Plastimayd And Vyn-All Merge
Plastimayd Pool Products and Vyn-All Products Corp. announced a merger on Aug. 10.
"Two rights make a bigger right," says Todd Mulvaney, CEO of Plastimayd. "[Plastimayd and Vyn-All are] similar companies covering different parts of the country in a similar way - meaning high-quality, good services, fantastic, custom-built products. It makes sense to merge together to make us nationwide."
Both brands will fall under one parent holding company, Plastimayd, LLC, according to Kevin Shea, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "We don't want vendors and/or customers being concerned that this change interrupts any of the relationships or services that Vyn-All's come to be known for," says Shea.
"We feel there are going to be some distinct advantages as a result of this merger, and the mass that it represents in the marketplace. We feel there are some real efficiencies that can be driven back to the customer in the form of service, product development and accessibility to the marketplace," adds Shea.
Four plant locations now exist between the two brands: Newmarket, N.H.; Bossier City, La.; Oregon City, Ore.; and McKenzie, Tenn. "We're now obviously coast-tocoast, so products can be produced and distributed in a much closer proximity to the market," says Shea.
The merger required the consolidation of all payables into one location. Vyn-All's new billing address is the same as Plastimayd's: P.O. Box 2320, Oregon City, OR 97045.
Desert Pool & Spa Show Premiers
IPSSA Region 8 will hold a new trade show, the Desert Pool & Spa Show, in Phoenix in January 2008.
The show, which evolved from Region 8 IPSSA Winterfests, will focus on training and educational seminars, and it is currently geared toward the Arizona service sector.
Show representatives say the goal is to develop the show into an industrywide event involving professionals from all of the pool and spa world.
The Desert Pool & Spa Show will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center, Jan. 17-19, 2008. Classes will be held Jan. 17 and 18, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Jan. 19, from 8 a.m. to noon. The expo will be held Jan. 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the show, visit dps-show.com or call 602/488-7335.
NESPA And NSPF Collaborate For Atlantic City Show
The Northeast Spa and Pool Association (NESPA) and the National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF) will collaborate on the Atlantic City Pool and Spa Show in January 2008.
"Together we will bring education to more people, allowing more people to bring safety and performance to their customers," says NSPF CEO Thomas Lachocki.
The show will debut a commercial pool and spa exhibit area featuring products and services for commercial and semi-commercial pool installations. Seminars and workshops covering all aspects of the pool and hot tub business - including a CPO course -are also scheduled.
The 2008 show will be held Jan. 27- 31, 2008, at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, N.J. Show exhibits will be open Jan. 29-31. For information about the show, visit nespapool.org or call 732/972-9111.
Hayward, Goldline Expand Contact Model
Hayward Pool Products and Goldline Controls recently announced the expansion of their "Single Point of Contact" model. The expansion, effective Oct. 1, provides customers with one-source support for Hayward and Goldline sales and technical service. "It used to be you had to make three separate phone calls if you had problems with three different products," says Mike Massa, vice president of sales for Hayward. "Going forward, they'll make one phone call."
All Hayward and Goldline sales personnel in North America will fall under one of nine regional managers. Those managers will report directly to Massa. "Basically, the plus for [customers] again on the sales side, is the one point of contact for any sales issues they have," says Massa.
Due to the merger, invoicing for both companies will now come from Hayward alone. Dealers, Massa says, will reap the benefits of the merger because both Hayward and Goldline products will count toward the Totally Hayward Rewards Program. "Now [dealers] have so many more products to gain points, which again turn into dollars for them."
More changes will be instituted in January 2008. Massa says at that time order entry and shipping will occur together.
NSPF To Fund Research
The National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF) recently developed a grant program allowing manufacturers and organizations to donate targeted research funds through the NSPF to fund applied scientific research.
According to the NSPF, universities are often hesitant to accept industry funding because of the perception that their studies would be biased in the manufacturers' favor. Manufacturers are often hesitant to donate funds for unbiased university research because the research publications acknowledge the donating manufacturer.
"Retailers, service companies and distributors live in a 'buyers beware' world," says Thomas Lachocki, CEO. "This new grant program gives manufacturers a way to verify product performance to reassure their customers.
"It is a noble endeavor for a manufacturer to let their products shine in an independent, unbiased study. To manufacturers who take this step, we are happy to help by ensuring the study is not biased."
After the general research problem has been defined and the donation is made to the NSPF, the donor has no contact with the university. Donors will not see the results until they are made available in print. On a case-bycase basis, NSPF, the university or the journal may release a pre-print as a courtesy to the donors.
NSPF will retain 10 percent of the donation to cover costs such as research definition, solicitation of researchers and monitoring of progress. For more information about the program, visit nspf.org and click on "research." To donate targeted grant money, contact Lachocki at [email protected].
BUSINESS BRIEFS
- ADVANTIS held its annual sales meeting in Chattanooga, Tenn., in August. Sales trainer Mark McGraw addressed the gathering and sales and marketing awards were announced.
- SOLAR SUN RINGS was recently awarded the Smart Approved Watermark by the Australian government.
- WATERPLACE POOLS, a manufacturer of dealer-direct package pools, is offering protected territories to interested dealers. Call 800/892-6594.
