Water Tech Corp, manufacturer of the original Pool Blaster, as well as popular Volt and Precision battery powered pool cleaners, is pleased to have been selected as a Winner of the 2022 New Jersey Best Places to Work recipients!  Water Tech won in the category of smaller companies to work for—as the winners are selected within the small, medium and large company size categories.  “We are so proud win this award during the year of our 20^th anniversary,” says Guy Erlich, Founder and President of the company.  “The employees at Water Tech are a family and we have a lot of fun together making it a great place to work.”

With 19 different US patents on pool and spa cleaners alone, Water Tech has been able to use its intellectual property and unique product designs to systematically ensure its success in the marketplace and from 2005 and the present date, Water Tech has also received the “Pool & Spa News & Readers’ Choice Award” for “Best New Product” approximately seven (7) times!

The award ceremony took place on September 29, 2022.  To learn more about the award and read more about the award winners, visit:

City/State:  E.  Brunswick, NJ

Website:  www.watertechcorp.com

Phone:  800-298-8800

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, November 14-20. National Apprenticeship Week showcases the value of Registered Apprenticeship programs and how they provide a critical talent pipeline to help our nation’s economy. During this week, PHTA is sharing updates on the PHTA Registered Pool Maintenance and Service Technician Apprenticeship Program™, which launched in August 2021.

The PHTA Apprenticeship Program is the only nationwide program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor for the pool, spa, and hot tub industry. It allows the pool profession to be more competitive with other industries that are also struggling for entry-level talent. This program is free for PHTA members and combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction and skills-based education.

Having a registered apprenticeship program means that pool maintenance and service is now considered a skilled trade, opening the doors with high school guidance counselors, veterans, and community workforce boards.

PHTA is pleased to announce that there are currently 23 companies across 15 states enrolled in the apprenticeship program, and nearly 30 apprentices have begun their on-the-job training. Apprentices receive 182 hours of online education through the PHTA online education portal.

The companies currently enrolled are:

• Anderson Poolworks, Wilsonville, OR
• Aquatic Dynamics Inc, Mt. Sinai, NY
• Atlantic Solutions, Chapel Hill, NC
• B&B Pool and Spa Center, Chestnut Ridge, NY
• Gold Medal Pools, Lewisville, TX
• Goodall Pools & Spas, Camp Hill, PA
• Gorlin Pools, Lakehurst, NJ
• Great Valley Pool Service, Frazer, PA
• Idaho Pool Remodeling, Meridian, ID
• Lehmann Pools and Spas, Mahwah, NJ
• Luke Pool Service, Inc, Cumming, GA
• NW Arkansas Pool & Spa, Rogers, AR
• Penguin Pools, Waukesha, WI
• Pool Doctor NM, LLC, Traverse City, MI
• Poolwerx – Forest Lane, Dallas, TX
• Preserve Pools, Summerville, SC
• Pure Swim, Van Nuys, CA
• Rin Robyn Pools, Hackettstown, NJ
• Strong Refuge Pools, Wilsonville, OR
• Swimming Pool Services, Waukesha, WI
• The Better Pool Guy and Home Solutions, Inc, Clemont, FL
• The Pool People, Inc, Eldersburg, MD
• Vue Custom Pools, Greensboro, NC

“We consistently hear from PHTA members that workforce development and employee recruitment and retention are top business concerns,” says Sabeena Hickman, CAE, President & CEO of PHTA. “The pool and hot tub industry has so many wonderful career opportunities. We’re focused on not only delivering that message, but actively developing these apprentices into skilled, qualified workers who will become valued industry professionals. We are proud to be able to offer the PHTA Registered Pool Maintenance and Service Technician Apprenticeship Program and hope that more members take advantage of this opportunity in the coming year.”

In addition, PHTA and its Apprenticeship Task Force are currently developing a second apprenticeship program for pool construction laborers. PHTA is looking forward to launching this new program in early 2023.

To learn more about the PHTA Apprenticeship Program, visit https://apprenticeship.phta.org/ or contact Seth Ewing, PHTA Senior Director of Member Programs and Services, at [email protected] or 703-838-0083, ext. 159.

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About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with over 3,600 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $36.5B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA facilitates the expansion of swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.

Bradford Products has long been a manufacturer of stainless steel vessels. With a pedigree for producing world-class resort-style swimming pools and water features, the firm has long been the go-to source when it comes to high-end projects. The fact should come as no surprise that Bradford Products was firm behind the world-famous Stadium Swim, a massive swimming pool sports book located at the Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Recently, we had the opportunity to discuss the pool at greater length with Mike Sage, VP of Sales & Marketing for Bradford Products who gave us some insight into why Bradford was tapped for this particular project.

Why Bradford Products Was Chosen For The Stadium Swim Project

“The backbone of our company, and certainly the largest part of our business, is the Aquatic vertical,” said Sage, “that is what encompasses primarily all of the custom and commercial elevated stainless steel pool and spas. I think that’s probably what we’re most well-known for. That goes for anything that goes on top of an apartment building or a Las Vegas pool deck or any number of our other custom applications for swimming pools and spas around the world.”

With over 10,000 pool and spa installations worldwide, Sage said the project planners behind Circa didn’t have to look far to find Bradford Products. The firm has been responsible for many well-known resort swimming pools all over the world. In fact, they were involved in the collaboration of another high-end pool project in London that made headlines across the globe, (Sky Pool).

“We’ve got a lot of experience in Las Vegas working with most of the major resorts and casinos there having installed just a tremendous number of pools and decks,” said Sage. “For most of the major players out there, Circa was unique for a couple of different reasons. It’s located in the old downtown part of Las Vegas. It’s a much tighter environment down there, which in and of itself created some unique challenges in constructing that particular casino. Certainly, the pool presented some unique challenges.”

“When it came down to it, there really was no other choice in their mind but to work with us,” said Sage. For project planners, it made sense to choose Bradford Products. The Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Golden Nugget, Wynn, Encore, and Palms Casino are only a few of the commercial clients they have had the fortune to work with. Consequently, the 40-year-old firm’s reputation proceeds them in the market when it comes to resort swimming pools in Las Vegas.

“Ultimately why Bradford was chosen as the pool supplier there. I would say first and foremost, by far the primary reason was because of the actual orientation of the pool deck. Stadium Swim sits directly above the gaming floor of the casino. And that is the heart and soul and money generator for that casino,” explained Sage, “there had to be an absolute highest level and sense of security that these pools were not going to leak or eventually leak over time. So Bradford was chosen because of our ability to deliver a fully welded, fully guaranteed watertight, stainless steel pool that would be placed directly over the most critical part of the casino.”

“They needed the ability to get these pools up to the pool deck in some pretty tight environments, “said Sage, “they also needed an organization that had the ability to maximize the full section sizes for transportation including craning and rigging, but still doing it in a manner that was conducive to staying on construction schedules and fitting into some pretty tight spaces.”

Stadium Swim, a Unique Pool Experience Like No Other

While the project was a monumental undertaking, it’s all in a day’s work said Sage, who claims to be eager to tackle the next huge Las Vegas project that comes along. This project is just another feather in the cap for the firm as they continue to dominate when it comes to Las Vegas commercial work. The end results of the Stadium Swim clearly speak for themselves.

“It truly is a really unique design. There are six pools and they are tiered. So the closer pools are set at the lower elevation, and then the further away that you get from the television screens, the higher up the pools go. So it is truly a stadium seating experience and layout,” explained Sage.

“It’s also the first of its kind in that the pool deck also doubles as a sports book,” explained Sage, “there’s a massive wall of TVs that are broadcasting any number of sporting events. The pools and spas on the pool deck basically act as the seating for watching the action. I can tell you, it’s quite comfortable having been on the deck in the middle of August in Las Vegas. There’s no better place to sit than in Stadium Swim and enjoy the big game. That’s certainly what captures everybody’s attention, are the massive screens.”

We’re certainly intrigued by the project and it’s no wonder why Stadium Swim is rated #1 on our list of the Best Pools in Las Vegas. We’ll keep you updated with more great content about Stadium Swim when we visit it during our trip to the International Pool Spa Patio Expo in November.

Learn more about the history of Bradford Products, their involvement with the Sky Pool and Stadium Swim on the Pool Magazine podcast.

Photo Credits: Circa Resort & Casino
Featured Photo Credit: Ryan Gobuty