Blow molding refers to the process of melting plastic, putting it into a mold and then shaping it with compressed air. Most plastic bottles are formed this way, including products manufactured by Taylor Water Technologies, which makes water-testing kits. For Jessica Ruckle, blow molding was the first job she did at Taylor. In the years…
It can be satisfying to see something one has created pop up on the opposite side of the world. That’s a feeling Paige Quill knows well. As graphic designer for Taylor Water Technologies, she has gotten to see her designs go further than she could have ever dreamed. “I like how global the pool industry…
“Safety first” is a mantra close to Miranda Rodriguez’s heart. Upon starting her career as a chemist with Taylor Water Technologies, she has seen firsthand the important role the company’s products play in the safety of its customers. “An unbalanced pool can be harmful to people and their equipment,” Rodriguez says. Since being promoted to…
In the post-pandemic zeitgeist in which “quiet quitting” and labor shortages rule the narrative, Dominique Hough’s perspective on her position at Taylor Water Technologies might sound old fashioned. “I see [myself] working at Taylor long-term, because I don’t think of it as just a job. I think of it as my career,” Dominique says. “I…
In the pool industry, it’s well-known that a clear pool doesn’t always mean a clean pool. But customers often don’t know the difference. “One thing I’d like to change about the pool industry is how consumers are educated on what it means for a pool to be good,” says Darren Post, president of The Pool…
A millennial with a love of computers and competitive swimming since the age of 6, Lindsey Lawless says she absolutely loves getting to impact customers directly as digital marketing manager for pool equipment manufacturer Hayward Holdings. “I am committed to providing the best digital experience for all our customers, whether it be distribution partners, builders…
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…
Kara Weed started running the register at her family’s pool and spa retail store, Ultra Modern Pool & Patio, at the ripe old age of 9. She worked summers in the store, performing water tests and stocking shelves, but started full-time as the company’s marketing manager in 2015 when she left an accounting career at…
If you ran into Janey Chakalis on the street, you might be surprised to learn the woman sporting a diamond swimming pool-shaped ring doesn’t spend her time lounging by one. “I do a bit of everything, from regular cleaning to installing full automation, heaters, acid washes, tile cleaning etc.,” Chakalis says, “basically everything but remodeling…
Brad Dieterich has seen the good and the bad working in the pool industry. In his first job, he started as a laborer, working his way up until he was under the owner, with no more advancement options. Though the company was a good builder, Dieterich then wanted to move into 3D design — and…
There’s always something new to learn when you work in the pool industry, Megan Walraven says — even with almost 20 years under her belt. Walraven started her pool industry career in 2003, working a summer job at Beattie Master Pool and Spa in Saginaw, Michigan. Sixteen years later, she moved on from that summer…
Angela Moss traded pine trees for palm trees when she and her husband moved from Janesville, Wisconsin, to Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2014. But Moss, who had been working for her parents’ pool and spa business, Nelson’s HomeTowne Recreation, didn’t trade in that experience. Instead, she began working for Certified Pool and Spa as its…