The Power 50: Pool & Spa News’ fourth annual ranking of the nation’s top 50 builders.

The following article was first featured in Pool & Spa News and written by Rebecca Robledo. Elite Weiler Pools of Sarasota is proud to have been quoted as part of the Power 50 of Swimming Pool Builders in the Nation.

The overwhelming majority of pool builders experienced some kind of increase from 2003 to 2004. Growth percentages ranged from 2 percent to a whopping 126%.

The company that experienced the most growth did so after repositioning itself in the market. Elite Weiler Pools Inc. (No. 16), moved into a new facility, doubled its sales force and beefed up promotion for its commercial pool division. A large part of the company’s phenomenal growth came from a local boom in condominium production.

“We have also brought a good share of our work in-house. It’s given us a little bit of a competitive edge,” says John Kennedy, president of the Sarasota, Fla.-based company. This helps offset rising materials costs.

The fourth fastest-growing company, Aqua Pool & Spa Inc. (No. 8), has also positioned itself to accommodate a growing local housing boom. Last year, the Ripon, Calif., company formally merged with The Vintage Company to increase its market share. All in all, it saw an almost 43 percent leap in 2004.

Austin-based Cody Pools (No. 32), ranked fifth in terms of growth, attributed most of its success to a formalized customer-survey process and increased advertising. “When we complete a pool, we send a survey out and then make sure to correct every little mistake, so we have 100-percent customer satisfaction,” says President Mike Church.

Several top 50 builders positioned themselves for growth last year by creating additional supervisory and customer-relations positions or opening new branches. If not for rising materials costs, growth may have been even higher, says R’nelle Lazlo, national marketing director at Blue Haven Pools & Spas (No. 1) in San Diego.

“I think that you may lose a few customers because of a price concern,” says Lazlo, whose company opened offices in Phoenix, and Sarasota and Jacksonville, Fla., last year. “That may result in a few [lost sales] here and there, but nothing dramatic.”

The big fish

No doubt, there was plenty of work to go around in 2004. In fact, the top six volume builders saw almost a 19-percent increase in new construction. They built slightly more than 23,000 pools in 2004 compared with 19,400 the previous year.

Overall, volume for the top 50 builders ranged from 47 to 7,580. The group averaged 320 pools last year, a 7-percent drop from the previous year’s 344. Collectively, they built more than 40,000 pools in 2004, a 19-percent increase over 2003’s 35,568.

A more gradual curve

As a group, this year’s top 50 builders rocketed past the 2004 list, earning more than $1.8 billion, a 26 percent increase over the $1.4 billion last year’s group earned in 2003.

If you want to zero in on construction revenue alone, including commercial, the 2005 top 50 builders brought in nearly $1.7 billion. This compares with the previous year’s figure of almost $1.3 billion-an increase of 32 percent.

In both cases, revenue has grown steadily since builders began reporting numbers for Pool & Spa News’ first Top 50 Builders list.

Top 50 Total Revenue (includes retail, service, residential and commercial construction)

2002: $1,114,563,045
2003: $1,436,492,841
2004: $1,810,730,118

But who is the “typical” 2005 top 50 builder? If you were to draw a composite, this company did not grow as much as the previous year’s. The average company registered
$15.5 million** in revenue in 2004, showing a 5.3-percent increase over the $14.7 million for 2003. Average construction revenue rose 0.3 percent to $14.3 million, compared with $14.2 million in 2003. ** Many reported averages are median averages.

Median Revenue (includes retail, service, residential and commercial construction)

2002: $10,587,018
2003: $14,700,000
2004: $15,483,500

Median Construction Revenue (includes all residential and commercial construction)

2002: $8,589,853
2003: $14,220,000
2004: $14,269,000

Total Top 50 Volume

2002: 24,467 2003: 35,568 2004: 42,253

While average pool prices ranged from $20,567 to $115,000, many top 50 builders report an increase in the category. This sentiment is verified by the five companies selling the most expensive pools: J. Tortorella Pools in New York (No. 44), Barrington Pools in Illinois (No. 17), California’s Curcie Pools (No. 40), Lifetime Pools (No. 33) and Geremia Pools (No. 20).

As a group, these five builders saw an average price increase of 13 percent. The largest gains were reported by J. Tortorella Pools (up 34 percent from 200Ys $86,000 to 2004’s $115,000) and Lifetime Pools (up 21 percent from 2003’s $50,496 to 2004’s $61,135).