Let’s take a moment to remember 2022 as we enter 2023.
Although it was a year filled with natural disasters, shortages of chemicals, and supply chain problems, it also saw important milestones, many acquisitions and a welcome return for face-to-face expos.
It was also the year of SPLASH! It celebrated its quarter-century!
Acquisitions, Partnerships and Investments
Maytronics purchased Orimatech in June. This was one of the key commercial dealers for the Wave Dolphin-branded robotic pool cleaning machines in the New South Wales, Queensland, and Australian aquas industries.
In June, a new partnership was announced between Endless Surf & Myrtha Pools. This will make Myrtha Pools’ stainless steel pool technology exclusively available to Endless Surf surf park projects.
SPLASH! SPLASH! reported that Norwest, a US-based global equity firm, had made a significant investment in Poolwerx in support of the franchisor’s ambitious growth plans.
Australian pool lighting manufacturer PAL Lighting purchased Precision Architectural Lighting, a US-based manufacturing company, in October.
Sunbather opened a new production space in Oct. The new 1500sqm facility represents a 75 percent increase in manufacturing under-roof area.
Reece Group purchased two Australian companies, International Quadratics and Dontek, a specialist in solar pool controllers. Dontek and IQ combined brought the pool industry more than 180 years experience to the group.
BWT Pool Group purchased Austral Pool Solutions Pty Ltd in November. This was a major distributor of pool equipment in Western Australia. This acquisition was made in November after the purchase of Seaford Transformers.
ASSA Abloy, the global leader in access solutions based in Sweden, has acquired D&D Technologies – a leading Australian designer and manufacturer premium pool gate hardware.
Representation and Expos
The Swimming Pool and Spa Association of WA, (SPASA WA), asked WA Police in February to investigate financial records. These records date back almost seven years.
The Exhibitors were swept off their feet when the SPASA Australia Melbourne consumer exhibition exceeded all expectations with thousands of eager buyers who attended over three days.
After a four-year wait, the 2022 SPLASH was finally held in June. The Pool & Spa Trade Show was everything the industry wanted and more. It was hailed as one of the most important and largest spa and pool trade expos ever held.
The Master Pool Builders Association Australia, (MPBAA), and the Swimming Pool and Spa Association of Australia(SPASA) reached an agreement in October that the February 2023 Melbourne Pool and Spa show would be presented jointly by SPASA and MPBAA.
SPASA WA members voted in November to merge into SPASA Australia. This resulted in a highly successful vote, which established unified industry representation on the Australian continent.
The environment
The spa and swimming pool industry helped many people in their area, even crossing borders to assist others. Recreation facilities played an important part.
The Australian east coast suffered from a continuing shortage of pool salt in the early part year. This was due to the La Nina-induced flooding which caused an extremely high demand.
Since October, all swimming pool and spa pump pumps must meet minimum energy performance (MEPS), and display an Energy Rating label.
Spa World, in partnership with Ekos and GreenFleet, claimed the title of the first global carbon neutral spa retailer. The Black Summer bushfires in 2019/2020 prompted the decision.
People
Swimming Australia (SA ) apologized unreservedly in January to all female swimmers who were negatively affected by elite swimming culture, as a result of a June 2021 review.
Invasion of Ukraine Compass Pools rallied to support franchisees that were affected by war and asked for help in March to save the families of the victims.
In May, Aquatic Leisure Technologies ‘s former executive director Ben Beale was named after a Perth cardiovascular research center. He died tragically from a heart attack in 2017.
Elena Gosse, CEO of AIS Water, was presented with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), in June’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List. This award recognizes her contributions to the community and manufacturing.
Janet Drummond was a pioneer in pool and spa industry and a strong force for women in this industry. She passed away in June. She was just 55 years old.
In May, Robert Karkut , VBA inspector, died. His participation on the Australian Standard for Swimming Pools and his efforts to improve safety standards for pool barriers was well-known within the spa and pool industry.
Fluidra Australia created Fluidra commercial in September. Jeremy Smith, SR Smith’s national manager, was appointed the general manager.
The Victorian industry and Block TV audience went into mourning in October after the death of John Jeremy Bradey (better known as Jon Jon). He was just 42 years old.
Setbacks
January saw fire destroy Freedom Pools Perth’s factory. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.
Royal Life Saving released a new report that assessed the condition of Australian aquatic facility infrastructure. It found that $8Billion will be required to make it up-to-standard.
The Kew Recreation Centre was hit hard by a collapsed roof on Thursday, October 20, at around 10:10 PM.
Flashback: What made the spa and pool industry news in 2022 appeared originally on SPLASH! Magazine.
