A summer job that becomes a lifelong career is a story often told in the pool industry. That’s not quite how it went for Albert Melo, but it’s close. He grew up in the pool industry as his father cleaned pools. “He went on to start remodels,” Melo explains, “and when I went to college to study civil engineering, he started building pools. During summer breaks in high school, I loved shadowing him and learning as much as I could.”
During college, Melo interned with a home builder in Orange County, where he was exposed to high-end luxury pools. “That opened my eyes to see that there are no limits within the pool industry,” he says.
After graduation, he planned to help his dad at the business for one summer …and you know the rest. “That turned into me falling in love with the pool industry and even more with the business side of our industry,” he says.
The business has grown 20 times in revenue since that summer, Melo says. And he has continued to grow as well. “What I love about the pool industry is that you can never stop learning,” he says. “You have to constantly be learning about the new products, new construction techniques, new material selections, new building codes — all the innovation keeps me on my toes and it challenges me to keep improving.”
Melo says that while the industry is evolving every day, one thing he hopes will change is the misconception that pool contractors are untrustworthy and undependable. “I would like to be remembered as someone who always strived do my best in my profession,” he says, “who never stopped learning, and who understood the importance of not only building pools but how to effectively run a business.”
