating of a residential back yard swimming pool must be by solar,” says Op de Coul. “So under the old code, if you wanted to heat your

Upcoming events

new pool you had to install a solar pool heating system first.

“This did not make any sense as the use of solar heating ‘only’ for residential swimming pools was not seen as practical or feasible by consumers and industry, particularly if the owner did not want to use solar as the primary heating source. To add to the problem, north-facing roof space, which is most favourable for solar heating systems, is now at a premium and is competing with other technologies such as photo voltaic (PV) electricity generating solar panels and solar hot water systems,” he says.

He says the new proposed code for 2014 now provides the option of heating a swimming pool with either solar, a gas heater, a heat pump heater, reclaimed energy or a combination of all four.

Heating suppliers have lobbied for these changes through both the Swimming Pool & Spa Alliance and SPASA Australia.

Aug 21

John Clark Memorial Golf Day, Queensland

Aug 24

SPASA Victoria Awards Night, NGV Melbourne

Sep 7-8

Get Ready for Summer Pool, Spa and Outdoor Living Expo, Perth

Sep 18-20

Waves Pool Spa Bath Expo, New Delhi, India

Oct 2-4

World Architecture Festival, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Oct 3-5

Water Safety and Aquatic Education Conference, Queenstown NZ

Oct 15-18

Piscina BCN, Barcelona, Spain

Oct 16-18

World Aquatic Health Conference, Indianapolis, USA

Oct 22-25

Aquanale and FSB, Cologne Germany 2013

Nov 13

SPASA Victoria AGM

Nov 9-14

International Pool Spa Patio Expo and Conference, Las Vegas, USA

Nov 18-22

IAAPA Conference and Trade Show, Florida, USA

Dec 2-5

Canadian Pool & Spa Conference & Expo, Niagara Falls, Canada

Dec 7-8

Adelaide Sport, Fitness & Health (ASFH) Festival

2014 Jan 31-Feb 2 Victorian Consumer Pool & Spa Expo, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Feb 2-4

Spatex, Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK

Feb 22-24

UK Pool & Spa, Birmingham

Mar 14

SPASA Victoria Golf Day, Kingston Links

May 13-5

AALARA Conference, Sunshine Coast

July 16-17

SPLASH! Pool and Spa Trade Show, Jupiters, Gold Coast

Nov 18-21

Piscine and Aqualie, Lyon France

More details, dates and links are available at splashmagazine.com.au.

These dates are subject to change and should be checked with the relevant organisation. Please send calendar submissions to chrismaher@intermedia.com.au

August September 2013 SPLASH!

15

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news

Expo News

Pools such as this which use the spillover wall as an effective barrier will no longer be allowed in New South Wales after ‘overnight’ changes to the BCA Regulation

Infinity pools under threat from NSW BCA changes Respected pool designer Peter Glass has raised serious concerns about the “overnight” changes to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) that will have considerable impact on pool design and construction in New South Wales.

In particular, he is worried about the NSW Government’s adoption in May of a part of the BCA that means that pools built partially out of the ground can no longer consider a non-scalable pool wall with a minimum height of 1.2m as an effective barrier.

However, these types of pool walls have been treated as barriers in NSW for a long time on many sites and it is an important element in building highly attractive, top-end infinity-edge pools.

The issue had previously been clarified within the revised AS1926.1 – 2012 but now NSW is out of step with all other States of Australia – none of which have adopted the variation.

“This ‘overnight’ change, which has meant that it is now illegal to design and build many of the swimming pools typically designed by my company, was both a complete surprise to the pool industry as well as certifiers and BCA experts – and a complete contradiction of the recently released 2012 Australian Standard, which clearly differentiates between ‘aboveground’ and ‘out of the ground’,” says Glass.

“In relation to this latter item, submissions to the Premier, the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Infrastructure, seeking clarification of how this could have occurred, have been made by me and others. Despite following this matter up on a near-daily basis for the past six weeks or so, we are still seeking a satisfactory answer to this question.”

Glass says that part of the problem is that there is a maze of different regulations to adhere to in

relation to swimming pools, which in some cases contradict each other.

“A simple, plain-English Australia-wide pool barrier/fencing code, based on the well-considered and well-respected Australian Standards for Swimming Pool Barriers, is long overdue,” he says.

“Unfortunately the numerous add-on documents that currently comprise pool fencing legislation in NSW (and elsewhere in Australia) have ensured that pool barrier legislation remains cumbersome, confusing and still too open to interpretation.”

Glass is continuing to approach relevant government departments about this issue, but says none seem eager to accept responsibility.

West Australian Cal Stanley is even more scathing of the decision by the NSW Government.

“This BCA variation flies in the face of a Memorandum of Understanding (or some such similarly named document) that all states including NSW signed with the Building Codes Board agreeing not to make variations to the Building Code,” he says.

“The variation is poorly worded and its interpretation should be challenged on the basis that most pools with only one or two walls ‘out of the ground’ are not in fact ‘out of ground pools’. The most common ‘out of ground pools’ are what the industry knows as aboveground pools.

“It is indisputable that the safest pool barrier is a smooth vertical wall 1200 mm or more in height – whether made of glass or concrete, tiled, masonry, etc. It is nothing more than bureaucratic pigheadedness to force owners of such barriers to place another metal or glass fence in front.”

Meanwhile, The Swimming Pool & Spa Alliance has lodged a submission with the NSW Government and has requested input prior to an anticipated meeting with the Minister of Local Government, Don Page.

In May, the 19th AALARA (Australian Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Association) conference brought together 528 business leaders (owners and senior management) from the Australian and New Zealand attractions, aquatics, go karting, amusements, FEC, indoor play, laser tag, events, festivals, and the maze industry over two days at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre. The next AALARA Conference is on the Sunshine Coast on May 13 to15, 2014.

Piscina BCN will be held in Barcelona, Spain from October 15 to 18, 2013, bringing together companies from domestic swimming pools, wellness centres and sports and recreational facilities.

In 2011, 63 per cent of exhibitors and 45 per cent of visitors came from 23 countries outside Spain.

Cologne is gearing up for the October trade fairs FSB (the International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities) and Aquanale (the International Trade Fair for Sauna, Pool and Ambience). Around 1000 exhibitors (about half of whom come from abroad) from the sports, games, swimming pool, sauna and wellness sectors will present their new products and innovations to more than 25,000 expected trade visitors at this successful trade fair duo. The events will be held between October 22 and 25, 2013.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

17

news

Giveaway

Swimming out of Water Top Tip

Brett Abbott offers advice on Facebook for pool builders.

1. Create your company Facebook page and post photos of your work in progress.

2. Say something interesting about every photo.

3. If you sold the pool, then “tag” yourself in the photo. (You don’t have to physically be in the photo. Just tag yourself anywhere on the photo.)

4. Tag your workers in the photos.

5. Tag the homeowner (with their permission – in fact, discuss this at the very beginning of the project). And yes, you guessed it, it doesn’t matter whether they are in the photo or not. If this is their home/backyard, then tag them anywhere on the photo.

6. Every time you tag someone, they get an e-mail notification from Facebook saying “You’ve been tagged in a photo by…” And that’s the perfect set up for what we really want to happen: We want the homeowner to “like” and better yet “share” this photo of their project with all their friends. And that’s a lot more interesting and effective than trying to brag on Facebook about what a great pool builder you are.

Source: poolbuildermarketing.com

18

SPLASH! August September 2013

Catherine Garceau is a dynamic health motivator and speaker who also won bronze for the USA at the Sydney Olympics in the synchronized swimming event.

Her unconventional healing path began after her life as an Olympian when she discovered that chlorinated water was a big part of the toxic environment that was making her sick. As she dived deep into the world of water and wellness, she learned about many other sources of toxicity found in our world today, including her unfelt and unresolved emotions.

Catherine’s mission to educate and inspire others was born, and she developed EAT 360 –

Emotional Awareness Training for 360 Degrees of Nourishment – to help women gain freedom in their relationship with food, body and mind.

She tells her story in Swimming Out of Water. To find out more or purchase a copy, go to www.catherinegarceau.com.

SPLASH! has a copy of Swimming Out of Water to give away. More details will be in an upcoming newsletter. Go to splashmagazine. com.au and register to receive the newsletter so you will be notified of the competition. Information will also be sent to Twitter followers of @SPLASHmagonline.

Retail

A-G launches code The anticipated National Code of Practice to help business prevent potentially dangerous chemicals finding their way into the hands of terrorists was launched in July.

Of the 40,000 chemicals approved for use in Australia, authorities have identified 96 chemicals that are of security concern. The code focuses on 11 of the highest risk chemicals that can be used to make explosives.

The 11 identified precursor chemicals are: • Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) • Ammonium perchlorate (NH4ClO4) • Sodium chlorate (NaClO3)

• • • • • • •

Sodium nitrate (NaNO3) Nitric acid (HNO3) Potassium nitrate (KNO3) Potassium chlorate (KClO3) Nitromethane (CH3NO2) Sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) Sodium azide (NaN3)

For more information, including a copy of the National Code of Practice for Chemicals of Security Concern visit www.chemicalsecurity.gov.au or go to splashmagazine.com.au for a QuickLink.

Qualifications

PoolWerx gets $250k training grant PoolWerx has received a $250,000 grant from the National Workforce Development Fund to roll out Certificate III and Certificate IV training in Swimming Pool and Spa Service to its network of 300 technicians.

The Certificate III in Swimming Pool and Spa Service certifies competent pool and spa technicians while a Certificate IV is aimed at those managing a team of technicians or those operating a business in the industry.

PoolWerx has appointed Traxion Training as the registered training organisation (RTO) to roll out the training, with the first wave of graduates expected in September.

Until a complete course supporting the qualifications is developed, only people with recognised prior learning (RPL) – or proven skills

and experience – are eligible for the qualification through an RTO. The Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC) is still in the process of finalising the complete course, so the first raft of graduates in September will be gaining the qualifications through RPL. PoolWerx CEO John O’Brien says that this is a big step for accrediting professionals in the industry.

“While there are no legislative requirements to hold these certifications yet, we’re working towards creating minimum industry skill standards, licensing requirements for operators and further workforce development opportunities through traineeships,” he says.

Contact: www.poolwerx.com.au; www.cpsisc.com.au

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news

Global news

Clean water is the gift of life; around the world, four children die from a water-related illness every minute

Water

International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 is the International Year of Water Cooperation, and as part of its efforts in supporting the improvement of water quality around the world, Pentair recently joined with the humanitarian association Morija.

Every minute, seven people die because of unsafe water;

every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease and poor hygiene.

The United Nations is aiming by 2015 to halve the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (as measured in 2000).

Morija is an international development organisation directing humanitarian initiatives in Burkina Faso, Togo, Chad and Cameroon. Pentair’s initial donation of $10,000 through its Safewater fund will help improve the water and sanitation in a Burkina Faso village.

R&D

Chinese uni partners Australian pump designer Hehai University in Nanjing is partnering New Fluid Technology (NFT), designer of the SupaStelth pool pump as well as industrial pumps.

Headed by Professor Zheng, the university is to be the home to a research centre of excellence financed by various Chinese government bodies and the Jiansu Heng Feng New Fluid Energy Conservation Equipment Group as joint venture partners.

The goal of the specialist research centre is to investigate all aspects of the scientific principles of solid body rotation of fluids as used for pump-

ing. The centre will build and test many different sized industrial pumps including pool pumps. All pumps will be designed in collaboration with NFT. Hehai University established itself as a leader in fluid dynamics through its work on the Three Gorges Dam. The Chinese Government aims to reduce energy consumption for all industrial pumping nationally, as China is a massive user of electricity and they see the potential to dramatically reduce energy consumption by making pumps more efficient.

Contact: www.supastelthpumps.com

Spanish company Omnia Pools, billing itself as a multi-manufacturer commercial platform in the pool industry, is looking for Australian products to represent in Europe.

They are aiming to market the products of different manufacturers directly under one catalogue and working as a hub specially designed for the needs of exporter companies. They have set up a network of sales agents covering the entire Iberian Peninsula and reinforced by various support channels like IT and telemarketing. www. omniapools.com.

Peter Munk has been appointed president of Jacuzzi Brands global spa business. He will focus on growing of the global spa business including sales and marketing, engineering and product development, and global operations strategy.

Monk is a Danish national who has worked in Denmark, Belgium, Germany and the U.K. A sneaky pair of thieves in Tennessee, USA, used a swimming pool to rob a house. One of the thieves was an attractive woman who asked the male homeowner if she could skinny dip in his pool while her partner went to the shops to buy some cigarettes. While the homeowner was busy supervising the woman, the partner was ransacking the house, taking nearly $1000 in jewellery, cash, prescription drugs and a handgun.

At the time of writing they were still at large.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

21

news

Industry moves

Former SPASA presidents join Alliance board Three new directors have joined the Swimming Pool & Spa Alliance board: Lindsay McGrath, Commercial Director of Bio-Lab Australia; Paul Simons, Managing Director of Lo-Chlor Chemicals Australia, and Brad Baxter, proprietor of Award Pools.

Recently appointed President Robert Guthrie says these three directors will bolster both the experience and the diversity of the SPASA Board.

McGrath has vast commercial experience in his role with Bio-Lab Australia and Chemtura New Zealand, which owns brands such as BioGuard and BioGuard Poolside.

He is a past president of the Swimming Pool and Spa Association of South Australia (SPASA SA) and a current board member and past CEO of the Swimming Pool Retail Association Australia (SPRAA).

Paul Simons has more than 18 years’ experience in the industry, and heads Lo-Chlor Chemicals, a leading manufacturer and wholesaler of specialty pool and spa chemicals in Australia.

Brad Baxter has been in the swimming pool industry for more than 25 years, and owns Sydney pool building company Award Pools. In that time, Award has built more than 1500 concrete pools

Lindsay McGrath

and won a raft of industry excellence awards.

The new board of the Swimming Pool and Spa Alliance (SPASA) is: Robert Guthrie, Tru Pool, President; Janine Bellifemine, Acoustic Filter Enclosure, Vice President; Denis Baxter, Niagara Pool Supplies, Treasurer; Malcolm Brown, Zodiac Group; Jonathan Hatfield, Waterco; Brian Jamieson, Lifestyle Spas & Leisure; Peter Moore, Sunrise Pools; Mervyn Smith, Sunbather Pool Technologies; Manfred Wiesemes, Australian Pools & Spas; Lindsay McGrath, Bio-Lab; Paul Simons, Lo-Chlor; Brad Baxter, Award Pools.

Industry moves Maytronics has made two key appointments.

Luke Millet has been appointed Victorian sales manager. He had previously held the role of Queensland account manager. He has been in the pool industry for five years, prides himself on delivering the highest level of customer service and is excited by the opportunity to challenge himself in a new territory.

Industry moves

ALT Director elected SPASA Australia President SPASA WA President and Executive Director of Aquatic Leisure Technologies (ALT), Lynley Papineau, has been unanimously elected inaugural SPASA Australia President with Just Spas Operations Manager and SPASA Victoria VP Rob Kruber taking the Vice Presidency.

Papineau has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry. She was a recipient of the 2001 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award and was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Commonwealth of Australia for her contribution to business. She has a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Public Relations, and was invited onto the WA Building Commission, Building Act Working Committee and more recently the WA Building Commission Advisory Committee.

Vice President Rob Kruber has been involved in the spa industry for 11 years and is currently the Operations Manager of Spa Industries & Just Spas Group. Rob brings significant manufacturing and retail experience. He has served on

the SPASA Victoria Board for the past three years and currently holds the position of Vice President.

Each SPASA Australia Director has also been appointed to oversee a core portfolio.

1. Finance/Treasurer Portfolio – David Hutton (SPASA SA) 2. National Training/Education Portfolio – Lynley Papineau (SPASA WA) 3. Communications & Promotion Portfolio – Andrew Jakovac (SPASA Queensland) 4. Federal Representation Portfolio – Rob Kruber (SPASA Victoria) Two administrative appointments have also been made, with SPASA Victoria CEO Brendan Watkins taking the role of CEO of SPASA Australia while new appointee David Syme is now national manager. Syme has a long and successful background in accreditation and Standards, and is one of only two auditors for the Accreditation Board for Standards Development Organisations (ABSDO) who assesses Standards-writing bodies – including Standards Australia.

Lynley Papineau

Anthony Ramsay, well known in the pool and spa industry with more than 13 years’ experience, has joined Maytronics as the new Queensland sales manager. He says Maytronics has a strong dealer network with passionate dealers, and he looks forward to helping them grow to the next level in the robot revolution.

Emaux Water Technology has moved to 47 Catalano Circuit, Canningvale, WA 6155. Until new phone numbers are established the old numbers will still work.

Sofikitis, Greek manufacturer of Pool Stones, is setting up an office and warehouse in Melbourne to be headed by an Australian member of their team.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

23

news

Energy demand

Government will now judge DRED The public consultation phase has passed for the mandating of demand-response-enabled devices including pool pumps (commonly called DRED), and has moved into the government decision making phase.

This is a joint initiative between Australian, State and Territory and New Zealand Governments to reduce load over the power networks. It will be enabled by demand response management (DRM) by which power utilities will be able to remotely control devices that have high energy consumption so they can better manage peak demand.

There are four different products affected (pool pumps, air conditioners, hot water heaters and electrically charged vehicles). Pool pump controllers will feature a series of levels that can be activated by the utilities: Level 1 (off ), Level 2 (50%) and Level 4 (on). Level 4 would enable the pump to be turned on in off-peak times to enable filtering of the pool.

George Wilkenfeld, consultant to government department DIICCRTE – or Department of Climate Change for short – says they received about 80 submissions from quite diverse stakeholders including about four or five from the swimming pool industry.

24

SPLASH! August September 2013

“The public consultation phase is now over, and the process no longer takes place in the public arena,” he says. “Formal public processes have finished and it is now going through the department’s internal processes.”

A decision might be made by the end of the year, and it will be a further 12 months or two years before it becomes law. A decision will be prepared by the minister – at that stage there will be scope for some direct ministerial approaches – followed by a formal agreement between the Commonwealth and all the state and territory energy ministers.

Wilkenfeld says that some people had been getting confused between this standard (AS4755) and AS5102 which is to do with energy efficiency standards and labelling.

“What we’re discussing with the demand response interface standard is AS4755 – in particular 4755.3.2,” he says.

There are two types of controllers covered in this standard.

“The first is the external controllers – those boxes that may typically be attached to multiple items such as pumps and chlorinators, or even more simple ones that are only attached to a pump. They must have an interface.

“The second is the integrated controllers. These are built into the pumps. At the moment, these are also covered.”

He says there is a range of views about whether the integrated controllers should be covered. As it stands at the moment, integrated controllers do need an interface.

“Some manufacturers don’t want integrated controllers covered, and some do. Different manufacturers see commercial advantages or commercial disadvantages to them being included.

“But the public consultation phase has now been completed.

All views have been recorded and taken into account. But it is up to the government’s internal processes now.”

Melbourne meeting

Wilkenfeld attended a number of roadshow events to seek public consultation, and in July a meeting was at SPASA Victoria’s offices, attended by a number of representatives from pool pump manufacturers and suppliers, and chaired by Greg Op de Coul, SPASA Australia Committee representative.

At the forum, concerns were raised about the potential impact of fitting a DRED compatible device to all pool filter

pumps manufactured, imported and supplied by industry, with participants saying it is a significantly complex issue for new pumps being sold let alone retrofitted for the various models and configurations across the country.

There were also concerns about: • The fitting of a DRED device to single speed pumps that are not controlled by a pool pump controller device. (i.e. for the above ground pool market); • When there were already significant energy saving through encouraging consumers to install variable and multi-speed pumps, any additional saving to add DRED devices seemed insignificant to the costs involved with development, manufacture and installation for this market; • The complexity of dealing with the situation where the DRED device is connected to multiple devices that not only perform different functions at different times but require different responses, some of which may become an OHS issue if treated in the same manner (i.e. may require continuous filtering to perform safely); • The OHS issues involved with ensuring that pools are properly sanitised in the event of contamination during a demand response event; • The OHS issues involved with a loss of temperature in a pool, during a demand response event that is used for residential/domestic health and hydrotherapy purposes. (i.e. the elderly and disabled); and • As most consumers would believe that a shutting down of the pump was automatically a fault in the pump their first reaction would be to contact the retailer or manufacturer of the pump. What type of indication on the DRED device could inform the consumer that the stoppage was due to a demand response event? This last point also begs the question about the type of education program that will be required for the consumer to ensure that they fully understand what happens during a demand response event.

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news

More than 5000 people came through the show

Combined show reaps rewards in Auckland The fourth biannual SPLASH! New Zealand was held in June, boasting a new venue and a new concept.

Being co-located with BuildNZ and Designex at the Auckland Showground gave the trade show a more vibrant buzz – one that pleased most SPLASH! visitors and exhibitors.

BuildNZ is New Zealand’s leading trade fair for the building and construction industry, while DesignEx is New Zealand’s foremost design, interiors and lighting trade exhibition where interior designers, specifiers, architects and others in the design sector go to find new materials, assess the latest trends and meet new suppliers.

One of the benefits for exhibitors was a vastly larger number of visitors – more than 5000 in total. Most were there for the overall Designex/BuildNZ experience, but a good number were involved in the swimming pool and spa industry. Additionally, it provided exhibitors with the opportunity to tap into some of the peripheral industries such as landscaping and residential construction, as well as meeting specifiers and architects.

For visitors, it meant that a trip to 26 SPLASH! August September 2013

SPLASH! New Zealand not only gave them the opportunity to see 20 pool and spa exhibitors offering the latest in pool industry technology, trends and products; but also the chance to peruse the more than 200 Designex/BuildNZ exhibitors showcasing their architectural, design and construction products and services.

The co-location also meant that for the first time, SPLASH! New Zealand was open for three days, including Sunday.

“It was a successful event for Interpoint Events,” says managing director Simon Cooper. “We have many visitors from New Zealand attend our events in Australia and Asia so it is important to support the pool industry in New Zealand. This was our fourth SPLASH! New Zealand show and attracted many new buyers.”

XPO Exhibitions, organiser of BuildNZ Designex, was also pleased with the outcome of the event. Director Brett Spillane says that 97 per cent of the visitors attended with the purpose of keeping abreast of industry trends.

“More than 80 per cent of them were either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ and 74 per cent said it was a ‘must-see’ event. Addition-

ally, 85 per cent said they saw a product they would likely buy in the coming 6-12 months,” he says.

The two-day education program saw several opinion leaders in the pool and spa industry sharing their knowledge and expertise, including Tiffany Rolofson of EasyCare Products USA, Nick Briscoe of Waterco, Simon Park of WaterParkNZ, Max Williams of The Red Zebra, Bill Manfield of BioLab and Hugh Smith of Pentair.

Cal Stanley’s Hydraulic Workshop held on Tuesday June 25 proved to be of huge value for those wishing to learn more about pool hydraulics. Workshop participants learnt about flow, water velocity, head loss and pipe sizing, and left with a comprehensive manual for their future reference.

The SPLASH! event team is now preparing for the next event, the premium trade show in the Australasian swimming pool and spa industry – the biennial SPLASH! on the Gold Coast. It will be held at Jupiters on July 16 to 17, 2014, and will include a large number of associated events. It is expected to draw more than 2000 attendees from Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. n

1. Focus demonstrated their products and systems 2. Nick Briscoe chaired the chlorinefree forum 3. Pool Controls shared a stand with GB Pool Supplies 4. Tiffany Rolofson presented a seminar on pool surface rendering 5. BioLab and Hayward were kept busy 6. The Dolphin robots in action 1

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August September 2013 SPLASH!

27

The kids are alright

N

ew research from the Hobart Clinical School of the University of Tasmania indicates that despite concerns about asthma being exacerbated by disinfection by-products, teaching children to swim is still a very healthy activity, and parents of asthmatic children should consider it a very positive form of exercise.

Hong Le worked with a team at the Menzies Institute of Research which included a paediatrician and a general medical practitioner. It was funded by the Asthma Council of Tasmania.

The research is a Cochrane systematic review which means that it is subject to highly defined criteria in order for it to be published on the medical database.

“Indeed there is a lot of concern regarding the disinfectant products and chlorine used especially in those who get a lot more exposure,” says Hong.

“Our purpose of doing this research was to be able to get an idea of whether swimming should or should not be recommended for asthmatic children. Many families want to keep their children fit but there is often a fear that regular exercise produced more harm than good by inducing asthma attacks.”

They ended up looking at studies which put children through swimming training at least two times a week, a minimum of 30 minutes each time for at least six weeks in total.

“We then looked at what happened to these children over this time and found that there were few asthma attacks during the swimming for those who were known and treated with the appropriate medication for asthma.”

The review included two groups in chlorinated pools and two groups who were not in chlorinated pools.

“Overall the number of the attacks that happened in the 226 children we looked at were too small for us to be able to say whether or not non-chlorinated versus chlorinated pools were better.

“Our focus was to see if swimming was an effective and safe exercise for children to do. We were able to conclude from our results that swimming overall was effective in improving lung function tests and 30

SPLASH! August September 2013

fitness levels of asthmatic children, with few adverse events – that is, asthmatic attacks – occurring as a result of the swimming training.”

The study is called Swimming Training for Asthma in Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years and Under (Review), by Beggs S, Foong YC, Le HCT, Noor D, Wood-Baker R, Walters JAE. Asthma is a common condition among children and adolescents causing intermittent wheezing, coughing and chest tightness. Concerns that physical exercise, such as swimming, can worsen asthma may reduce participation and result in reduced physical fitness. The review aimed to determine the effectiveness and safety of swimming training in children and adolescents with asthma who are aged 18 years and under.

They reviewed a total of eight studies involving 262 participants between the ages of five and 18 years with well-controlled asthma.

They underwent swimming training varying from 30 to 90 minutes two to three times a week over six to 12 weeks in seven studies, and in one study training lasted 30 minutes six times per week.

This review found that for swimming training compared to the control (either usual care or another physical activity), there were improvements in resting lung function tests, but no effects were found on quality of life, control of asthma symptoms or asthma exacerbations.

Physical fitness increased with swimming training compared with usual care. There were few reported adverse asthmatic events in swimming training participants during the programs. The relatively small number of studies and participants limits this review’s ability to measure some outcomes that are of interest, particularly the impact on quality of life and asthma exacerbations.

In summary, swimming training is well-tolerated in children and adolescents with stable asthma, and increases physical fitness and lung function. However, whether swimming is better and/or safer than other forms of physical activity cannot be determined from this review.

Further studies with longer follow-up periods may help understand any long-term benefits of swimming.

To view the abstract go to splashmagazine.com.au. n

PHOTO CREDIT: YMCA

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feature

Variable speed pumps

by Cal Stanley

One of the many types of variable speed pumps, this one from Pentair

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SPLASH! August September 2013

T

his article is written from the perspective of a typical pool builder who is generally slow to embrace change. Well I have changed. The other day I installed a new variable speed pump on my own pool and I am very pleased with it. If you haven’t embraced this technology yet, I hope this short article will set you to thinking about doing so.

For most of my career in this industry I sold my clients big pumps and filters that would turn over the pool volume in two to three hours. It was a good selling point but was actually unnecessary.

Smaller units running a bit longer would have kept most of those pools looking just as good.

Over the past five years we have seen a multitude of multispeed and variable speed pumps become available.

Multispeed pumps – normally three fixed speeds – were the first to hit the market and because they were not much more expensive than standard fixed speed pumps, they were rapidly adopted by many builders and clients.

Recently, more expensive pumps with fully variable speeds have arrived and can be so sophisticated that they can be programmed to automatically or manually carry out various functions, changing speeds as more or less flow is required. Mind you, if you are going to get one or sell them, you may want to get your teenaged children to program them.

While fixed speed pumps can be made to all look the same, they change flow by altering the characteristics of the pump impeller – a change to the diameter or the width both alter the flow. The cost of running these pumps is always a fixed rate per hour.

A variable speed pump changes the flow simply by changing the speed of impeller rotation – the lower the speed, the lower the flow and cost to run.

The running cost savings can be extensive due to what are termed the Pump Affinity Laws: 1. A change in speed equals a change in flow; 2. A change in speed equals a change in head-loss squared; 3. A change in speed equals a change in power usage cubed.

What this effectively means is that if you halve the speed you halve the flow, get a quarter of the head loss, but use only 1/8th of the power. Run it twice as long to get the same amount of water filtered each day and save 75 per cent of electricity to do so. Change the speed to a third and the power usage drops to

1/27, run it three times as long and use only 1/9 of the power.

Sounds very good – and it really is – but there are a few more things to think about other than just saving power costs.

• Always plumb the pool in a pipe size to take the maximum speed and flow.

At some time your client will use it, particularly for cleaning and sand filter backwash.

• All clients must to be advised to increase running time as it is important to get the same volume of water filtered each day.

• All these pumps will start up at the highest speed for a short period to ensure the pump is fully primed, before dropping back to a set lower speed.

This time may not be long enough to set up the current in the water body that is created in all pools. If that does not happen then there is the likelihood of “dead” spots in the pool where algae can flourish.

The more expensive pumps can be programmed to run at high speed for 10 to 15 minutes before settling back to the lower speed. Once the current in the pool is up and running, it will remain that way with the pump on the lower speed.

I do not recommend slowing speeds down to 1/3 speed even though the cost saving is fantastic. I just think clients will not manage the flow right, the pool current may not be well maintained and the pool will suffer accordingly.

Selling these pumps should be easy as it is not hard to do the maths to show your clients how short the payback period of the additional purchase cost will be and the savings thereafter.

Variable speed pumps are the future.

Carbon emissions mean utilities are trying to get us all to use less power.

This has gone so far in the US that more and more states only permit variable speed pumps on new pools and offer incentives to existing pool owners to change.

In Australia there are moves afoot to mandate the inclusion of a “smart” device in every pool pump which when coupled with a “smart” meter will enable the power utility to shut off all pool pumps in various areas in periods of peak load. The Swimming Pool and Spa Alliance and some manufacturers are trying to get variable speed pumps exempted from this scheme.

There is more on this in the news section on page 24. n

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feature

By Veda Dante

The rough and the smooth innovations in pool coping and paving MAIN. The Castlemaine slate around the Limestone House’s pool juxtaposes pleasantly with the rough texture of the stone wall. Designed

by Melbourne architect Russell Barrett. www. russellbarrett.com.au

A

s the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces continue to blur both physically and conceptually, so too does our perception of the role paving and coping plays in a poolscape.

Pool designers, landscape architects, builders and humble homeowners are factoring in the nuances that a particular paving product may play on the overall surrounds.

Spearheading this change is the trend of replacing traditional terracotta and concrete with a slew of versatile materials made by Mother Nature.

“We’re seeing a big move towards natural stone such as travertine, sandstone, granite, marble and basalt because they offer more than a boring, monotone look,” says Sareen Stone’s NSW managing director Paul Connelly.

“Natural stone is popular because it looks great, it’s cooler underfoot than concrete and terracotta, and lasts longer than terracotta,” he says. “It also has an aspirational value and takes on a wonderful patina with age that can’t be replicated with ceramics and concrete pavers.”

Unlike coloured concrete, which tends to fade and age quickly, Connelly says it is the subtle variations in natural stone that make it an interesting product to look at.

34 SPLASH! August September 2013

“It’s also easy to look after,” he says. “When natural stone is treated with a good quality penetrating sealer at installation, such as the DuPont Stonetech range, maintenance is easy.

“There’s no need for high pressure gurneys or acid washing – unless in extreme circumstances. Sealing makes living with stone easy and cleaning a cinch.”

When it comes to choosing the right finish for pool surrounds, Connelly offers these words of wisdom: • Tumbled – popular with all travertine types. Cool under foot, not slippery. Fill the holes, or leave unfilled for greater slip resistance • Sandblasted – works well for basalt, marbles and limestone. Cool under foot, not slippery when wet.

Make sure it’s a light sandblast – not too rough • Flamed – normally used with granites to achieve a good slip resistance in the wet. Commonly used finish in most public areas • Bush-hammered – a very rough sandblasted finish is the best way to describe this appearance. Great in the wet where people are walking up ramps or slopes • Unfilled and honed – gives travertine a more formal look outdoors. Leave unfilled or fill and sponge out

LEFT. The light tones of Chelmstone’s Marblestone surrounding a dark pool BELOW. Chelmstone’s Marblestone Skye coping

August September 2013 SPLASH! 35

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LEFT. Lighter coloured pavers are cooler underfoot.

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SPLASH! August September 2013

LEFT. Decorative stone pebble can often be employed as a visually soft surround to stepping stones. A Total Concept BELOW. Sydney Sandstone stepping stones surrounded by crushed sandstone pebble mulch in a native garden setting. A Total Concept

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excess grout to give more grip when wet. A very elegant and “grown-up” finish • Antiquated or brushed finish – works better with limestone than other materials because of its slightly more porous properties. The greater the porosity the greater resistance to slipping when wet. Talk with your stone supplier about appropriate stones that fit this category.

Colour palette

While the beautiful variation in colour and tone throughout natural stone pavers and coping can be visually stunning and elegant in the right setting, Amber’s outdoor and paving specialist Mike Barden offers a word of caution.

“The difficulty with natural stone is that the different materials often have different weight-bearing and weather-resistant properties, so it is best to speak with a consultant when choosing the ideal paver,” he says.

“Concrete pavers are suitable for home renovators who want to control the colour of the paver, offering a classic appearance that is available in a wide variety of colours, sizes and finishes.”

Shelly Cameron from Mosaic Design Company (MDC) says there is a noticeable movement towards the neutral grey spectrum.

“People are showing more interest in the grey range of natural stone such as bluestone and granite and are moving away from the lighter cream or yellow-based stone,” she says.

She also says that using the paver “as is” along the pool edge without a bullnose or special coping is also popular.

“If you’re able to use the paver within the lawn, then utilising long, rectangular man-made pavers with lawn or pebbles within and around a staggered type of layout creates interest, and uses the paver to draw your eye to different sections of the pool and landscape,” she says.

ABOVE. Austral’s slipresistant and salt-safe Riviera ceramic pavers are easy on the feet and easy on the eye, letting you enjoy the spectacular view of Palm Beach and the Barrenjoey from Rock&Stone LEFT. Pebbles can add an intriguing touch of colour, especially when complemented by foliage – even of the succulent variety. This from Rock&Stone

August September 2013 SPLASH! 39

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ABOVE. The age-old appeal of tumbled travertine from Sareen Stone RIGHT. Sareen Stone’s classic tumbled stone can be used for everything, from the coping, waterline, paving and even stepping stones and in-pool stools

Decorative stone pebble

Another trend gaining traction in the paving industry is the use of decorative stone pebbles. While they have long been used in classic outdoor settings, savvy pool and landscape designers are now employing them in a myriad of modern ways.

Anna Koren, designer/director of Rock & Stone, says that while pebbles aren’t new to the landscaping world,

novel modifications of the product enable it to work in different design contexts.

“Today you’ll find a variety of shapes and colours, different treatments like split and honed pebble, and pebble strips that are used between pavers,” she says.

“In addition to paving, designers are also using pebbles vertically on walling, on the sides of swimming pools, and as a feature on wet edges.”

Breaking up a large expanse of pavers with decorative stone pebbles provides visual relief and softness, she says. “It also helps provide interest in the finished look.”

In addition to offering a range of DIY design options, decorative aggregates like decorative pebbles and decorative stones are often used to solve runoff issues.

“Stone pebbles are often placed over drainage grates to turn an eyesore into an interesting feature, and can even be used in place of a perimeter drain altogether,” says John Storch from A Total Landscape architects and swimming pool designers.

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“Decorative stone pebble can often be employed as a visually soft surround to stepping stones,” he says. “For example, Sydney Sandstone stepping stones surrounded by crushed sandstone pebble mulch look stunning in a native garden setting.”

Adding to the versatility of pebble are new ranges of resin-bound paving products such as Pour On Gravel Binder. This non-toxic liquid is used to stabilise loose pebbles, stones and gravel while maintaining a permeable surface.

“This gives you beautiful loose gravel and stone look without the hassle,” says StoneSet sales director Tori Newton. ”The easy-to-use binder locks the stone in place, thereby reducing maintenance and leaving an attractive, easy maintenance porous surface.

“Using pebbles and Pour On in your hard landscaping and increasing the ratio of porous surfaces not only helps improve the health of surrounding trees but also reduces surface run off into surrounding drains and rivers.”

Seamless integration

Creating design harmony for interior spaces is commonly achieved by using similar surfaces and tones to transition from one room to the next, so it makes sense that similar principles are applied in alfresco environments.

To create a seamless transition from the kitchen to the outdoor entertaining zone, choose pavers that have similar characteristics and sizes as the interior tiles.

“Most travertine these days come in the polished tile as well as the tumbled outdoor paver, so it can be used indoors and outdoors for that seamless look,” says Shelly Cameron.

“To create a touch of difference you could change size of the tile indoor or chose a French-inspired pattern with the outdoor pavers.”

Paul Connelly also suggests using a polished or honed finish indoors, running into an antique, flamed, sandblasted or tumbled finish outdoors.

“The material remains the same but is subtly changed depending on the surface treatment – but everyone will

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August September 2013 SPLASH! 41

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LEFT. A detail of Abgal’s Quickfix system

Top 10: pool paving tips Amber’s outdoor and pavers specialist Mike Barden offers his five best pool paving tips: 1. Use smaller-width bullnose pavers for free-form pools, as less unsightly cutting is required. Larger bullnose pavers such as 600mm x 400mm are better suited to classic rectangular pools 2. All paving, either stone or concrete, should be sealed 3. If using sandstone pavers, especially around saltwater pools, then a presealer is highly recommended for consolidating stone particles 4. Once you have selected a paver, check if a bullnose finish or alternative finishes like square-edge bullnose is available. It is also wise to check if special shapes are needed in the design of your pool, such as double or triplebullnose, curved bullnose and internal and external corners, as use of these accessories can make a significant difference to the overall look of the pool 5. Consider the colour of the pavers within the environment. Black may be the perfect colour choice to suit your style, however the colour will be very hot underfoot in summer Chelmstone managing director Robert Weller offers his five best pool paving tips: 6. Make sure paving is salt-safe 7. Check to see if the pool paving is slip-resistant 8. Find out if coping is available to suit the paving 9. Choose a penetrating sealer to minimise staining as surface sealers can cause the product to become slippery 10. Don’t forget paving to surround the pool’s skimmer box

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SPLASH! August September 2013

BELOW. This commercial project at the Royal Apollonia Beach Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, show curvilinear coping with stone overflow grates by Sofikitis

know it’s the same material,” he says. “If the outdoor area is undercover, you can use a honed finish as well.

“I would also advise using a honed tile around undercover barbeque areas as it’s easier to clean up fat splatter and food spills on flat rather than sandblasted surfaces.”

Shelly Cameron has one more piece of advice when choosing pool-friendly pavers and coping: choose quality.

“The feedback we get from tilers – even if the pavers cost the owner less – is that they have to charge more due to the extra work they do to make the paver look its best,” she says. “Cheaper pavers equals costly wastage as it takes more time to lay and requires more adhesive than other products purchased to get the finish of the pavers level and even.”

Vinyl liner pools

Queensland-based Abgal Liners & Covers has released an aboveground track and welded bead system that eliminates the need for decking and paving to be ripped up when the liner needs replacing.

“Quick Fix is our recommended fixing method for all new aboveground pools – it hangs over the top of the pool wall, giving a better bead receiver,” says managing director Garry Long.

“Once installed, replacement liners can be snapped in using welded bead or an overlap-style liner with capping.”

While there aren’t any notable restrictions when it comes to paving around a vinyl liner pool, Long does caution those using heavy machinery or materials coming into contact with pool liners.

“When a new pool is being installed, all the heavy work is usually done before the liner is installed. That’s to ensure that the liner isn’t damaged should somebody happen to drop a paver while they’re working,” he says.

“The other thing is to ensure that the chemicals used to clean the grout don’t come into contact with the liner,” he says.

“While most paving companies don’t like people using acid, some do use a strong acid wash so obviously care has to be taken when dealing with vinyl pools.” n

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feature

Assess the risk to avoid debt

By Roger Mendelson

Y

ou do the work, the company goes broke and you get nothing: a scenario that many pool and spa contractors may have gone through at some stage.

You may have been paid in progress instalments, but at the end the customer or lead contractor goes into liquidation and there is nothing left over for the creditors.

It doesn’t matter if you are working for a homeowner or a builder, there are steps contractors should take to protect themselves and reduce the risk of suffering severe losses.

In the case of a homeowner, they will almost certainly have significant equity in the home. The most effective way to secure your interest in the property is for the customer to grant you a charge over the property, which can then be secured to a degree by lodging a caveat over title. In that event, if the customer goes bankrupt, your charge should take preference over claims by unsecured creditors.

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SPLASH! August September 2013

“In our experience, ultimate recoveries are invariably much higher where there are Directors Guarantees than where there aren’t.”

New customer form

More often than not however, this situation will occur when working for a builder.

In this case, the first step would have been to get the builder to complete a New Customer Form (“The Form”). As he wants credit from you, you are entitled to ask questions that enable you to assess his credit worthiness.

The Form requests details of the customer’s accountant, bank manager and three trade references. The most important call is to the accountant, however. Find out how long they have been acting as the accountant for the company and whether they regard it as a good credit risk. If the accountant is hesitant or refuses to answer, take great care.

Similarly for the trade references, find out the length of time they have dealt with the company and whether or not they would regard it as a good credit risk.

Credit checks

If you don’t know a great deal about the customer, carry out some very basic credit checks.

If you are looking at high dollar figures, it is worthwhile obtaining a company search.

This will confirm information such as names and home addresses of the directors, how long the company has been in operation and list any previous or current applications to wind it up or to appoint a receiver.

Where your search indicates possible credit risk, insist on higher progress

payments and in the event where there is a delay in payment, advise the customer that work on the job will stop until such time as the amount is paid in full.

Forms are available free of charge at www.prushka.com.au.

Director guarantees

It’s important to bear in mind that if the company does go in to liquidation, there will normally be little or nothing left over for the unsecured creditors. Your position can be greatly improved by obtaining Director Guarantees as a condition of you granting credit. This is a common procedure, so if the company refuses, be cautious about proceeding further.

The Guarantee is a personal obligation on the directors to pay you in the event of the company being unable to do so, placing creditors in a far stronger position than unsecured creditors of the company. The reason being is that directors will in most cases have a home and other assets and will really have something to lose if they get sued under the Guarantee.

In our experience, ultimate recoveries are invariably much higher where there are Directors Guarantees than where there aren’t. n Roger Mendelson is CEO of Prushka Fast Debt Recovery Pty Ltd, principal of Mendelsons Lawyers Pty Ltd and author of The Ten Mistakes Businesses Make and How to Avoid Them, and Business Survival.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

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AstralPool launches trolley warehouse concept

A

TOP. The clean, neat look of the new warehouse concept BELOW. Norwest Pool and Spa Services pick up some goods

stralPool Australia has introduced a new model called the Trolley Warehouse whereby trade customers can browse through a storelike environment and pick and choose the products they want.

Peter Wallace, managing director of AstralPool, says the concept originated in Spain where they rationalised their branches and distributed more products directly from their Trace central logistic warehouse in Girona. The remaining regional warehouses adopted a self-service style.

However, Wallace says the concept had to be adapted to suit the Australian trade environment.

“In a country the size of Spain, you can direct-deliver from a central warehouse to pretty much anywhere in the country the following day, if not the same day. It’s not that much bigger than Victoria.

“But if we had a Sydney builder saying he wants a job lot of equipment overnight, we can’t guarantee that from Melbourne. For Queensland or Perth you definitely can’t. So we came up with a hybrid of the self-serve warehouse and a central delivery warehouse.”

The idea is that builders can grab a trolley and self-select products from the shelving in a similar way to being in a Bunnings or a Masters, but there is also a traditional pallet-style section so that bulk and heavy goods can be delivered directly to site.

One of the advantages of the self-pick set-up is that trade customers can see the whole range of AstralPool

products, including chemicals, pipes, fittings, skimmers, valves, cleaners and other goods not generally top of mind when thinking of the company – which is more generally associated with pumps, filters, chlorinators and heat pumps.

“It’s a bit like the McDonald’s philosophy – would you like fries with that,” says Wallace. “While people are here, we’d like them to pick up some elbows and fittings that they were going to drive around the corner to pick up. But traditionally customers wouldn’t have thought of those products because we had them out in the warehouse, and because of OH&S they weren’t allowed out the back. ” Now all the staff members are out in the warehouse.

“It means there is more engagement between staff and customers, it’s easier for small businesses to have a look around and see what we’ve got, and the fact that it’s all visible encourages the trade customers to ask questions.”

Goods are selected, scanned and taken away in a very quick process; a new IT and automatic billing system backs up the concept.

“It’s meant to be pleasant, clean and tidy. We’ve done the Gold Coast, Townsville and Sydney so far, but it’s being implemented around Australia. We’ll end up with eight in the end. We’ll have one or two more warehouses than we currently have. They are slightly smaller than our old pallet-racked warehouses but we’ll have more, so we’ll be closer to the customer.

“There’s more stock held now in the central warehouse in Melbourne, which supplies the trolley warehouses and sends stock every single day. If one pump leaves this warehouse today, a pump leaves Melbourne immediately to replace it. We don’t wait for pallet quantities – we replenish it straight away. And then what we build in manufacturing, replaces what we’ve taken out of the central warehouse.

“So someone pulls something of the shelf here today, it comes out of the Melbourne warehouse tomorrow and is manufactured in the factory the following day.”

Wallace assures everyone that while it might have the appearance of a pool shop it is definitely not a retail venture.

“This is strictly trade only,” he says. “And that’s a promise.” n Go to splashmagzine.com.au to see one of the new trolley warehouses in action.

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SPLASH! August September 2013

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Revised communication keeps Zodiac employees in the loop

Z

odiac, one of the world’s largest pool care and marine equipment companies, has completed the implementation of a Mitel unified communications suite across the Asia Pacific region.

Zodiac has offices in every major city in Australia and a highly mobile workforce of sales and customer care managers: there are 350 employees across the region and 250 are in Australia alone.

Their previous IT system was five years old and had severe limitations on the call centre, which had a negative impact on new customer calls, with no capability to integrate remote workers. Given that 30 per cent of the sales and field force work out of the office, this was limiting productivity.

The move to upgrade to the Mitel technology was intended to increase communication between remote offices and mobile staff, increase new business and improve customer service.

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5/2/13 4:58 PM

Mitel is a global provider of unified communications and collaboration (UCC) software, solutions and services that enable organisations to conduct business anywhere, over any medium with the device of their choice. Through a single cloud-ready software stream, Mitel’s Freedom architecture provides customers in more than 100 countries the flexibility and simplicity needed to support a dynamic work environment.

Essential Data + Voice, the channel partners, recommended Mitel and managed the implementation process. The Mitel project is part of the broader IT upgrade Zodiac is rolling out to modernise operations which includes a move to cloud, tablets and smart phones for the workforce and the use of Google+ as a collaboration tool.

Zodiac has placed a strong emphasis on strategic growth and development in recent years. This was a key motivator in driving the organisation to update their communications and IT infrastructure.

The rollout has been an ongoing endeavour across all facets of the organisation’s IT system. Zodiac imple-

mented Mitel hardware but also sought to implement smartphone applications and tablet devices to ensure remote workers could connect with the head office while on the road. Zodiac implemented a number of other Mitel solutions to aid their business during its growth period. These include: • Mitel Contact Centre Management – An updated call centre service that could handle calls for all areas of the business and distribute to relevant staff, regardless of location.

• Mitel Border Gateway – A smartphone and tablet application that allows remote staff easy connectivity with head office to place orders and streamline the sales process.

Since implementing Mitel infrastructure into the business Zodiac has noticed increased efficiency in call handling, better monitoring of customer calls and a far greater flexibility for staff working remotely. These benefits have allowed the organisation to focus on its products and services to provide a seamless experience for the customer.

Contacts: www.mitel.com n

LEFT. John Khoury IT Manager APAC Zodiac Group who acquired the system

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When Emaux Pumps and Filters are specified, you can be assured of a filtration system that is of the highest quality. Emaux meets or exceeds Australian and International quality and performance standards at a cost which reflects our international competitive strength.

For further information call us or visit our website. www.emaux.com.au.

The clear choice in water technology

1300 293 633 August September 2013 SPLASH! 49

feature

Doing the dog paddle Given the recent spate of dogs reported drowning in swimming pools [SPLASH! Edition 87], we’re presenting a summary of dog swimming tips compiled by Matt Giovanisci of Swim University.

1. To get your dog into the pool, start slowly at the first step. This should allow them to have four feet wet but still feel like they can get out.

2. Prevent the dog from having access to the pool without supervision.

3. Don’t restrain them, just gently cradle under the tummy and feed them a couple of tasty treats.

4. Find a friend or neighbour with a strong swimming dog. Seeing another dog swimming easily may help build your dog’s confidence. Start slow and have patience, but keep in mind some dogs just don’t like the water.

5. The dog’s nails should be kept trimmed. An enthusiastic dog, or one that is using you as a floatation device, may rake you with sharp nails — not to mention the pool liner (if you have one).

6. Groom your dog before swimming. Dogs that have lots of hair can do a number on your filter system. Clean out your skimmer baskets on a more frequent basis.

7. Be careful about using dog toys in the pool. Many dogs have chipped teeth from grabbing at a toy that has bumped up against the concrete edge.

8. Even a swimming breed like Labrador retrievers can benefit from a life jacket. But dogs with smaller legs may have a real hard time with swimming, and this is where a life jacket could come in very handy.

50

SPLASH! August September 2013

9. Dogs need sunscreen just as much as their human counterparts. But any sunscreen used should be labelled for use on pets to ensure safety. You can often find them at your local pet shop.

10. Don’t let your dog drink pool water. Always keep an ample supply of fresh water around so your dog can drink without attempting to drink from the pool.

Also make sure you give your dog many opportunities to relieve themselves after a swim – because even if you try to stop them, they’re likely to ingest water and may need to urinate more often.

11. Teach your dog to find the steps so they can get out. And as dogs are known to have poor depth perception, use a big potted plant to mark the exit of your pool. If you don’t have steps, provide a nonslip ramp for getting out.

12. Rinse them off after a swim to prevent irritation to the skin and eyes. But you shouldn’t shampoo after swimming unless it includes conditioning.

13. Use a pool enzyme chemical. Due to the oils and build-up on their skin they will add organics and phosphates to the pool water. Even double up on the dosage — so instead of once a week do it twice a week if the dog is swimming regularly.

14. Keep your chlorine at an acceptable range. And make sure your pH and alkalinity are balanced.

15. Shock your pool after heavy use. If you’re having a party and swimming with dogs, shock it that night.

16. Constantly check the skimmer and pump baskets and remove any debris, including dog hair.

17. If the pressure is high on the filter, backwash it.

Contact: www.swimuniversity.com

QUEENSLAND S W I M M I N G P O O L & S PA A S S O C I AT I O N

We would like to give a special thank you to our Major SponSor

and all other Sponsors of the 2013 awardS of ExcEllEncE. It was your support that made the event such a success.

It is greatly appreciated and we ask the Pool Industry to support those who support your association.

Magazine

feature

Norfolk Pools: Domestic Technical/Engineering Award

Domestic Pools & Spas

SPASA Queensland

2013 Award Winners Queensland Family Pools: Pool of the Year Award

52  SPLASH!  August September 2013

Concrete Pool Freeform or Natural under $50,000 Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Cascade Pools; Bronze: Precision Pools; Merit: Queensland Family Pools Concrete Freeform or Natural $50,000 to $100,000 Gold: Norfolk Pools; Silver: Norfolk Pools; Bronze: Queensland Family Pools Concrete Freeform or Natural over $100,000 Gold: Placid Pools; Silver: Pool Fab; Bronze: Evans & Evans Concrete Traditional or Geometric under $50,000 Gold: Cascade Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Norfolk Pools; Merit: Norfolk Pools Concrete Traditional or Geometric $50,000 to $100,000 Gold: Norfolk Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Norfolk Pools; Merit: Norfolk Pools Concrete Traditional or Geometric over $100,000 Gold: L&V Project Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Majestic Pools Composite Fibreglass Pool Traditional or Geometric under $40,000 Gold: Narellan Pools; Silver: Narellan Pools Composite Fibreglass Pool Traditional or Geometric over $40,000 Gold: Narellan Pools; Silver: Narellan Pools; Bronze: Freedom Pools Composite Fibreglass Pool Freeform or Natural under $40,000 Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Freedom Pools; Bronze: Freedom Pools Enclosed Concrete Pool Merit: Cascade Pools Lap Pool Gold: Norfolk Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Majestic Pools; Merit: Pool Fab Pools Courtyard Plunge Pool Gold: Queensland Family Pools; Silver: Norfolk Pools; Bronze: Noble Pools; Merit: Queensland Family Pools Aboveground Modular Pool Gold: Classic Pools; Silver: Classic Pools; Bronze: Classic Pools

Spa Pool Combo Gold: Pool Fab; Silver: Pool Fab; Bronze: Precision Pools Spa Pool Stand-Alone Built On-Site Merit: Freedom Pools Water Feature Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Norfolk Pools Pool Lighting Feature Gold: Norfolk Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Majestic Pools; Merit: Majestic Pools Pool Renovation under $25,000 Gold: Dean Thomas Pools; Silver: Noble Pools; Bronze: Jagun Pool Renovation over $25,000 Merit: Burleigh Pools

Surfside Pools: Commercial Concrete Pool under $250,000 Award

Commercial Pools & Spas Concrete Swimming Pool under $250,000 Gold: Surfside Pools; Silver: Surfside Pools; Bronze: L&V Project Pools Concrete Poolover $250,000 Gold: L&V Project Pools; Silver: L&V Project Pools Lap Pool Merit: L&V Project Pools Pool Renovation under $250,000 Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Mad Pool Interiors Pool Renovation over $250,000 Merit: L&V Project Pools Pool Water Feature under $250,000 Merit: Surfside Pools

Other Categories Domestic Classic Pool Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Norfolk Pools Portables Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Freedom Pools Builder’s Display Swimming Pool Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Freedom Pools Other Display Pool Merit: Freedom Pools

Sustainable Swimming Pool Gold: Noble Pools; Silver: Majestic Pools; Bronze: Majestic Pools Pool Shop Merit: JC Pool Services

People Awards Norfolk Pools: Lap Pool Award Creative Gold: Majestic Pools; Silver: Norfolk Pools; Bronze: Precision Pools; Merit: Majestic Pools Technical/Engineering – Domestic Gold: Norfolk Pools; Silver: Queensland Family Pools; Bronze: Queensland Family Pools; Merit: Precision Pools Technical/Engineering – Commercial Gold: L&V Project Pools; Silver: Surfside Pools; Bronze: Pool Fab Pools

Salesperson of the Year Ross Burke – Narellan Pools Queensland Construction Supervisor of the Year Mark Chapman – Environ Pools Pool Technician of the Year Julie Bowdery – Positive Pool Services Industry Trade Representative Jayne Orth – AstralPool Australia

Major awards Pool Builder of the Year Noble Pools President’s Award (Pool of the Year) Queensland Family Pools

Majestic Pools & Landscapes: Classic Pool Award

August September 2013 SPLASH! 53

feature

The price of loyalty T

By Larry Bloom

he February/March issue of SPLASH covered a timely article on “The Ongoing Online Battle,” identifying the internet as a growing threat to specialty pool retailers in Australia.

Facing a similar situation in the US, we wanted to get inside the minds of pool owners and understand their shopping preferences. How do they select a specialty pool retailer? What criteria made them loyal to that store? Is there a limit to that loyalty? What might make their loyalty decrease over time?

So, we commissioned a comprehensive, statistically accurate survey of owners of in-ground residential swimming pools.

Not surprisingly, we found that the greater a consumer’s satisfaction with the overall value delivered by a pool retailer, the stronger his or her loyalty. But surprisLoyalists advantages of shopping at pool shops over other outlets ingly, we also found a significant risk of defection by over half of all loyal specialty pool retail customers. (an active advantage). This overwhelming response is almost 20 For the purposes of our research, overall value was defined for per cent higher than the second reported advantage, Availability of respondents as a combination of products, knowledge, service, attitude, Product (a passive advantage). results and prices. Based on this definition, only 49 per cent of Loyalists This underscores the critical importance of training staff members are extremely satisfied with the overall value received from their pool to understand how pools work so that they can provide the level of products store. Accordingly, there is higher risk of defection with slightly knowledge that customers expect. That means making training a real more than half the loyal customer base of the average pool retailer. priority before the season starts, which involves: Loyalists on average purchase 6.7 times more from a retailer than • Improving training programs to ensure every employee comes across non-Loyalists. Since keeping these Loyalists is so critical, it is importas confident, credible and trustworthy in the eyes of the customer. ant for loyal customers to be “extremely satisfied” with the value they • Training new employees to reach a knowledge threshold quickly. receive from their pool retailers. Interpreting “somewhat satisfied” as • Validating that seasoned employees have the expertise required by an acceptable norm for Loyalist customers could be hazardous to a customers. retailer’s health because the less satisfied the Loyalists are, the greater • Ensuring that training sets a standard for quality without being a the risk of their defection. burden to managers.

Having measured Loyalists’ level of satisfaction and determined • Providing consistent, comprehensive training for new employees in that performance gaps exist, we explored whether their satisfaction has a way that doesn’t take up too much time from seasoned employees. improved over the past two years. In other words, are there positive • Reinforcing what is important to the business – pool knowledge trends that suggest retailers are making progress? Over 85 per cent of leads to customer loyalty and profits.

Loyalists told us no, they were NOT more satisfied with the overall Surprisingly, superior service and strong personalised relationships are value from their pool retailer than they were two years ago! not significant advantages.

If this trend continues, and fewer and fewer Loyalists remain exOver 60 per cent of Loyalists see no advantage to “superior service.” tremely satisfied, the risk of defection will continue to grow over time.

This is a well-researched fundamental differentiator for all categories As we’ve seen, there is a significant risk of defection by more than of specialty retail, and many retailers see superior service as an importhalf of all loyal specialty pool retail customers. To better understand ant differentiator for their business. Yet most Loyalists don’t feel they this threat, we asked Loyalists to identify perceived advantages in are receiving it and therefore don’t see it as a reason for shopping at shopping at their chosen specialty retailer. their chosen retail store.

As we analysed the results, we found it important to distinguish In addition, more than 70 per cent of Loyalists see no advantage to between two types of advantages: strong personalised relationships with their retailer. It actually ranked • Interactive: These advantages involve real-time interactions between the lowest – even lower than competitive prices. staff members and customers.

But this is not what we hear from many retailers. Are these facts • Passive: These advantages do not involve interactions between staff wrong or is it possible that some pool retailers underestimate their members and customers. shortcomings? Could they be living in the past and not seeing that The chart on this page provides two key areas of insight based upon conditions differ today? the retailer’s delivery of each category today. What do Loyalists perI will provide more evidence, analysis and comments on the most ceive as their top-ranked shopping advantages? And conversely, which important advantages for Loyalists in the next issue of SPLASH!, but advantages received lower rankings? we thought these findings were particularly eye-opening. n

The clear number-one advantage: knowledgeable staff

Nearly 80 per cent of Loyalists said that the single most important reason they shop at a specialty retailer is More Knowledgeable Staff 54

SPLASH! August September 2013

Larry Bloom is a co-founder of Xmente Swimming Pool Retail Academy and former CEO of BioLab, Inc. His company provides consulting and online education tools for the pool industry. Contact: larry@swimmingpoolacademy.com.

Congratulations to the winners of the

SPASA SA AwArdS of ExcEllEncE 2013 SPASA SA, along with Platinum Sponsor SoftSwim, were delighted to host the event – the night‑of‑nights for the swimming pool and spa industry in South Australia.

This annual showcase of exceptional industry talent is made possible through the generous support of leading industry sponsors.

SPASA SA thanks everyone involved for helping to make this year’s celebration such an outstanding success.

Join the industry leaders Becoming a SPASA SA member allows you to be counted amongst the best in the pool and spa industry in South Australia. as a sPasa sa member, you can take advantage of: S O U T H AU S T R A L I A

•

S W I M M I N G P O O L & S PA A S S O C I AT I O N

• • •

A truStEd brAnd Consumers look for the SPASA SA logo PromotionAl EvEntS Annual Swimming Pool & Spa Show and Awards of Excellence nEtworking General meetings and social events uP-to-dAtE informAtion From within the industry and associated sectors

For more information, phone 08 8364 4211

S O U T H AU S T R A L I A S W I M M I N G P O O L & S PA A S S O C I AT I O N

spasasa.com.au

Mermaid Pools: Residential Gold $50,000 to $100,000

SPASA South Australia

2013 Award Winners LEFT. Freedom Pools: Commercial under $250,000 BOTTOM. Quantum Pools: Residential Pool and Spa Combination

56 SPLASH! August September 2013

Retail Service Technician Award Gold: Tim Cain, Summertime Pools/Rainwise; Silver: Mark Nicholas, Swimart Somerton Park Retail Sales Person of the Year: Ross Starkey Supplier of the Year: Biolab/Chemtura Industry Trade Representative of the Year Bruce Cox, Pentair Best Retail Pool Shop Gold: Splashdown Pools & Spas; Silver: Summertime Pools/Rainwise Best Retail Spa Shop Gold: Splashdown Pools & Spas; Silver: Adelaide All Spas Innovative Category Gold: Quantum Pools; Silver: Urban Oasis; Bronze: Viva Pools Sustainability Award Gold: Quantum Pools Product Innovation Award Gold: Astral; Silver: Biolab/Chemtura Commercial Pools or Spas up to $250,000 Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Adelaide Classic Pools Commercial Pools or Spas over $250,000 Gold: Quantum Pools Renovations up to $25,000 Gold: Daydream Pools; Silver: Adelaide Classic Pools; Bronze: Adelaide Classic Pools

feature

Renovations over $25,000 Gold: Urban Oasis; Silver: Adelaide Classic Pools; Bronze: Quantum Pools Residential Spa Gold: Urban Oasis; Silver: Daydream Pools Display Pools Gold: Freedom Pools Lap Pools Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Urban Oasis; Bronze: Freedom Pools Water Feature Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Urban Oasis; Bronze: Daydream Pools Residential Pool And Spa Combination – Concrete Gold: Quantum Pools; Silver: Freedom Pools; Bronze: Freedom Pools Residential Pool And Spa Combination – Fibreglass Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Freedom Pools Best Pool By A Country Member Gold: Riv Form Pools; Silver: Riv Form Pools Residential Enclosed/Indoor Pools Gold: Daydream Pools; Silver: Summertime Pools by Rainwise Residential Vinyl Lined Pools – In-Ground Gold: Pleasure Pools Residential Pre-Engineered Above Ground Vinyl-Lined Pools Gold: Classic Pools by Above Ground Pool Sales; Silver: Classic Pools by Above Ground Pool Sales; Bronze: Classic Pools by Above Ground Pool Sales Residential Fibreglass Pools – up to $40,000 Gold: Summertime Pools by Rainwise; Silver: Freedom Pools; Bronze: Freedom Pools Residential Fibreglass Pools – over $40,000

Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Freedom Pools; Bronze: Freedom Pools Residential Concrete Pools – Traditional or Geometric up to $50,000 Gold: Freedom Pools; Silver: Daydream Pools; Bronze: Mermaid Pools Residential Concrete Pools – Traditional or Geometric $50,000 - $100,000 Gold: Mermaid Pools; Silver: Mermaid Pools; Bronze: Daydream Pools Residential Concrete Pools – Traditional or Geometric over $100,000 Gold: Quantum Pools; Silver: Urban Oasis; Bronze: Urban Oasis Best Overall Pool or Spa – Judges Choice Gold: Quantum Pools; Silver: Summertime Pools by Rainwise; Bronze: Freedom Pools

ABOVE. Urban Oasis: Residential Spa BELOW. Quantum Pools: Commercial over $250,000 and Judges Award

August September 2013 SPLASH! 57

commercial news

Celebrity swim

Commercial

news Canadian pool awarded in Brisbane . . . . . . . . . 60 Global news . . . . . . . . . 60 Steel wave in Kurdistan. 60 Trickett hangs up the goggles. . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Tender of the month. . . 62 National tender data. . . 62 New NZ coach goes to Spain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Cairns checks costings. 63 Hard path to commercial building. . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The big blue. . . . . . . . . 66 First 25m Myrtha renovation. . . . . . . . . . . 68 Real sand beach in pools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 New centre for Wodonga. . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Afghani star learns to swim in Sydney pool An emerging Pashtun film actor who won the hearts of Sydney Film Festival-goers for his star turn in Love City Jalalabad had his first ever swimming lesson recently at the new Prince Alfred Park Pool in Surry Hills.

Diminutive star Arshad Khan arrived in Sydney having never been in a swimming pool before.

Now he is hoping to learn to swim, speak English, acquire a film agent and land a career in the Australian film industry.

It has been an exciting journey for the actor ever since renowned Surry Hills-based artist and filmmaker George Gittoes and cabaret performer Hellen Rose discovered him in a casting call at Peshawar on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in 2011.

After the production wrapped, Gittoes and Rose invited Khan to Sydney for the world premiere. In a whirlwind 17 days, the 26-year-old has walked the red carpet at the Sydney Film Festival, shopped for his first pair of board shorts and even met NSW Governor Marie Bashir.

Khan was poor and illiterate, and Gittoes took him under his wing, teaching him to read and write, and now even to swim.

Gittoes has worked in Pakistan for five years, producing Pashtun-language films to help the local industry survive in the face of Taliban opposition.

“In Pashtun movies you have to have a small person, preferably two, and you have to have five or six dance numbers to cut through the drama – that’s the formula,” he says.

When one of the actors fell through, Gittoes held a casting call: “This little guy walked in from the woods and I had never seen anything

like him – no-one had, because he was so small and so charismatic.

“I recognised that Arshad had tremendous natural talent and I immediately put him together with Zardad Bulbul who is a very famous Shakespeareantype actor who is also a small person.

“Bulbul has very famously refused to help any other small actors because he comes from an aristocratic family and is classically trained, but he saw Arshad’s potential and was prepared to mentor him and turn him into a great performer.

“Arshad is now in about eight or nine of my films, has recently done three big budget, 35mm feature films in Pakistan and he’s on his way. He could be a huge star over there, but he would just love to learn English and be a citizen of both cities – Sydney and Peshawar.”

Love City Jalalabad focusses on the Yellow House Jalalabad, an artists’ collective with a Pashtun-language film company, established by Gittoes and Rose in 2010 in the eastern Afghani city.

Gittoes and artist Martin Sharpe set up the original Yellow House on Macleay Street, Potts Point in the 1970s, attracting dozens of famous artists including Brett Whiteley.

Meanwhile, the World Architecture Festival 2013 Award Nominees have been announced, and the Neeson Murcutt Architects’ upgrade of Prince Alfred Park and Pool has been shortlisted in two categories: Completed Buildings and Landscape Projects.

The Awards will be held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (home of the recent Piscine SPLASH! Asia) on October 2.

Filmaker George Gittoes and his star, Arshad Khan, learning to swim at the Prince Alfred Park Pool

58 SPLASH! August September 2013

centrifugal water filtration

70XL

In Brief Public response by residents in NSW’s Clarence Valley region has forced a delay in the council vote on closing two local pools.

A draft Aquatic Facility Strategy released earlier in the year had recommended closing Ulmarra and Glenreagh pools because their lack of patronage. However, council will not vote on this issue until August following overwhelming public response.

The NZ region of Fiordland has had help keeping its pool open thanks to $15,000 in donations raised from a charity run. The Kepler Challenge organising committee will give the money to Fiordland Community Swimming Pool to help it stay open after it was closed because of structural weaknesses. The 15 charity runners, who each paid $1000 to enter, will compete in the 60km Kepler Challenge in December.

South Australia’s Victor Harbor and Alexandrina Councils have won $7.5 million of federal funding for a Regional Aquatic Centre on the Fleurieu peninsula. The councils applied for the grant under round four of the Regional Development Australia Fund. The construction phase of the project will create 38 local jobs and support ongoing employment thereafter; stimulating commercial and residential growth in the region. The centre has a proposed cost of $21 million, with each council stumping up $6.5 million to the project.

Gender issues

Women get the cold shoulder A number of regional winter swimming clubs are restricting their membership to only men.

This has raised a series of questions about use of council resources for gender restrictive clubs and has begged the response from some of the clubs that there are many women-only swim clubs.

The issue has become prominent in NSW following media coverage of the South Coast Swimming Association. Eight clubs belong to the Association, and six of them don’t allow women. The situation is replicated in other states of Australia.

One of the justifications the clubs use to exclude women is the belief that they can’t swim long distances in the cold weather. However, women swimmers keen to join the clubs reject this and they have Federal Sports Minister Kate Lundy onside.

The issue came to a head at a recent meeting of the South Coast Winter Swimming Association which banned women competing in its championships in July, despite the fact that two of the clubs in the Association have female members.

The association uses Wollongong City Council pools, but the councils says its hands are tied.

Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said in the Illawarra Mercury that the association only had to adhere to the same hiring rules as any other person or group.

“There are no stipulations there other than that there be no criminal, riotous or antisocial behaviour and they must respond to council staff ’s directions,” he says.

“That’s about the limit of specifications coming from council.

So there’s no gender equity issues, as stipulated in our hiring arrangements.”

A revolution in pool filtration, MultiCyclone 70XL is a brilliant per-filtration device that works on the basis of centrifugal water filtration and is designed with no moving parts and no filter media to clean or replace.

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www.waterco.com

August September 2013 SPLASH!

59

commercial news

Global news A Jagermeister promotional event in Leon, Mexico has turned to disaster after nine people were hospitalised including one being put into a coma after liquid nitrogen was poured into a swimming pool, supposedly with the intention of creating a smoky atmosphere.

Amateur video posted on YouTube shows guests jumping into a swimming pool covered in smoke; the swimmers soon have difficulty breathing and are helped out of the water.

Pentair has developed a new technology to help create safe drinking water and enable water reuse. Its latest innovation is hollow fibre nanofiltration, providing a simplified and more effective solution for drinking water filtration, while also offering industry a new alternative for wastewater treatment. For drinking water treatment, nanofiltration allows for selective separation, eliminating certain contaminants such as bacteria, humic acids and total organic carbons (TOC) while maintaining desired levels of healthy minerals or nutrients.

Former USA swimming coach Rick Curl was sentenced in May to seven years in prison for child sexual abuse. Curl was convicted of abusing Kelley Currin over a five year period. Currin is now 43 but was 13 when the abuse began. She has since issued a statement claiming USA Swimming executives knew Curl was a child molester, but turned a blind eye.

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SPLASH! August September 2013

Middle East

Steel wave in Kurdistan The London-based architecture firm, DOS Architects has revealed images of the Olympic swimming pool in Erbil, Kurdistan in Iraq. They won a competition to design the arena and are now sharing the proposed plans.

The roof features a pair of stylish steel swashes, replicating a wave pattern. The roof will be made

from steel and glass, providing natural illumination to the pool hall which will include seating for 2000. The flooring will also feature layers of transparent glazing. The pool will be surrounded by a large public square. The project is slated to start construction in late 2013.

Contact: www.dosarchitects.com

International awards

Canadian wellness pool wins Aussie recognition

Canadian architecture firm ARK has won recognition at the Design & Health International Academy Awards held in Brisbane. High commendation was

given to the UJA Federation Community Complex for International Salutogenic Design.

Located in Vaughan Ontario, the complex was

designed to unite and create synergies between a broad array of community-based services including child and health care, sports and recreation, arts and culture, and community and spirituality. ARK has consolidated these diverse agencies within a highly transparent 33,000m2 three-storey complex that links four buildings through a pedestrian streetscape.

Through this integrated experience, health and wellness are naturally woven into the community’s daily life.

Exclusive Dealerships Available in Selected Regions Full Vinyl Ester Resin Pool Construction with Composite Armour™ Lifetime Structural Warranty Lifetime Structural Osmosis Warranty For a confidential discussion contact: Andrew Newman Business Development Manager Leisure Pools Head Office Call: 0408 983 198 andrew.newman@leisurepools.com.au Competition

Libby Trickett hangs up the goggles

www.leisurepoolsonline.com View the Patented Composite Armour™ video on the website home page

Triple Olympian and multiple world champion Libby Trickett has retired from competitive swimming to pursue a career in the media, fronting a new show for Network Ten. “I’m thrilled that I will get to work on Channel 10’s exciting new program, Australia’s Greatest Athlete,” she says. “I’m looking forward to the challenge, fun and craziness that this next phase has in store for me and working in television has always been a dream of mine so I feel very blessed to have this opportunity.

“I’m so grateful to swimming for all that it has given me in my life. Not only have I been able to travel the world, training and competing, making some wonderful friends, but I’ve also had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in their field. Swimming has even given me a husband!” Libby Lenton became Libby Trickett in 2007 when she married breaststroker LukeTrickett.

One of the most decorated female swimmers of the modern era, the 28-year-old was a member of the women’s gold medal winning 4x100m freestyle relay team at the London Olympics in 2012.

In a remarkable career spanning more than a decade at the top, Trickett won four Olympic gold medals over three Games – Athens, Beijing and London – and a total of 17 gold overall, across four World Championships and one Commonwealth Games.

In a golden period covering the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 World Championships, both in Melbourne, Trickett won a combined total of 13 gold medals.

In Beijing in 2008 she won the 100m butterfly in a Commonwealth record time and then teamed up with Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones and Jessicah Schipper to win gold in the 4x100m medley relay.

The Queenslander is also a multiple world record holder, with her time of 51.01 in the 100m freestyle short course from 2009, still standing.

Following a brief retirement at the end of 2009, Trickett made a comeback to competitive swimming in September 2010 to qualify for her third Olympic Games.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

61

commercial news

National aquatic tenders

Tender of the month Boorowa swimming pool management

QLD NSW/ACT VIC/TAS WA SA/NT 0

5

10

15

20

New construction, management and maintenance tenders and EOIs for aquatic centres and commercial swimming pools for June and July 2013. Data: Cordell 1800 674 120

Big 4 Lake Conjola

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SPLASH! August September 2013

25

Boorowa Council is currently considering options for the management of the Boorowa Swimming Pool for the 2013/2014 swimming season and hereby invites Expressions of Interest for any of the following options: Contract for the Lease and operation of the Boorowa Swimming Pool: Council would lease the pool to a successful applicant and they would run and manage the swimming pool facility.Contract for lease of the swimming pool kiosk: The lessee would have the sole right to conduct a kiosk at the pool in return for general grounds maintenance and cleaning of building facilities.Employment as casual or part-time pool lifeguard/attendant: Council will employ persons in accordance with the Pool Lifeguard/Attendant position description.

Enquiries and/or applications under any of the above options will be taken up until 4pm on Monday 2 September 2013. Applications should be addressed to: Anthony McMahon, Acting General Manager, PO Box 96, Boorowa NSW 2586.

Phone (02) 6380 2000; fax (02) 6385 3562; email: council@ boorowa.nsw.gov.au.

Polin Play Structures

Sea World Resort

Development

Cairns costing to be checked Cairns Regional Council has committed to a redevelopment of the Tobruk Memorial Pool, but Mayor Bob Manning has asked council to double-check the costings.

The Cairns Post reported that the Tobruk pool is in dire need of renovation but the feasibility reports were only prepared in-house, prompting the mayor to demand a robust review of the costings. Nonetheless, he maintains he is very supportive of the proposal.

The council has committed to the first two stages of the project, totalling $16.7 million:

Swimming

NZ’s new coach heads to Barcelona

$1.2 million this year, followed by $15.5 million over the following two years, with the expectation of $6 million in State and Federal funding.

The plans include a 50m pool built to FINA standards, a wave pool, upgraded amenities, a new shop and a cafe.

New Zealand Swimming’s new coach David Lyles is having his first test at the FINA World Championships at Barcelona, which was still underway at the time of writing.

He has a number of Olympic and world championship medallists to his credit, and had been head coach of the much-vaunted Shanghai Swim Team in China.

He had five swimmers on the China team at the London Olympics, winning two medals, along with seven swimmers at the 2011 World Championships, while his club has won the Top Team Award for the past five years at the China National Championships.

Over the past seven years Lyles had developed a world class program in Shanghai, earning him two awards last year including the Magnolia Foreign Workers Award, one of 50 awarded annually to foreign employees from education, business and commerce for their contribution.

Last year he had eight swimmers on the national team, with six of them having won 13 medals collectively at the Olympics, World Championships or Asian Games.

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August September 2013 SPLASH!

63

commercial feature

The long, hard road from residential to commercial pool builder How easy is it for a residential pool builder to become a commercial pool builder?

W

e asked respected aquatic consulting engineer Geoff Ninnes at the recent Piscine SPLASH! Asia show, and found that it’s not easy at all – but there are rewards for those who can manage the crossover.

Geoff Ninnes is the founding partner of Geoff Ninnes Fong and Partners – a broad-based consulting firm with more than 30 years’ experience in the fields of structural, civil and aquatic engineering.

He says that the one of the biggest stumbling blocks for residential pool builders trying to cross over into big commercial work is coming to terms with the different concreting methods. The bulk of big commercial work uses formed and poured concrete, instead of the sprayed concrete commonly used in residential work.

“It’s a different sort of technology,” he says. “With some semi-commercial work you can still get away with using sprayed concrete, but a lot of councils want a 50-year life from commercial pools. And with sprayed concrete you can only get a 25-year design life.”

Ninnes says aspiring commercial builders need to find good form-workers and good reinforcement placers who are used to doing pool formwork.

The second stumbling block is the filtered water turnover rates for commercial pools, and the distribution systems required to ensure adequate mixing patterns within the pool.

“They are much greater than for domestic, so you need to have proper commercial filtration systems with proper commercial reticulation that spreads the amount of water coming into the pool so you get good circulation. This requires installation by an experienced commercial water treatment installer as pipes can be up to 300mm diameter.

“And invariably, you must be able to build wet decks which act like large skimmers to take off the soiled water,” he says.

“A normal pool where it’s sprayed, you have skimmers and a six- to eight-hour turnover. With these, it’s got to be a wet deck pool and you’re looking at anywhere from a half-an-hour to a three-hour turnover. That’s a big difference in water volumes.”

It’s also important to find good experienced commercial plumbers.

“You can’t just use yourself or a domestic type plumber. You have bigger pipe sizes, up to 150mm, 200mm sometimes up to 300mm. The normal domestic size is only 50mm or two-inch.”

Bigger numbers

Naturally, commercial pools tend to be much more expensive “First, you need all the building licences and all the insurances, and comply with State Health Department standards. You’re dealing with 64 SPLASH! August September 2013

pools that may cost $3 million to $3.5 million (if it’s a 50m pool). And usually it’s about one-third for the filtration and two-thirds for the structure, so it’s at least $2 million just to build the pool structure. You need to be financially geared to be able to do that.”

The contract will normally set out the terms of payment and include a retention system, which at the end of the project is 2.5 per cent of the job, held by the client for a year. On top of all the expense, margins are very tight. While you might get a 30 to 40 per cent margin on a domestic pool, you’d be lucky to get 10 to 15 per cent on a commercial job.

“And you have to give specific warranties in writing; for the tiling, tile placement and jointing you need a ten year warranty and for the water treatment you need a warranty for at least a year and for many of the parts of the commercial water treatment equipment like pumps and UV maybe even a five-year warranty.”

As there’s no specific education to become a commercial pool builder, Ninnes believes the real key is finding good people.

“You need to massively gear your firm – not just financially – but to be able to find the really good people. Really good formworkers, steel placers, concreters, tilers, plumbers – even the type of concrete mix is different and reinforcement distribution. It’s a fairly steep learning curve and you’d want to start off in a small way and slowly build.

“If you do that, you’d have a fair chance of success. To just leap in – you’d probably go broke.”

Start small

Ninnes says smaller learn-to-swim pools, hydrotherapy pools or a small leisure pool might be good places to start.

“Even a splash pad. They still use pretty small plumbing, so you’d learn a little bit from that. But really, I think the smaller pools rather than leaping in to a big project that is $5 million or $6 million dollars’ worth. You want to start with something that’s about $400,000.”

Geoff Ninnes, right, with Doug Fulham centre, and Gordon Smith, left at Piscine SPLASH! Asia.

“It’s really important that you do get experience with a smaller pool, forming it up; because there are specific tolerances that you have to be able to achieve when you form a wet deck pool.

“You have to allow of course for the thickness of the tiles, and the lengths of the pool often have very strict tolerances, as do the diagonal measurements. The contract itself will lay out the area of pool and the dimensions and the tolerances which may be plus or minus 5mm across the width of the pool. The depths – because of safety and litigation – also have to be spot on.

“Then of course there’s all the Health Department regs which are quite specific. You have to prove in the end that you have the required turnover, so the actual commissioning and adjustment of pumps and filtration rates is very important.

“It’s a completely different animal and as I said, you’ve got to start off in a small way to do it.”

He says it’s important to find a site foreman who has experience with general construction – not backyard spraying construction. Cover to reinforcement is critical with no tie wires in the cover zone or lying under the pool steel.

“And you need good commercial tilers, not backyard tilers. They have to be spot on. You’re using the best German tiles, using the best glue systems in the world. They have very controlled setting times. If you don’t get it right, it’ll go off before you put the tiles on, or you’ll be trying to place tiles on half-set glues that will fail.”

Refurbishment potential

Ninnes says there are very few big pool construction companies in the commercial pool sector.

“Very few. Two good ones in NSW, probably two good ones in Victoria, one good one in Adelaide and probably one and we’re hoping for two in Western Australia. And that’s it. There’s a few more in Queensland but they tend to do more of a resort pool which is often

sprayed. So if you look at the whole of Australia, you’re looking at six to eight good big commercial pool builders.”

This means that while the road to becoming a commercial pool builder is long, hard and expensive, there might well be space in the market.

“There is scope for more builders,” he says. “Long term, it’s definitely worthwhile. There are probably between 2000 and 3000 50-metre pools that within the next 15 to 20 years are going to have to be replaced or fixed up.

“There’s a very large potential business, even if you’re not doing new pools. Even the upgrade work can be still quite major.”

Tenders getting more drawn out

At the Singapore show, SPLASH! also spoke with Doug Fulham from Fulham Engineering Services.

He commented that the time it takes for commercial pool jobs to progress from tenders has been increasing.

“There’s a very long embryo period with the tendering now between initial enquiry and equipment sale – it can be as long as two to three years,” he says.

“Five or six years ago, a tender would come out, the contract would be awarded, work would start, the job would get completed.

“But now, some jobs we quoted 22 months ago have been awarded, but the equipment might not be required for another 12 months. That makes it very difficult for cost management. There’s no point winning a job unless the cost works. I think it’s because there’s a lot of competition in the engineering profession and tendering for work.

“A lot more studies are conducted; a lot more consultants are on the team. So it can become quite an involved process. I’m sure it makes for a better result but from where we sit, we’d like to see the process shorter not longer.”

Contacts: www.gnfp.com.au; www.chadsonfilters.com.au n August September 2013 SPLASH! 65

commercial feature

The million litre fish tank is the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world

S

wimming pools and spas are powerful attractors to all types of holiday and travel accommodation.

But aquaria?

Probably, your standard fish tank wouldn’t raise much interest, but the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin has something more: the world’s largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium, called AquaDom. Occupying the centre of the lobby, it is so large that the 102 rooms that look onto it appear to be underwater.

The 25m high aquarium holds one million litres of seawater and features vibrantly coloured reef landscapes and many species of exotic fish. Eleven metres wide, guests can observe professional divers as they enter the aquarium to clean it, giving the impression of toy divers inside a standard sized fish tank.

Beneath the AquaDom, guests enjoy the Atrium Bar, sampling the best of Berlin’s cocktails and cuisine cast in the blue light of the tropical sea.

The Splash Wellness Centre is another highlight of the sophisticated central Berlin address, offering hours of relaxation in its fitness room, swimming pool with a counter-current system, bio sauna, Finnish sauna and steam bath.

Contacts: www.radissonblu.com n

The big blue The Splash wellness centre includes spas, saunas and a pool

LEFT. The AquaDom becomes the main feature of 102 hotel rooms

66

SPLASH! August September 2013

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First Australian 25m Myrtha renovation

T

he Fanny Durack Pool at Petersham in Sydney’s inner west has an iconic stature in the local area.

Named after a pioneering swimmer from the adjacent suburb of Stanmore and set in the park where Donald Bradman scored his first first-class century, the pool has been celebrated in poems, stories and paintings by local writers and artists.

Built in the 1950s following Australia’s success in the Melbourne Olympics, it was one of three 33m pools built by Marrickville Council. Smaller than an Olympic sized pool, swimmers could still compete in 100m races by doing three laps.

Much loved by the community, an action group was formed to ensure the pool was saved when leaks were discovered. The council then realised ageing equipment and structural problems needed radical action. After

68 SPLASH! August September 2013

first refurbishing the nearby aquatic centre at Enmore (named after another local champion Annette Kellerman), the council approved a plan to reinvigorate the pool while maintaining its unique character – including ensuring it remains an outdoor pool.

Swimplex Aquatics was brought in to do the refurbishment of the main pool using the Myrtha system.

There have been hundreds of Myrtha renovations around the world, but in Australia the refurbishments have been solely for 50m pools up till now – eight in total, including the Prince Alfred Park Pool in inner Sydney.

This time, Swimplex reduced the length of the 33m pool to a more practical 25m and widened it by about four metres so there will be more space for lap swimming and other activities, and also added a disabled access ramp.

MAIN. John Dangerfield supervising the Myrtha installation at Petersham LEFT. The new centre will include a splash area and a toddlers’ pool, and retains the leafy ambience of the existing pool RIGHT. The pool has been widened to enable more uses for the space

commercial feature

Local pioneer smashed the rules

BELOW. The Myrtha panels are made in Italy to precise measurements and fitted together on-site like “a meccano set”

“It will basically become a brand new pool inside an old shell,” says John Dangerfield of Swimplex Aquatics.

The system involves installing PVC-coated stainless steel panels on the walls, and using a PVC membrane on the floor. Precision measurements are made on site and sent to the factory in Italy, where the panels are made and shipped to Australia. They then fit together “like a meccano set”.

“All the old joints and everything in the old pool have been bypassed, so we don’t have to replace the water-stops. Also, all the plumbing is being replaced. So basically, they get a brand new filtration system as well as a brand new pool,” he says.

“The council had all the options to look at, and they found this the most appropriate technology. It does have a lower carbon footprint than replacing all the tiles, and I think that often does influence council’s decisions.”

The pool will be ready in time for the new season, and SPLASH! will update the project when it is completed.

Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see a video of the project in progress.

Contacts: www.swimplex.com.au

Sarah (Fanny) Durack (1889-1956), swimmer, was born on 27 October 1889 at Elizabeth Street, Sydney, third daughter and sixth child of Irish parents Thomas Durack, publican, a relation of Patrick Durack, and his wife Mary, née Mason. Known as Fanny, she learnt to swim in the Coogee Baths and trained in breast-stroke – the only style in which there was a championship for women. While still a schoolgirl, she won her first State title in 1906. Later she adopted the Trudgen stroke and by 1911 had changed to the Australian crawl.

Although women had been forbidden by the New South Wales Ladies’ Amateur Swimming Association to appear in competitions when men were present, such were her successes that there was public demand for her to go to the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm: debate among the clubs reversed the rule. It was argued that one event did not justify the inclusion of another swimmer, but the wife of Hugh McIntosh launched a successful appeal for funds. Fanny sailed for Sweden via London, where she trained only half a mile a day.

At Stockholm she swam a heat of the 100 metres free-style in 1 minute 19.8 seconds to break the world record. On 15 July she won the gold medal for the 100 metres, the only individual event for women, beating fellow Australian Wilhelmina (Mina) Wylie.

Her Olympic success led to tours with Mina Wylie in Europe and the United States of America, but Fanny’s career continued to be dogged by controversy. In 1918 they arrived in America without official sanction to find themselves banned by the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia. Next year the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States threatened to suspend their amateur status, when they refused to swim until their manager’s expenses were paid. After being defeated in two carnivals by American girls, she determinedly tried to limit her appearances until she had practised the new American crawl. Ordered by officials to swim at Chicago she jumped the starter’s gun, swam half a length and got out – the tour was curtailed.

A week before the Australian team left for the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, Fanny Durack had an appendectomy (followed by typhoid fever and pneumonia) and withdrew. Between 1912 and 1918 she had broken twelve world records,

including swims of 100 yards (91m) in 1 minute 6 seconds, 100 metres in 1 minute 16.2 seconds, and 1 mile (1600m) in 26 minutes 8 seconds. Her successes did much to promote women’s swimming.

Determined and self-willed, she had long dark hair and a figure that showed “no symptom of ropes of athletic muscles”. In America she was honoured by the International Swimming Hall of Fame at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and received a Helms award.

Early in January 1921 Fanny Durack retired from competitive swimming and on 22 January at St Mary’s Cathedral she married Bernard Martin Gately, a horsetrainer. She devoted herself to coaching young children and, a member of its executive, was made a life member of the New South Wales Women’s Amateur Swimming Association in 1945.

She died of cancer at her home at Stanmore on 20 March 1956 and was buried in the Catholic section of Waverley cemetery.

Her brother Frank presented her Olympic gold medal to the Commonwealth government that year; it is held in the National Library of Australia, Canberra.

Source: Australian National University Library, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, (MUP), 1981.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

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16-17 July 2014 Jupiter’s Hotel & Casino Gold Coast, Australia

SAVE THE DATE SPLASH! is recognised as the must attend event for manufacturers, retailers, pool builders, contractors, architects, landscapers, engineers and service technicians to stay ahead of market directions as the wet industry continues to expand and take on new dimensions and international trends.

The show provides the opportunity to showcase your company, launch new products, network, build existing relationships, meet the press and build brand awareness while meeting the key decision makers in the wet industry.

Media Partner

Contact Karen Jaques on 02 9660 2113 or email kjaques@intermedia.com.au for more information

www.splashexpo.com.au

commercial feature

Real sand makes for peachy beach experience

R

esort swimming pools attempting to replicate a beach landscape are turning to sand to provide an authentic experience for guests.

Robert Savell of Hydrocare has been using natural sand to great effect in a number of his recent commercial projects, but he says that natural sand pools are not new to the commercial pool industry, and the earliest examples placed sand on structural membrane.

The Hyatt Regency Hotel at Sanctuary Cove in Queensland featured a natural sand pool.

“It was built back in the late eighties, and the one acre saltwater lagoon still operates today,” says Savell. “A treatment system was required to prevent algae growing in the sand above the waterline, while the sand needed to remain damp to prevent loss from windy conditions.”

Hydrocare Pools Plus also provides purpose built reticulation to supply filtered chlorinated water to beach areas.

“This system has been refined over time and operates successfully. The underwater sand containment is also a consideration in the pool design, while migrating sand is vacuumed back on to the beach.”

Savell says the largest beach project required 300 tonnes of white sand to be trucked to Sydney from Stradbroke Island to create a lagoon pool as part of a horse stud complex.

A recent Hydrocare project that includes a real sand beach is the Lakeside Tourist Park at Lake Conjola.

Kids have a lot of fun in the sand building sand castles and paddling at the water’s edge, and the beach pool represents a worthwhile investment for the park.

Contacts: (02) 9604 8396 n

TOP. Kids enjoy having real sand to play in LEFT. The Lakeside Tourist Park at Lake Conjola.

BELOW. Sand is kept damp to prevent wind-blown erosion

August September 2013 SPLASH!

71

Visit the all new SPLASH! website splashmagazine.com.au

SPLASH! has reinvigorated its digital communication with a new website, redesigned newsletter and a targeted social media program.

The website has a more visual focus and includes more videos, a dedicated Asian section and is fully integrated with social media including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

Archived editions of the magazine are downloadable (apart from the current edition) in a new interactive format, making them easier to peruse.

Go to splashmagazine.com.au and have a look.

Always stay in touch with SPLASH!

commercial feature

The centre features cogeneration, use of storm-water runoff and photocatalytic tiling

Wodonga Aquatic Centre Architect: William Ross Builder: Zauner Construction

Tiling: Ceramic Solutions Operator: YMCA

Features:

Wodonga gets an

enviro-friendly pool

T

he Victorian town of Wodonga (half of the cross-border conurbation of Albury-Wodonga) opened its new Waves centre earlier this year.

The main swimming area consists of a 50m, 10-lane heated pool, a splash park and a toddler pool. It will provide greater flexibility for programming events, activities and general usage, and has the capacity to accommodate local, regional and state swimming and water polo events.

Environmentally-friendly features include stormwater from the racecourse wetlands being treated and used at the new facility, reducing the need for potable water; and using co-generation which will save on energy costs into the future.

Waves has been commended by the Victorian government for its environment-friendly features, including its use of recycled, treated storm water and energy-efficient technology.

During the building stages, Ceramic Solutions was contracted to supply and install more than 700 metres of ceramic tiling within the pool, amenities, cafe and retail areas. With multiple functions in the one facility, Ceramic Solutions ensured fit-for-purpose flooring was utilised throughout the facility, to provide a safe, easy to clean and accessible environment for visiting patrons.

The installation of HT tiles, which is a patented manufacturing process that creates a photocatalytic reaction, also contributes to the preservation of a healthy environment. With its photocatalytic reaction to light, HT tiles kill polluted air and release clean oxygen. German manufacturer, Agrob Buchtal says that 1000m2 of HT tiles has the same filtered effect as 70 deciduous trees.

Oliver Huss, managing director of Ceramic Solutions says that HT tiles not only kill bacteria such as E.coli, but also eliminate unpleasant odours that occur in public amenities.

“HT tiles and grout also provide an easy-to-clean surface, as the titanium pigments prevent dirt and grime sticking to the surface,” he says.

As part of the installation for the 50m competing pool, Ceramic Solutions provided non-slip, anti-wobble starting blocks. Unlike traditional flat surface starting blocks, these blocks are easy to mount and give the competitive swimmer an extra boost. Thanks to its engineered design, the swimmer can angle their back leg for a powerful, smooth entry into water. Using stainless steel fittings, the starting blocks can easily be removed, allowing greater flexibility for the facility. n

• Amenities and administration building; • 50m x 25m heated outdoor pool with access ramps; • Splash pad area with interactive play facilities; • Interconnected toddler pool with splash pad; • Cafe and retail area;

• Community multipurpose room; • Car park area; • Hard and soft landscape works; • Appropriate shading for outdoor areas; and • Accessible storage areas for pool equipment.

August September 2013 SPLASH!

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new products

For budding mermaids

The Australian Mahina Merfins are for all those young girls who ever dreamt of being a mermaid.

This unique mermaid mono-fin is made from recycled rubber and is one of the

first eco-friendly fins. It is soft, flexible and functional and will provide the speed and agility of a half-human fish. It is safe to use – with just one flick of the ankle strap the legs are free.

Kazzie Mahina, the Byron Bay based

creator, developed the Merfin to inspire the hearts, imaginations and dreams of children. Merfins are available in two colours and four sizes.

Contact: www.mahinamermaid.com; online retail: www.bellitaboutique.com.au

Unwinding with wire

Some furniture just inspires relaxation. The Volley Lounge designed by Adam Goodrum is one such piece.

With strong retro styling, the wire lounge chair is perfect for any outdoor environment – for the contemplative setting by a babbling brook, to a cool poolside deck.

Contact: www.madebytait.com.au; (02) 9310 1333

Vici decem annis

Vici swimwear is celebrating its tenth anniversary this summer.

For a decade the company has been creating exciting swimwear, training gear and equipment for everyone from elite swimmers to kids learning to swim.

For example, the Dino children’s goggle in this photo has stood the test of time and remains a very functional moulded one-piece goggle with an exceptional seal for children of all ages and sizes.

Veni, vidi, vici – ego denato.

Contact: www.vici.com.au; (07) 3823 1233 74

SPLASH! August September 2013

Accurate pool shop water Outdoors, Italian style

Gianicolo is a stylish design of innovative Italian outdoor furniture. It has an architectural and linear structure emphasised with a solid timber frame, creating a perfect outdoor furniture piece where artisanship and design meet impeccably.

The structure can be made in solid pine or beech wood with a special outdoor treatment.

For Australians interested in stocking the Gianicolo, go to the Luxury Living website or email Clubhouse Italia.

Contact: www.luxuryliving.it; clubhouse@clubhouseitalia.com

testing in just 60 seconds LaMotte’s breakthrough WaterLink Spin® will revolutionise how you do your pool shop water testing.

No longer do you have to sacrifice accuracy for speed.

The laboratory-grade photometer allows you to analyse a sample of pool water in just 60 seconds.

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Spend less time testing water and more time talking to customers.

Print reports with results and recommendations using your chemicals.

Do a more comprehensive analysis with 10 different parameters instead of the usual six.

Three simple tests, no messy preparation means less operator error, with very little training required.

Contact us now for more information on (02) 9450 0466 or info@vendart.com.au for more information.

Distributed exclusively by Vendart Pty Ltd PO Box 451 Pymble NSW 2073 Ph 02 9450 0466 Fax 02 9450 0755 www.vendart.com.au

1300 369 674 Sunwave.com.au Solar Pool Heating

Solar at it’s nest!

Plug and play heat pump

The new Oasis Ezi Heat EH9 heat pump offers pool builders and installers a profitable pool heating solution that is both easy to sell and easy to install.

Sunlover heating director Steve Rickard says the EH9 is ideal for customers wanting a low cost way to extend their swimming season.

“The heater can provide a 28 square metre pool in Sydney with warm water temperatures from September to April for as little as $2.60 a day,” he says. “It can be profitable yet competitively priced at an RRP around $3500 including GST. So, it’s not a budget breaker for families and in most cases can be a cheaper heating solution than solar.”

Also, it is very straight forward to install. The unit comes with a twometre long power cord and three-pin plug that connects to a standard 240V power point. The Ezi Heat can be fitted in one short site visit without help from an electrician.

“This means the installer controls the whole job. There is no need to coordinate other trades, or even have the home owner on site,” says Rickard.

BECOME A DEALER! Manufactured by the world’s largest supplier Easy to install panel system Vermin resistant High wind loading Steep roof friendly 12-year warranty

Contact: Bill O’Reilly Sunwave Pool Solutions Pty Ltd 1300 369 674 Sunwave.com.au

Contact: rohan@sunloverheating.com.au; (03) 9887 2131 August September 2013 SPLASH!

75

new products

Roll over protection

Takeuchi TB180FR owners can now add a roll-over protection system (ROPS) to their excavators. The ROPS over-frame is engineered to recognised international safety standards, meaning that now all models of the premium Japanese produced equipment line can now have an ROPS frame.

The kit is retro-installable on all existing TB180FR machines.

“Fitting is a two day job in the workshop and requires removal of the counterweight during installation”, says Semco’s Graham Murphy.

“There is some welding and relatively minor panel modifications, however, any qualified tradesman welder is able to carry out installation under the Australian Standards for welding. Detailed installation instructions and clear step by step images are provided.”

Contact: www.semcogroup.com.au

76

SPLASH! August September 2013

Android control of Pentair systems

Pool owners can now control the key functions of their pools and spas using the IntelliTouch and EasyTouch control systems.

The revolutionary ScreenLogic works with iPads, iPhones, iPods, PCs, Macs and now Android devices.

Simply download the free software from the Google Play Store. Then you can control all key functions of your pool or spa – temperature, jets, lighting and water features. You can easily track and monitor history for air and water temperatures as well as pool, spa, heater, solar and lighting.

The ScreenLogic for Android device application requires new protocol adapter firmware. This update is available at www. pentairpool.com home page, then click on the Update ScreenLogic image located on the bottom right.

Contact: www.pentairpool.com; au.sales@pentair.com

Watch in full sunlight

Seeing images on any type of screen can be difficult or impossible in direct sunlight. And when do most people go to waterparks? On brilliantly sunny days, of course.

The new SRMTR-10.4V Sunlight Readable touch screen from Tru-Vu Monitors features a screen with 1000 nits brightness. This is four to five times brighter than standard monitors, enabling users to see clear, sharp, vivid colour images, even with bright sunlight falling directly onto the screen.

The SRMTR-10.4 offers a five-wire resistive touch screen, 800 x 600 resolution and VGA input in a rugged, powder-coated steel enclosure. They have been used in a variety of amusement parks and water parks for control panels, ticket kiosks, rides, customer viewing stations, photo booths, entry gates and more.

Contact: www.tru-vumonitors.com

Keep your phone dry

Three-in-one Power Pods

Lo-Chlor has unveiled a revolutionary new product for treating pool and spa water, easily solving the three most common pool water issues: cloudy water, phosphates and scum build-up.

The pods contain powerful, environment-friendly natural water treatment products encapsulated in an easy-to-use, convenient water-soluble film which dissolves in the pool or spa within minutes.

This type of “throw and go” technology has gained rapid acceptance in the laundry care and kitchen environments, and is now set to revolutionise the swimming pool and spa space.

Each pod treats up to 60,000 litres of water and requires no measuring.

The pods are all-natural and environmentally safe. They’re made from crab shells (chitosan) not oil wells; dissolve within minutes; work in less than 24 hours; save the hassle of three separate pool treatments; remove the need for heavy bottles; and are the easiest, most effective treatment for cloudy pool water.

Contact: www.lo-chlor.com.au

If it hasn’t happened to you, it’s a sure bet it has nearly happened.

You bend over to pick something up, and your phone falls out of your pocket and bounces towards the pool.

Now, you can have some protection with the award-winning LifeProof cases. They are waterproof, dirt-proof, snow-proof and shock-proof and suit both smartphones and tablets.

Australian-born inventor Gary Rayner launched LifeProof cases in the US in 2011 and has since sold more than six million worldwide. Now they are available in Rayner’s homeland.

LifeProof cases are sleek and ultra-slim yet designed to meet military specifications, giving individuals complete freedom to use their iPhone in any wet, dirty or rough situation. Texting in the shower, videos in the pool, staying connected on the surfboard, LifeProof makes it possible to be anywhere with your mobile device.

There is even a LifeProof swimband so you can access fitness apps and listen to tunes on while swimming laps.

Contact: www.lifeproof.com

RIGID SOLAR HEATING

DISTRIBUTORS AND INSTALLERS WANTED

OUR RIGID PANELS HAVE THE HIGHEST ENERGY EFFICIENCY RATING IN THE MARKET.

FAST AND EASY INSTALLATION FREEZE RESISTANT COCKATOO AND VERMIN RESISTANT Call Now! 1800 815 913 Email: sales@sunloverheating.com.au www.sunloverheating.com.au Solar Pool Heaters

Offical Australian distributor

August September 2013 SPLASH!

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new products

Prevent pool hall condensation

CondenClear glazing overlay system is an innovative approach to the prevention of condensation on swimming pool glazing. Developed by Window Energy Solutions, the acrylic secondary glazing system can be easily installed on the internal surface of the glass, thereby greatly reducing the external/internal temperature differential.

Find and compare nearby public pools

Swimspots is a smartphone app that shows you where swimming facilities are in your immediate area.

Simply load the app on your iPhone or iPad and you’ll immediately be able to determine how far you are from local pools, as well as seeing details such as opening times, facilities, phone numbers and charges.

This vastly reduces the condensation, as can be seen on the image: the windows on the right have been treated with CondenClear, while those on the left have not. The difference is clear.

Locals, busy executives, athletes, working professionals, business travellers and families can locate swimming facilities quickly and efficiently in order to maximise every opportunity. The Swimspots app can be loaded via iTunes or through the Swimspots website.

This system allows all windows and doors to remain fully operational, results in dramatic energy saving due to reduced heat loss through glazing and also improves acoustic insulation.

Once downloaded all the relevant information is readily available in a user-friendly interface. It also provides users the ability to update information to keep it accurate.

Contact: www.windowenergysolutions.com.au; 0421 809 156.

Contact: swimspots.com.au

IN-GROUND POOL COVER STORAGE

The Cleardeck advantage: • Quick and easy single person operation • Blanket extends and retracts in one minute • Blanket is totally invisible when not in use and stores out of sight • Reduces evaporation • Easily installed in any new and most existing pools of any size or shape • Can be installed in any type of deck material • No motors, tracks, cables or pulleys Tel: 08 9408 0955 Fax: 08 9408 0944 Web: www.cleardecksystems.com.au E-mail: sales@waterblade.com.au

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SPLASH! August September 2013

Prizma spreads globally

Blue I Water Technologies, a prominent global provider of smart and simple water quality analysers and controllers, has been granted a Canadian patent on the Prizma water analyser and controller for residential swimming pools, adding to its global patents which include Australia, the United States, China, South Africa, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and many other countries.

Prizma works by applying electro-optic capabilities to accurately analyse test pads that automatically monitor water quality at regular intervals. A continuous indicator strip is run across a series of individual test sections, each providing analysis for chlorine and pH among others.

Contact: rachel@shayporat.com

Harness the power of the sun

Heatseeker Oku Solar Pool Heating

D

CT

WA R

R

Heatseeker Oku

August September 2013 SPLASH!

CF9572

25

U

A

PRO

www.supremeheating.com.au

E AR

NT Y

25 Y

Phone: 1300 787 978

Photograph: Perspective Pools & Landscapes

• Built to last - 25 year product warranty • High density polyethylene panels • Advanced German technology • Cockatoo and hail proof • High pressure rating and thermal efficiencies

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new products

Over 80 Artisan Water Features Available

Premier Designer & Manufacturer of Artisan Water Features & Specialty Fountain Accessories

www.FountainsUnique.com Connect with us

Professional tiling manual

Laticrete has published a Tiled Swimming Pool, Fountain and Spas Technical Design Manual to make state-of-the-art information and technology available to industry professionals. It is the goal of this publication to encourage new ideas, research and technology for the purpose of improving the future of submerged installations of tile and stone.

The entire swimming pool technical design manual can be accessed at the Laticrete website or via QuickLinks at splashmagazine.com.au.

Contact: www.laticrete.com.au

Always be able to make notes

It’s an old problem for a builder. You need to write down a measurement, a note or even a phone number – but you have nothing to hand.

The Boye is the answer to this problem. The weather-proof writing tool for builders and tradesman is guaranteed to make your life easier.

www.aquamaid.com.au

80

Aquamaid Pty Ltd 290 Boundary Road Braeside VIC 3195 Phone: 03 9580 9055 Fax: 03 9580 7156 Email: aquamaid@aquamaid.com.au

SPLASH! August September 2013

Never again will you have to scratch around to find something to write on. This Boye will be there ready to take your measurements. Clear easy writing and drawing, no ink to run out, no lead to sharpen and no batteries to die. It’s waterproof and smudge proof. This Boye comes to work even when it’s raining and never forgets.

Contact: www.boye.co.nz; +64_226_128_742

IntroducIng the SwImSpotS App! FInd & compAre poolS neArby….

Want to quickly locate rehabilitation, lap swimming or just a pool to relax?

SwImSpotS mAkeS It eASy!

Hydrogen peroxide photometer

Lovibond’s new photometer can determine the presence of hydrogen peroxide and measure pH values in water. Hydrogen peroxide is becoming more significant as an alternative disinfectant to chlorine or chlorine dioxide.

The measurement ranges have been selected to match the dosages recommended by hydrogen peroxide manufacturers. Alternatively the user can select ranges of 1-50 mg/l and 40-500 mg/l with the same indicator system using the instrument’s mode function.

The determination is arrived at with a yellow/orange-coloured peroxotitane acid solution. In addition the pH value is displayed between 6.5 and 8.4 using the phenolred indicator.

This app is perfect for the busy executive, athlete, working professional or anyone looking to locate swimming facilities quickly to maximise every opportunity.

http://swimspots.com.au

Contact: www.lovibond.com

Demo the speed scanner

Zodiac is offering free demonstrations of its Zodiac Scan. The scanner connects easily to a laptop and is engineered to be accurate, cost-effective and rocket-fast. Using simple strip technology, Zodiac Scan makes six essential readings on a sample of pool water: free chlorine, bromine, pH level, alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid.

Made from 18-gauge, powder-coated steel and sized for water analysis centres with limited workspace, the new countertop device delivers computer-generated treatment recommendations based on Zodiac’s chemicals.

Contact: 1800 688 552.

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SPLASH! August September 2013

AUSTRALIA’S LEADING POOL BUILDERS CHOOSE PARAMOUNT IN-FLOOR CLEANING SYSTEMS

Image courtesy of Coastal Pools & Spas

Paramount In-Floor Cleaning Systems offer you and your customers the perfect cleaning solution when working together to create the perfect outdoor oasis. Astonish your clients with the incredible effectiveness of an in-floor cleaning and circulation system.

Create a vanishing edge, add bar stools, benches, swim-outs and spas to your favourite pool design. Our systems will clean any pool you design every day.

Pool-Water Products | P: 03 9873 5055 F: 03 9873 4746 | Email: info@poolwaterproducts.com.au Web: www.poolwaterproducts.com.au