New York, NY — Aqua Alliance, a distinguished leader in the swimming pool industry, is pleased to announce the strategic appointment of its new executive leadership team.

Carlos J. Del Amo has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. With a proven track record as the former CEO of Aqua Central, Del Amo brings a wealth of experience and a progressive vision for growth. He stated,

“I am honored to lead Aqua Alliance and am committed to enhancing the experience of owning beautiful outdoor spaces. By implementing best practices across our organization, we foresee substantial opportunities for growth, innovation, and value creation.”

In addition, Eric Jacobsson has been named Chief Financial Officer. Jacobsson brings extensive financial and operational expertise to his new role, having previously served as CFO at both Aqua Central and Perennial Services Group. His leadership will be instrumental in advancing the company’s financial strategies and operational efficiencies.

“I am delighted to welcome Carlos and Eric to our expanding team said Don Gwiz Chairman of Aqua Alliance. “As we progress with our Dealer First Strategy, Aqua Alliance is dedicated to delivering exceptional, personalized, and consistent experiences for our customers across all business verticals. Together, we are focused on leading the industry through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, ensuring unparalleled value for swimming pool dealers.”

With these key appointments, Aqua Alliance is poised to strengthen its market leadership and drive transformative growth in the swimming pool sector. The company remains committed to elevating the standards of excellence and innovation, ensuring that it meets the evolving needs of pool dealers and partners.

As the last pools are covered and the phone calls settle down, winter gifts the pool industry something rare: time to think.

For builders, service pros, and retailers alike, winter isn’t downtime — it’s the strategic season. It’s when smart operators look beyond the next call or contract and start shaping the business they want two years from now.

“Winter is when we build the business, not the pools,” says Jake Henderson of Blue Horizon Pools, who uses December to review margins, reset systems, and plan hiring before spring rushes back in. “If we wait until March to think strategically, it’s already too late.”

Across the industry, that mindset shift is catching on. Instead of winding down completely, more companies are using winter to strengthen their foundations by refining systems, training teams, and designing growth plans for 2026 and beyond.

Because in today’s market, the companies that treat winter as an opportunity, not an off-season, are the ones leading the pack when the weather warms up.

From Reaction to Intention

After the intensity of summer, the quiet of winter brings clarity. The rush fades, phones calm, and for the first time in months, owners can actually think.

It’s the perfect time to step back and ask big-picture questions: What worked? What didn’t? What do we want to do differently next year?

That space for reflection is what separates reactionary businesses from intentional ones.

“We used to treat January as catch-up season,” says Angela Ruiz of ClearBlue Pool Services. “Now it’s strategy season. We review our wins, fix the bottlenecks, and set our training plan for the year ahead. It changes everything.”

For many companies, this kind of winter planning isn’t about filling out spreadsheets — it’s about creating space to think. It’s also about designing a business that works on purpose rather than by momentum.

Winter gives owners emotional, operational, and financial distance. The stress of the season melts away and you can finally look at your business without the noise of chlorine deliveries, weather delays, and customer calls.

That distance is what allows growth-minded companies to identify patterns, anticipate challenges, and align their next moves with long-term goals.

What the Pros Are Doing This Winter

Across the country, pool professionals are putting their quiet months to work. Instead of to-do lists, strategic initiatives are forged and designed to strengthen their business before the next rush hits.

1. Modernizing Systems

Technology is taking center stage this winter. Companies are upgrading scheduling software, linking accounting tools, and adopting CRMs that help teams communicate more efficiently.

“We finally integrated our job tracking and invoicing software,” says Tony Miller of AquaEdge Pools. “It’s saving us hours every week and eliminating those little mistakes that used to cost us credibility.”

For many owners, it’s not about chasing the latest app. It’s more about using the off-season to simplify and systemize. When spring hits, there’s no time to experiment. Winter is when operational upgrades happen quietly in the background so the busy months can run smoothly.

2. Investing in People

Ask any pool company what their biggest challenge is, and you’ll hear the same answer: labor. Skilled, motivated, reliable labor.

That’s why many firms are treating winter as their training season. Cross-training service techs, offering leadership workshops, and paying for certifications are becoming common winter investments.

“We started a mentorship program for our younger crew,” says Henderson. “It keeps them engaged, and by spring, they’re already ahead of schedule on skills.”

Companies are also rethinking retention — offering flexible scheduling, performance bonuses, or simply creating space for team members to be heard. As Ruiz puts it: “If you don’t invest in people during the slow months, you’ll spend twice the amount replacing them during the busy ones.”

3. Refreshing the Brand

With fewer site visits and customer calls, winter is prime time to update your public face. Many businesses are using the off-season to revamp their websites, refresh photography, or launch new marketing campaigns.

“We do our brand audit in January,” says Miller. “New photos, updated testimonials, maybe a fresh logo tweak. By the time homeowners start dreaming about their next pool, we’re already in front of them.”

Others are leaning into storytelling by publishing project spotlights, filming behind-the-scenes videos, or writing articles that show their expertise. The off-season is the ideal moment to build authority and trust before the buying season begins.

Looking Ahead: Planning for 2026, Not Just 2025

Many business owners are no longer planning for the next season. They’re planning for the next two. With technology, materials, and customer expectations evolving so rapidly, forward-looking strategies are becoming the new norm.

Sustainability, automation, and efficiency top the list of 2026 priorities. Builders are exploring energy-efficient equipment and low-impact materials; service companies are focusing on automation and predictive maintenance; retailers are diversifying their offerings with smart pool technology.

“We’re budgeting for next year’s upgrades, but also setting aside for 2026 equipment transitions,” says Ruiz. “We know automation and energy savings are where the market’s heading. Planning ahead gives us a competitive edge.”

That kind of foresight also protects companies from economic swings. As discretionary spending fluctuates, diversified and well-structured businesses are more likely to stay stable.

In other words: when competitors are coasting, the strategic ones are charting.

The New Shape of Winter Strategy

The modern pool professional’s off-season isn’t about hibernation — it’s all about transformation.

Here’s what’s changing:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: More owners are tracking metrics year-round — from profit margins to lead conversion rates — and using winter to analyze that data in depth.
• Collaborative Planning: Instead of keeping plans top-down, many companies now involve their teams in goal setting. “It builds ownership,” says Miller. “People buy into what they help build.”
• Sustainable Growth: Fast growth isn’t the goal anymore. Smart growth is. Companies are choosing intentional scaling by adding services or expanding geography only when systems can support it.

There’s a growing awareness that the pool industry, once driven by instinct and tradition, is now defined by planning, professionalism, and adaptability.

Community Over Competition

Another emerging theme this winter: collaboration.

Across regions, owners who used to view each other as competitors are now comparing notes, sharing resources, and supporting each other’s success. Whether through online groups, trade associations, or informal meet-ups, there’s a sense that the industry wins when everyone levels up.

“We share our vendor contacts, talk about pricing pressure, even swap advice on hiring,” says Ruiz. “Five years ago, that would’ve been unheard of. Now, we all realize we’re fighting the same challenges.”

That openness has made planning seasons like this one richer and more productive. When people talk honestly about what’s working, the entire industry grows stronger.

A Season for Builders to Build

Every strong season begins with choices made in the quiet months — in the calm before the rush.

Winter gives pool professionals something rare: time to think. And for those who use it wisely, that time becomes the foundation of growth, stability, and innovation.

“The work we do now pays off all year,” says Henderson. “We treat the winter like we treat excavation — it’s the groundwork. If you skip it, nothing else stands right.”

When the phones start ringing again, the companies that used winter for strategy won’t be scrambling. They’ll be ready with systems dialed in, teams aligned, and goals set in motion.

Because success in the pool industry might be built in the summer, but it’s planned for in the winter.

So grab a notebook, pour a cup of coffee, and ask yourself: What kind of business do you want to open in the spring?

Winter is the time to build it.

If it feels like everyone is suddenly talking about silver, you’re not imagining it.

Silver has gone from a niche commodity many ignored to something that’s been dominating market headlines. Copper, meanwhile, has joined right in, breaking records of its own. Together, these two metals are rewriting price expectations across multiple industries—and the pool industry is no exception.

You don’t need to be immersed in the market for this story to matter. If you install, service, or sell pool equipment, silver and copper are already a big part of your world—embedded inside the circuit boards, control boards, motors, wiring, and internal electronics that make modern pool equipment function.

Precious & Industrial Metals

For years, silver and copper were present in nearly every piece of pool equipment, yet they were rarely part of the greater conversation. Their availability and cost were largely taken for granted, baked into products without much second thought.

Today, both metals have become variables instead of constants, and that shift is now working its way through pricing and the broader pool equipment supply chain.

Silver prices have climbed dramatically since 2020, breaking records most people thought were impossible just a few years ago. Copper has followed its own historic trajectory, driven by demand that mining supply simply hasn’t been able to keep up with. These aren’t speculative spikes built on hype alone. They’re rooted in structural changes to how the modern world consumes materials in 2026 and beyond.

Those shifts don’t just affect electric cars and solar farms — they flow downstream into the pumps, heaters, and smart controls pool pros install and service every day.

Why Silver and Copper Prices Exploded

There’s no single reason behind the surge. It’s a convergence of forces that all started accelerating around the same time.

First, industrial demand has surged. It’s become essential in electronics, solar panels, medical equipment, and data centers. Copper runs neck and neck—used in wiring, motors, transformers, control boards, and virtually every electrified system built today.

Second, supply has not kept pace with demand. New mines take years—sometimes decades—to permit and bring online. Environmental restrictions, geopolitical uncertainty, and aging infrastructure have all hindered production growth. That imbalance matters when demand keeps rising regardless of price.

Third, macroeconomic uncertainty has pushed investors back toward hard assets. Inflation concerns, geopolitical tensions, and shifting interest-rate expectations have all increased appetite for precious and industrial metals. When investment demand stacks on top of already-tight industrial demand, prices don’t move gently.

The result is what we’re seeing now: silver and copper trading in ranges that would have sounded absolutely absurd back in 2019.

The Pool Industry’s Exposure to Rising Prices

Many pool products are directly tied to silver and copper pricing, not indirectly, not theoretically—directly.

Silver plays a critical role inside the circuit boards and control electronics used throughout modern pool equipment. It’s commonly found in solder, high-performance electrical contacts, and relay surfaces where reliable conductivity and corrosion resistance matter most. As equipment becomes more automated and electronics-heavy, silver’s role inside pumps, heaters, automation panels, and smart controllers has quietly expanded alongside copper.

Copper is virtually everywhere inside pool equipment. Pump motors rely on copper windings. Automation systems use copper traces running throughout circuit boards and control boards. Heaters, power supplies, relays, transformers, and wiring harnesses all depend on copper for conductivity and heat management.

Precious Metals Inside Electronics

Silver and copper aren’t the only metals quietly shaping costs. Gold plays a big role too, even if it’s measured in fractions of grams.

Gold is commonly used in electrical contacts and connectors because it resists corrosion and maintains reliable conductivity over time.

Ultimately, all of these precious metals are essential for reliability—especially in outdoor environments where moisture, heat, and chemicals are constant threats.

As equipment becomes smarter and more connected, the amount of electronics per product increases. That doesn’t mean prices rise dollar-for-dollar with metal markets, but it does mean manufacturers have less wiggle room to absorb volatility without adjusting pricing upward.

Which Pool Product Categories Are Likely To Be Most Impacted

Not all pool products are equally exposed to metal pricing. The biggest pressure shows up in a few key areas.

Mineral sanitizers and ionization systems feel the impact first, because silver and copper are both core consumable ingredients. Automation systems and control panels follow closely, driven by copper-heavy circuit boards, wiring, and connectors. Pumps and motors are heavily influenced by silver and copper pricing, particularly as energy-efficient designs require more refined materials. Heaters, sensors, and smart equipment combine electronics, wiring, and control components that all rely on these metals.

In many cases, metal prices aren’t the sole reason costs increase—but they’re a meaningful contributor layered on top of labor, logistics, and other material increases.

What Pool Pros Should Take Away From Booming Prices

For pool pros, right now it’s about understanding the forces at work so conversations with customers stay grounded in reality.

Pool manufacturers rarely publish line-item breakdowns explaining exactly why individual components cost more. But the connection is straightforward. Modern pool equipment relies heavily on circuit boards and electronic controls, and those boards are built using copper, silver, and other metals that have seen dramatic price increases since 2020. As electronics suppliers adjust pricing to reflect higher material costs, pool manufacturers absorb those increases upstream — and over time, they work their way into equipment pricing across the industry

When a homeowner asks why some components cost more than they did a few years ago, there’s a real answer to that question. When prices creep up on these products, there’s plenty of context behind it.

For builders and service companies, it also reinforces the importance of knowing which products are commodity-sensitive. Plenty of SKUs will remain relatively stable. Others will continue to track global metals markets more closely than most people realize.

The Net Net

To be clear, the surge in precious-metal prices is only part of the story. Freight, labor, energy, plastics, and other raw materials have all risen significantly since 2020, acting as force multipliers that are pushing prices higher across the board.

Silver, copper, and gold are global commodities. When their prices rise, any industry that relies on them eventually feels the impact. For the pool industry, what’s happening in metal markets is no longer abstract—it’s a real pricing pressure that will continue working its way through the supply chain in 2026.