Pentair: Thank you again for joining us today, Mike. Can you tell me a little bit about your background and how you started Cody Pools?

Mike: Cody Pools started before me. I bought it in 2003. October of 2003. They started in 1994 as a small company that was just here in Austin, Texas. I ended up changing the culture of the company. They were mainly building little cookie-cutter-type pools, you know, always trying to be the cheapest. And so I ended up changing the branding. And then, as business grew, I expanded in 2008 into San Antonio.

Pentair: And that was the start of the growth?

Mike: Oh yes. That was our first organic process that we did. Then, after being in San Antonio, we went to Houston in 2011. After being in Houston for a few years, we ended up buying a company at the end of 2018, a pool builder in Tampa called Challenger Pools. That was our first acquisition. Believe it or not, that company in Tampa, when we bought them, was only doing 6 million a year. Just like when I bought Cody Pools, they were only doing 6 million a year in 2003. But we took the Tampa office from 6 million a year to 60 million a year.

Pentair: Holy cow! That’s a lot of growth. Incredible. So, is Cody Pools just active in Florida and Texas, or are you active elsewhere?

Mike: Oh, we're active elsewhere, too. Even though we were already in Houston, we bought one of our competitors, Platinum Pools in Houston. They were a friend I grew up with and got to know, and then my wife went to high school with them. So we bought them in 2021, and they were doing about 45 million a year as a company. And then we ended up after that purchase, we had another friend of ours, the Smith family, that we ended up buying in 2021 in December, in Phoenix. So basically the markets we're in are Texas, Florida, and Arizona. And now, combining all three companies, we're doing about $340 million a year.

Pentair: Wow! How does the pool industry kind of differ from each territory to each territory? Do you see any significant differences?

Mike: We see a little bit, especially this year. Most of these purchases were done through COVID, and the businesses were booming or exceeding expectations because everybody wanted a pool. But we see the Florida market picking up drastically this year, and we also see the Phoenix market dropping a little bit. So it's about an offset, you know, and then Texas has remained about the same as we did last year.

Pentair: That’s really interesting. Do you have any projects in the past 20 years of business that have stuck out in your mind as one of your favorites?

Mike: Well, there's one we just finished that's kind of unique. It's just outside Austin. You remember Lake LBJ? What we just finished is the first one in North America. It's the second one in the whole world. We did a floating pool on Lake LBJ at Horseshoe Bay, which is a pool floating on the lake. It's a Junior Olympic pool, 45 by 75 ft.

Pentair: A floating pool!

Mike: It's just floating on the water! We just completed it. It's a stainless steel pool. It was pretty unique, and it caught a lot of attention because we were the first to do it. That was a unique pool.

Pentair: Oh my gosh, that’s so unique. What goes into building a floating pool?

Mike: Well, of course, a lot of engineering. But it's stainless steel that's floating on the insulated Styrofoam, just like a dock.

Pentair: That sounds so interesting. So, in addition to building those just absolutely show-stopping pools, do you have any favorite products you like to work with when bringing a pool to life? Is there one thing you have to include on every pool equipment pad?

Mike: It's a Pentair product. We got off the saltwater pools probably 10 years ago, and we mainly do UV, ultraviolet light, and we use the Pentair UV system on every pool. It just cuts down the chlorine demand substantially. Saltwater caused problems because it would deteriorate the stone on the pool and the coating.

Pentair: Do you feel like that's possibly kind of a sustainability initiative for pool owners where it extends the longevity of their pool and helps them save?

Mike: Yeah, and everybody's always concerned about having chlorine pools because they hear all the negatives about it. So when you tell them it cuts down the demand by 75% when using a UV, it's a good selling tool and it's one we all believe in.

Pentair: Can I ask how big your staff is currently?

Mike: About 435.

Pentair: Oh, wow. And what was it when you started back in 2003?

Mike: 19.

Pentair: 19? Holy cow. Talk about growth! How would you say the pool industry has shifted in the last 20 years?

Mike: I'd say, in the last 20 years, if I had to pinpoint one thing, I think it's changed in terms of people doing more in the backyard. I mean, people are making the backyard into more of a staycation-type setup. It’s the landscaping to gazebos to structures outside the pool. I think the biggest trend is just making the backyard into more of an entertainment space.

Pentair: Do you think we'll see that trend continue to expand and evolve in the coming decades?

Mike: It all leans that way. I mean, I'm on the board of directors for Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, which regulates our industry for building standards. And it's a group of us – a group of pool builders, distributors, manufacturers, Pentair is on it – and we all have open conversations. It's all leaning toward either building more in the backyard to have more entertainment space or revamping the backyard in terms of remodels.

Pentair: In terms of this trend toward remodeling, do you see any particular design trends that are kind of rising to the top? Or is it more automation-based where they're looking to make their ownership experience more effortless?

Mike: Definitely automation, everybody's trying to get more up to date. Pentair ScreenLogic®, that automation is pretty advanced where you can operate everything off your smartphone. Everybody's trying to go that way so they can operate on their phone instead of having to use control panels.

Pentair: In terms of automation, putting control just right in the palm of your hand, do you think most pools should have that nowadays, or is it still burgeoning in the industry?

Mike: Everybody wants it. It's the new trend everybody wants, and not just for pools. The trend is continuing for anything in your house, like you can operate your stereo system right from your smartphone.

Pentair: Right. It just makes home ownership in general easier. Are there any other products you recommend that take some of that maintenance weight off the pool owner?

Mike: While automation is a big plus, so are variable speed pumps. Pentair was the first to come out with the variable speed pump, and it’s incredibly energy efficient. Nowadays, that's the standard. Everybody's concerned about the cost of operating pool equipment, so having that energy efficiency is a big plus with the variable speed pumps.

Pentair: Right. Those single speed pumps are a huge cost. As people are transitioning from single speeds to variable speed pumps, have you heard any statistics about energy savings and what people are actually getting out of that?

Mike: Well, yes, actually. Everybody's saying that their equipment today is probably costing them $50 a month in electricity bills, whereas if you were talking about single speed pumps five years ago, they were closer to the $100 range. It's about a 50% savings.

Pentair: That's pretty significant! Let's shift a little bit and talk about this Top 50 Builder recognition that you just received. That's so exciting. So, can I ask what went into getting this award and how it makes you feel to receive this great honor?

Mike: It's a big deal! A very prestigious award. We probably started doing the application for the Top 50 Builders back in 2004. And it used to be based on revenue 100%, so we were up against franchise builders. And then in 2013, they came out and made the award to be a five-stage category, of which 50% was revenue. Then it was broken down between your tenure, continuing education, and involvement in the community.

So we entered it in 2013, and we won! Number one. Yeah, we went from like number 25 to number one in one year, which gave us a substantial boost in the industry. We’ve won it now for 11 years in a row. And since continued education is another category they consider, we promote that in our company strongly every year.

Pentair: That's incredible. And it's great to hear that you're really putting your employees first by promoting happiness and continuing education. What is your longest employee tenure? Do you have anyone who's been there since the very beginning?

Mike: Yeah, we just celebrated someone who’s just completed 24 years.

Pentair: Oh, my gosh, that’s huge!

Mike: It is! And we have many over the 10-15 year range. We have many over that, I'd almost say 50% of our employees have been there 10 years plus, even though we’re so big.

Pentair: What's the secret to employee happiness and keeping that team over all those years?

Mike: Well, we have a strong culture, and we do a lot of company functions and events. And we have a pretty great work environment. But most of it boils down to the company functions throughout the year. Like for instance, every year since we won the 2013 Top Builder slot, we do a celebration party, and we do it in every city. Like right now, I'm getting ready to leave to go to Phoenix for a celebration party this Friday. And then I come back and two weeks later, I do one in Tampa and Orlando, and then one in Austin. It’s a family event where we bring the whole family to a water park on a Sunday, and everybody gets Monday off.

And then we have huge Christmas parties in every city where we do business. We also do the annual charity golf tournament where we raise quite a bit of money for somebody, usually an employee in the company or a family member in the company that maybe had a challenging health problem or fell on hard times. We usually raise about $100,000 for each event. We do surveys after these events, and everyone seems to really appreciate them.

Pentair: Yeah, that sounds incredible. I feel like so many companies should be taking note right now and putting people first because that's the secret to success. Do you have any advice to aspiring Top 50 Builders or people who are just starting out in the pool industry?

Mike: Yeah, I do. I think the main thing is to open up your company to let your managers make their own decisions. I see a lot of small businesses where the owners were micromanaging. They don't let other people succeed within the company. And I think that's one of the things that Cody has done well; we let staff members take on more responsibility instead of the owners always trying to manage the whole company by themselves. I think that's been part of the success of keeping strong managers involved.

Cody Pools' journey through two decades in the pool industry offers invaluable insights and lessons for both newcomers and seasoned professionals. His secret to success, grounded in a passion for people, serves as an inspiration for many. To learn more about Cody Pools, stop by Pool & Spa News to view the full list of 2024's Top 50 Builders.

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to Mike Church, and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of Pentair or any of its affiliates or employees.