Business is booming for a company that creates fibreglass pools in the Shuswap.
Otter Pools, a subsidiary of Performance Poly Tek, is based in Malakwa, B.C. and creates ready-to-install fibreglass pools for clients across the country.
“You start with a pool mould and you spray it with a gel coat which is the actual outer colour of your pool, then, in behind that, we will start bulking it up with different layers of fibreglass,” said the owner of the two businesses, Scott McCuaig.
“There’s different resins and materials we use to bulk it up to give it strength and a bit of flexibility to handle any movement in the ground.”
The business has been manufacturing the fibreglass pools for five years now which has helped give the community of Malakwa an economic boost.
“Malakwa is a great community. We live in Malakwa, and we just found an opportunity to pick up this big shop right where we live. There’s a great workforce here and it supplies some labour to the area.”
The business being in town is a win not only for the manufacturers and the clients but also for the residents.
“Fibreglass is what they make most boats out of,” said Konnor McCuaig, a foreman at the company.
“It’s totally waterproof. It’s strong, durable, it doesn’t degrade. You don’t have to worry necessarily about cracks if it’s installed correctly. There’s a lot of benefits when it comes to fibreglass, especially when it comes as a pre-formed shape.”
Currently, the company has 14 employees. It takes between 80 and 100 hours for a team of up to five people to make one pool.
In five years, the company has expanded its fibreglass pool manufacturing process. It currently has three different pool moulds along with different accessories like slides, tanning ledges and more, and the team is currently working on two more pool design moulds.
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