The International Pool/Spa/Patio Expo was recently held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Pool Expo is the must-attend event for the pool, spa, and backyard industry to stay abreast of trends, market directions, and cutting-edge technology. It attracts close to 10,000 pool industry members (pool and spa builders, retailers, service technicians, manufacturers, and landscape architects) and includes educational seminars and over 400 manufacturers’ exhibits.
It was an honor to be selected to present a seminar again at this year’s conference. Christy Horton, Office Manager of Gohlke Pools, and I presented a seminar entitled “The 10 Keys to Retail Store Success”.
Although we enjoy the conference portion (seminars) of the show, the energy that is on the show floor is hard to beat, with manufacturers trying to sell their goods. We always enjoy seeing the new products, and even though we are reluctant to try them until they have proven themselves as viable, they are often a sign of what is to come in the future. There were two products that intrigued me:
Remote water analysis – pHin has come up with a device that goes directly into the pool that monitors the water chemistry and sends a message to a smart phone/computer/etc. when the water needs attention. This, in my opinion, is a big advancement in the pool industry and something that I am excited about as the technology continues to develop.
Projection TV onto the pool floor – Pentair, one of the leading equipment manufacturers in the swimming pool industry, has come up with a pool light that will project an image (or movie, etc.) onto the floor of the pool. A very cool product that has endless possibilities. Talking about a “dive-in movie”!
Overall, we felt like it was a very good show, as attendance increased over the 2014 Expo. The energy level seemed to be very high, and hopes are high for 2016 being a good year for the economy.
We are already looking forward to next year’s Pool Expo, which will be held in New Orleans in early November.
Matt has been around the pool business since he was born. When he graduated college in 1984, he joined the family business working for Gohlke Pool Supply. The following year Matt and his father formed a partnership, Gohlke Custom Pools, and started offering pool construction.
