BonaVista Pools

by brittney_cutler_2 | April 28, 2022 11:16 am

A thriving business founded on family values

By Jason Cramp

BonaVista Pools was established by Bob Brown in 1969, when he moved from Montreal to Toronto to expand ValMar Pools, a company owned by his uncle and cousin—the Valois family. Brown took over the business, renamed it BonaVista Pools in the ’70s, and transitioned its management to Melissa and Peter Brown in 2002. Sadly, Bob died from cancer in September 2002, when he was only 60, after retiring to Prince Edward County, Ont., where he grew up. His work ethic, success, and approach to customer service continues to provide inspiration to his family.

Melissa and Peter run the custom concrete pool construction and service division from the Markham, Ont., office which Bob built back in 1990. In 2008, Melissa and Peter asked their sister Jennifer to open a retail division in Toronto, with the intention of providing more backyard products—including hot tubs and swim spas—and services to the clients they had been serving for decades in the Greater Toronto Area.

Pool & Spa Marketing recently spoke with Jennifer Gannon, proprietor at BonaVista’s retail store in Toronto’s Leaside area, to learn more about the shop’s culture, some of their recent projects, how they are navigating the industry through the pandemic, and what they see for the future of the business.

Pool & Spa Marketing (PSM): What makes the company unique?

Jennifer Gannon (JG): Bob Brown was a professional engineer, and his daughter Melissa—the company’s president—is also a professional engineer. This foundation allows us to tackle challenging installations and large commercial and residential projects. Melissa is also a Genesis 3 member, which is an elite group of pool builders in North America.

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Melissa started working for the company when she was 13. She helped with payroll throughout the school year, then cleaned pools during the summer months. Her favourite days at work are when she gets to be in the field with her crew building pools.

Peter Brown, BonaVista’s vice-president, grew up in the family pool business and learned an appreciation for a well-built pool while initially cleaning them, and later building them during the summer months through high school and university. After graduating from St. Francis Xavier University with honours and a bachelor of business administration, Peter took over the role of construction manager. In this role, he has successfully managed a staff of 30 seasonal labourers and tradespeople, while constructing more than 600 custom concrete pools.

As proprietor of BonaVista’s retail store, I focus on helping our customers find the perfect swim or soak with our line of hot tubs and swim spas. I started working in the family business 30 years ago, as a student maintaining pools for clients during the summer. After I graduated from the University of Western Ontario, I managed the company’s service department and marketing. I stepped away from the business for 13 years to explore a career in public relations and advertising, working for ad agencies in Toronto and Winnipeg. When I returned to Toronto in 2006, I joined the family business again and opened our outdoor living showroom in Leaside.

Offering a retail location in the heart of Toronto allows BonaVista to provide service and water care support year-round to clients who like to look after their own hot tubs, swim spas, and pools, as well as pick up fun toys, accessories, and supplies for their backyard.

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PSM: How large is your shop?

JG: In season, we have a staff of 50 at two locations. Our Markham shop is where construction and service are dispatched. The Leaside/Toronto location is a 297 m² (3200 sf) retail showroom with hot tubs, swim spas, outdoor kitchens, fire features, and pergolas on display with toys and premium water care.

PSM: What type of pools and hot tubs do you primarily install?

JG: We only build custom concrete pools, hot tubs, and water features. In addition to offering Canadian-made acrylic hot tubs and swim spas, we also perform renovation work including custom tile, stone, and marbelite repairs, reshaping concrete pool dimensions, as well as painting pools.

PSM: What type of projects have you worked on?

JG: In addition to luxurious residential backyard projects, we’ve built spa facilities such as the Vetta Nordic Spa near Ontario’s Horseshoe Valley, Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature in Winnipeg, Ste. Anne’s Spa in Grafton, Ont., and the Scandinave Spa in Collingwood, Ont.

PSM: How much of the pool installation process is handled in-house?

JG: All work involved with shooting the shotcrete pool shell, plumbing, and mechanical equipment is completed in-house.

PSM: What equipment do you currently have in your fleet to complete projects?

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JG: Our fleet of 38 pickup trucks, service vans, dump trucks, and minivans get our crew where they need to go. We also rely heavily on our Bobcat mini-excavator and skid steers, as well as our tow-behind Grainger air compressor and Putzmeister Thom-Katt shotcrete pump to create our custom concrete pool shells.

PSM: What does your planning and design process involve?

JG: After meeting with the client on-site, landscape concepts are defined to quote the project in conjunction with a landscape design team. We work with many talented landscape architects, designers, and contractors to focus on the pool, hot tub, and water features.

PSM: How is technology changing the business?

JG: When it comes to backyard technology, remote automation is requested with advanced oxidation systems to help keep the pool’s water quality high and maintenance low. Variable-speed pumps are also popular solutions for helping clients reduce hydro consumption.

PSM: What is the key to staying successful in this industry?

JG: Working hard, being client-centric, and offering best-in-class products and services. Our staff is the ultimate key to our success and, therefore, we invest in training them and providing a safe and professional workplace with lots of opportunity for growth. We’ve recently hired a human relations company to help us define our core values and key competencies, to better understand what staff needs from management to feel engaged and rewarded for their hard work.

PSM: What are your plans for the business?

JG: Continued growth to keep up with the demand for pools, which now has our construction schedule booked until summer 2023. We are on the quest for highly motivated construction staff and service professionals who can help us keep up with the demand for new builds and ongoing service.

PSM: How has your business handled the surge in homeowners looking to create a backyard staycation? What is being done differently now in terms of business operations to handle the increased number of projects compared to pre-pandemic?

JG: We have an expanded sales team (three custom project salespeople and three hot tub/swim spa salespeople). We request deposits to book priority orders in advance and stay connected with our customers to ensure they know we are excited despite the long lead time and delays.

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/bonavista-pools/

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