Skimlite Manufacturing, a third generation, family-owned American manufacturer, has appointed The Grit Game as its manufacturer representative across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Founded in a Burbank, California garage in 1954 by Robert Conrad, Skimlite has been manufacturing in the United States for 72 years. Conrad built the industry's first lightweight pool skimmer from spring steel, where the company's name comes from, then followed it with one of the industry's first telescopic poles. That pole, the 5008, is still in the line today. The company is now led by Barrett Conrad, the founder's grandson, and operates facilities in Bartow, Florida and Salinas, California, giving it East and West Coast shipping coverage and near same day fulfillment.
The Grit Game, founded in 2023 and named Pool Nation Sales Rep Group of the Year in 2024, represents across the United States and Canada. The South Central Skimlite team is led by Andrew Ragland, Manny Sanchez and Alan Martinez.
Before the first sales call, The Grit Game mapped every distributor branch in the four state territory, 104 in all, to discover where Skimlite products sit on the shelf and where they do not. That work now drives the rollout: getting the right mix of poles in front of service professionals, putting Skimlite displays on distributor floors where product has been sitting in back rooms, and expanding the line's presence with buying groups, pool builders and retailers.
"Skimlite has been riding in the back of service trucks across Texas for decades," says Laci Davis, co-founder and CEO of The Grit Game. "What a lot of pros do not realize is that the pole they reach for every single day is still built by one family in the United States, and has been since 1954. Our job is to remind them, and to make sure the right product mix is actually on the shelf when pool pros walk in.That is the part I love about this line. We are not asking anyone to try something new. We are reconnecting people to a company they have already trusted for years, and giving our distributor partners a clearer way to sell it. When a business has done the work for seven decades, the work is the story."
“We are excited to partner with a team like Grit Game that shares the same values and commitment to the swimming pool industry that have guided us for the past 72 years," says Barrett Conrad, CEO of Skimlite Manufacturing. "At Skimlite, we take pride in building quality products for pool professionals. The Grit Game team will play an important role in ensuring these products are readily available to the pros who depend on reliable equipment every day.
"We also look forward to sharing the family first culture that is at the heart of everything we do. Every Skimlite product is handcrafted by our team, including members of the 4th generation, and built to the highest standards of quality. Through this partnership, we are excited to continue growing the Skimlite brand that service professionals have trusted for generations while welcoming new members into the Skimlite family along the way.”
Skimlite's line includes telescopic and straight poles in every common locking style, brushes, nets, leaf rakes, hand crafted spring steel skimmers, adapters and a full replacement parts program. The company builds its poles with replaceable fittings, grips and locking components so that a worn part can be replaced rather than the whole pole.
Pool professionals, distributors, builders and retailers in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas can find their local rep at The Grit Game rep at thegritgame.com/south-central.
