Proudly Bearing The Made In Britain Label

Even though it is a small company, Intopool invests heavily in research and development to ensure the products that bear the Intopool name are of a high quality and can proudly proclaim to be ‘Made In Britain’. Run by husband and wife team, Henry and Juliette Epsom, each of the Intopool products are designed with three core values: 1) Is it easy for a pool engineer or end-user to install? 2) Does it do the job that an end-user expects from a product and does it look good beside their pool? 3) Can a retailer make a decent margin on the product to make their hard work in selling it worthwhile? Last year Intopool introduced several new products to the market, one of which is the Monaco telescopic reel, designed and manufactured for strength, durability and style. Henry Epsom expands: “With the Monaco, we decided to go for the top end of the market as we felt that people spending a lot of money on a new pool and landscaping would want a reel that also looked stylish rather than just practical.” Another Intopool concept is the AquaSpoiler – an extruded leading edge which again has been designed for strength and looks. As it is totally encapsulated, it will not get debris stuck in it and it won’t harbour mould and bacteria. It also gives added value for money to the end-user as it can be taken off an old cover and put on to a new one. SmartGear, Intopool’s 3-1 reduction gearbox is also performing well. As well as being designed for its own Intopool reel, SmartGear has been designed to be retro-fitted to Plastica’s slidelock reel as they have probably sold the most reels over the years. SmartGear is also available direct from Plastica. SmartGear is quick and easy to fit and if a pool engineer has one in the van an instant demo could become an instant sale. When the time comes for a new reel and the end-user wants an identical one, the SmartGear can be swapped to the new reel.

Henry says: “Sales have exceeded our expectations this year on both products and we expect next year to do even better. “This shows that there is a need for high quality, luxury products for the top end of the swimming pool market and that this market is still buoyant.” Also, the AquaSpoiler could be retro-fitted to replace a mouldy, tatty-looking leading edge and so give the end-user more use out of their existing solar cover. When it becomes time to replace the solar cover, then the AquaSpoiler can be taken off the old cover, cleaned up and fitted on to the new one. This year Intopool has have been working closely with Aquaflex who have been a distributor for the Monaco range of reels and the AquaSpoiler for the domestic market. They have a large stock of the full range and all sizes of the Monaco and all sizes of AquaSpoiler. This has proven to be very successful as their customers can have solar cover, reel and leading edge delivered quickly and at the same time which saves on separate delivery costs. Aquamat 4 Seasons have successfully been using the AquaSpoiler on their heat retention covers for commercial pools. For more details, please contact them direct. 2013 will also be the year Intopool start extruding again with its brand new Davies Standard Extruder which is faster and more energy efficient than ever. As well as pipe, liner-lock and many other profiles Intopool will be able to bring the whole manufacture of AquaSpoiler in-house and therefore make some considerable cost savings. Henry comments: “In these days of austerity and cut-backs, customers are looking for products that last and have added value. “We hope we have produced products that meet these criteria and which can be successfully sold by retail shops, independent pool engineers and the like,” he adds.

SALES OPPORTUNITIES

“There are plenty of sales opportunities. For example, SmartGear is a clever gadget which will give an older Plastica reel a new lease of life and will help the end-user wind on solar covers easily and make using their pool less of a chore.” Intopool has a brochure which has been professionally designed for the end-user and has already proven to be a very valuable marketing tool. If you would like supplies to support your Interpool sales then please get in touch without delay as stocks are limited.