Sourcing of raw materials starting with pool materials comparison and selecting the best quality materials that would guarantee the parameters of our swimming pools such as durability, longevity or cosmetic details and design features.

Video transcription: 

Anthony Cross: So Paul you’ve mentioned a lot about vinyl ester resins. You tell us that you’ve searched the world, you’ve been to the factories, you’ve sourced out the best product. But I also am aware in my role that you’re bringing these products in, particularly the vinyl ester resin and you’re reformulating them here in Australia before delivering them to our factory. What is important about doing that? Why is that something that you guys do?

Paul Bennet: Ok, well especially with the vinyl ester, we want to make sure that when you get it, it’s as fresh as it can be. So what we do is formulate it to you, we make a specification that suits your application. So we thix and promote it. It comes in un-thixed and un-promoted which means if you put catalyst with it, it wouldn’t go off. So at that stage it can last for a long period of time, maybe eighteen months. But if it had a promoter system in it, then it would only last three months. Then by the time it came on a ship, it may be six weeks old, that is if you used it that day.

As we know because of the amount of material you’re using, you’re using maybe a tonne or more than a tonne of vinyl ester everyday, all of a sudden that material would start to get long in the tooth. We manufacture it so you’ve never got material that is more than two weeks old. It is all mixed, it’s really thoroughly mixed and it doesn’t have time to settle. When it is on the ship, it could settle. Then it needs to be remixed and then it could open the opportunity to have an issue. In your case, you don’t have that opportunity. It’s just always going to be fresh and perfect.

I think it’s important. Ian calls it back to the future. For us, it just seems to work better and I really think that’s a big part of the perfection.

Anthony Cross: It’s about quality control.

Paul Bennet: It is about quality control. It’s what everything is about these days, quality control and risk management.

Anthony Cross: The other advantage of that is that as the seasons change, we’ve got hot weather in summer and we’ve got cooler weather in winter, you can also adjust products to suit the weather conditions too.

Paul Bennet: We can change on a weekly basis. Your guy in the factory, Dan, could ring up and say, can you speed it up a bit or slow it down. We can do that instantly. Then it always fits the climate that you’re operating to.

Anthony Cross: Yes, sure. Look, I appreciate the time you’re taking to talk to us about the technicalities of the business. I know we’re both passionate about what we do. Our focus is to build the best product, your focus is to provide the best raw materials. I think we make a pretty good team in that sense.

Paul Bennet: Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

Read more about vinyl ester resin and polyester resin pool materials comparison in terms of inherent water resistance and other parameters on our page explaining the tough ceramic core of our swimming pools.

There is an art in building a great fibreglass pool. It requires excellent materials, and Compass Pools uses only the best. Our company uses only high quality vinyl ester resin, which is chemically resistant, top rate glass and a superior gelcoat. It all adds up to producing a pool which will successfully cope with the effects of the environment and chemically treated water over many years. To find out more about why Compass Pool is such a reliable investment, phone us on 1300 667 445.

Video transcription: 

Anthony Cross: Paul, you’ve worked with Compass for quite a few years. I guess it’s fair to say we do things a little differently to a lot of other fibreglass pool manufacturing companies. I know that you’ve spent a fair bit of time with us and your involvement stretches back many years, particularly with Ian Mewett who is the founder and owner of Compass Pools. What can you tell us about that collaboration between you and Ian and how that’s shaped your involvement in our industry and particularly with Compass Pools?

Paul Bennet: Well I’ve been lucky enough to have a good background in the fibreglass industry and obviously many years ago I met Ian. But to answer the first part of your question Anthony, what does Compass Pools do a little bit differently to everyone else? Well they’re very thorough with their production of the pools. I’m sure you’ve got more glass and especially more vinyl ester in the pools than the majority of any other people have got, if not all of them.

For example have a look at your EVEC 300 pool. That basically tells us that it’s got 300 kg of vinyl ester resin in it.

Anthony Cross: That’s right.

Paul Bennet: So I’m pretty confident that no one else has got that much vinyl ester in it. So if you look at the process, you’ve got the best gelcoat, we’ve established that. You then want to have the best tie layer. So you’ve got the best glass and you’ve got the best vinyl ester resin. The base resin is sourced from AOC in America. I believe they’re the best resin company in the world. That’s why we buy it from them. I’ve been there and seen their quality system. So you’ve got the best vinyl ester which you’re using the most of and you’ve got the right resin to glass ratio.

Then one of the big differences that you have compared to other people is you use a material called e-sphere resin. No one else would have a ceramic core pool. You guys have got a ceramic core which obviously doubly helps on chemical resistance but its main reason is core strength. That then tells the story that your pool is a lot thicker than anyone else’s. To my knowledge no one else uses e-sphere resin, certainly not filled with ceramic core. Then you put your back up on the outside which is your ortho layer which is also a good quality material.

The other thing you do differently to everyone else is you have a backup base colour. Over the top of your gelcoat you’ve then got a vinyl ester barrier layer before the vinyl ester resin ceramic core layer. All in all, I think you’d struggle to find a better laminated fibreglass pool.

Anthony Cross: You mentioned vinyl ester quite a bit. Vinyl ester is I guess the main ingredient in ensuring that we build a really good quality chemically resistant pool. I don’t think it’s any secret to those in the industry that it is a much more expensive resin. Hence the reason companies are keen to keep the lid on their costs and be careful of what they’re spending. But it is the most important ingredient, isn’t it? It really isn’t something we should be compromising on.

Paul Bennet: No, if you were going to cut a corner, you certainly wouldn’t cut it on vinyl ester. Certainly you wouldn’t cut it on the quality. One of the main important factors I believe for using the best vinyl ester resin is one, have the best base resin, which you have. Also, have a high solid content. Some of the alternative companies I guess could have trouble wetting out their glass properly because the alternative would be to have a lower solid content. In your case, you have a high solid content but a very easy wet-out resin to make sure the fibres of the glass are wet–out. That is the secret to not getting osmosis. I believe we’re definitely supplying the best materials.

Anthony Cross: So there is a real art in building a high quality fibreglass pool that is going to cope with the effects of weather and the environment and chemically treated water over many, many years. As you point out, the gelcoat, the first surface layer, that is really important. It’s got to be durable, it’s got to have the right colourfast properties. Then you get into the chemically resistant layers like the vinyl ester. That’s what we’re talking about here of course.

It might sound like a technical conversation and there are lots of different layers we have been discussing and different ingredients. But that is all essential at the end of the day in ensuring we have a product that we are proud of, that fits in with our heritage of thirty-five years and that we can provide industry leading warranties on.

Paul Bennet: Yes, I definitely believe you’ve got the best products for the purpose you’re trying to serve. You’re right, you’ve summed it all up with the process of building the fibreglass pool there. You can’t cut any corners. You’ve got to have the best material and I believe you’ve got that. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

To build great swimming pools, you need the best materials. Compass Pools’ advanced gelcoat technology, which uses the best base resin and UV stabilisers, ensures your pool will maintain a consistent colour throughout all seasons. Your pool will also have built-in chemical resistance. For more information about how we build our pools, phone 1300 667 445.

Video transcription: 

Anthony Cross: One of the people who is instrumental in the R&D efforts here at Compass Pools Australia particularly with our gelcoat and colour technology is Paul Bennet from Trojan Fibreglass. Paul sources the best raw materials from all over the world and then he carries out his own testing onsite and reformulation. I’m going to ask Paul a few questions about this today.

So Paul, just tell us a little bit about how that works and why it’s so important to get the best raw materials and best result for Compass Pools.

Paul Bennet: Well Anthony, I guess when you talk about the gelcoat technology, there are several things you want to be able to achieve. You want to be able to achieve a fantastic colour and you want to be able to not have any yellowing. So you want it to stay pure for as many years as possible. You also want to have some chemical resistance. I believe with our gelcoat, we’ve covered all those situations.

We’ve made you several different colour ranges that are exclusive to you. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world and see some of the best resin and gelcoat manufacturers and we believe we’re supplying you the best gelcoat. You get the best base resin, you’ve got the best promoter system, you’ve got the best chips and you’ve got the best UV stablisers. So I believe the gelcoat that we supply you with is definitely the best on the market.

Anthony Cross: I know first hand that you come to our factory regularly. You’re on the factory floor sometimes at 4 am, 5 am with the boys. You’re observing the performance of the materials, the spray patterns and the equipment, that sort of thing. You’re making recommendations and just making sure that everything is working as it should and that you’re on top of what we’re doing. You check on the performance of your materials. That’s obviously the approach you take – a hands on approach.

Paul Bennet:  Yes, I like to get into the factory. I guess I come from a hands-on background. I was a boat builder by trade before I got into the resin business. So I’ve actually used all the materials in my own hands for many years before I did this. So I like to keep an eye on what is going on. I need to make sure the guys are going well, the materials are getting catalysed correctly. Sometimes it’s good in the factory to have another opinion.

Anthony Cross: Yes and the boys respect that I’m sure. You talk their language. They can tell you exactly what they’re experiencing on a day- to-day basis. As you know, things can change so much depending on the conditions on the day, the humidity, the temperature. All of those things can affect what you then need to go back and do to tweak and reformulate.

Paul Bennet: Yes that’s right, we make the materials suit your application. Also your factory is very well set up. It’s got the heaters, it’s all done correctly. The staff you’ve got on the floor do a great job.

Anthony Cross: That’s great to hear. I appreciate the efforts that you make and your involvement in that Paul. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.