CANADIAN POOL & SPA CONFERENCE & EXPO BY JASON CRAMP CANADIAN SHOW A SUCCESS EXHIBITORS AND ATTENDEES HAVE A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON 2010 show floor close to the action. Other features included a special area displaying residential and commercial new products, as well as a new ‘Green Products Area,’ where eco-friendly pool and hot tub products were showcased. A LEARNING EXPERIENCE This year’s seminar program featured two special, stand-alone programs with full-day presentations on selling, designing and building professional backyard water projects, by Genesis 3 Design Group, and improving hot tub and pool sales, by Marco Longley of Top 10 Sales and Consulting. Each program drew good crowds and attendees were pleased with the content and presentations. The ‘Classic Seminar’ series was also well attended and based on a ‘back to basics’ theme. A variety of topics were featured including, ‘Equipment and Installation,’ ‘7 Strategies to Improve your Money Making Machine,’ ‘Water Chemistry A-Z’ and ‘Alternative Disinfection Methods,’ which featured a panel of experts and experienced entrepreneurs and was moderated by Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada (PHTCC) past-president, David Huxtable. “When we saw the weather we thought things would be slow,” said Phil Bach, territory manager for Pentair Water Pool and Spa and 2010 PHTCC vice-president. “We were wrong about that. We were busy from the time the show opened to when it closed. The seminar I was involved in didn’t have many empty seats and it looked like all the seminars were well attended. I also heard many positive comments from dealers on the seminars they attended.” Four strong business sessions were also presented, two of which—‘How to Run a Successful Pool and Spa Business’ and ‘Safety in the Workplace and in the Pool Environment’— featured a panel of business development professionals led by PHTCC executive director, Robert Wood. There was also added emphasis on seminars geared towards the hot tub industry, including a full-day session, ‘Electronic Hot Tub Component Repair,’ led by Sophie Tremblay of Gecko-Alliance Group and a seminar entitled ‘Running a Profitable Hot Tub Service,’ presented by Doug Gillespie of Hydropool Industries. Dave Huxtable, 2009 PHTCC president (centre), along with (L-R) Phil Bach, vicepresident; Rodney Taylor, 2010 president; Kara Redden, director; Josh Randall, director; and Richard Hubbard, show manager, officially open the 2009 Canadian Pool & Spa Conference & Expo. Photos courtesy Kaleidoscope Photography U nlike other swimming pool and hot tub trade shows held in 2009, the Canadian Pool & Spa Conference & Expo showed appreciable gains, indicating a positive direction in 2010. According to trade show manager, Richard Hubbard, the Canadian show managed to increase its number of exhibitors by nine per cent over last year, during a time when other industry events experienced significant losses. “Pre-registration was up and walk-in registration was equal to last year, despite the uncertainty of the weather on both days,” Hubbard said. Registration was also up by 13 per cent, with 2,162 people attending, compared to 1,913 the year prior. A bulk of the registrations came from 417 individual builder/dealer/retail and service/ landscape companies. The number of exhibitors was also up, increasing to 143 companies, compared to 129 in 2008. According to first-time exhibitor David Martin of Dundalk Enterprises, a manufacturer of cedarbarrel saunas in Dundalk, Ont., the show was a hit. “It looks like (the show) was a great success for us and well worth the money. We will certainly be back next year.” Several popular features remained, including the customary pipe band performance during the show opening and the complimentary buffet lunch held in the middle of the exhibit hall. This allowed attendees and exhibitors to stay on the 38 ■ Pool & Spa Marketing ■ January 2010 PSM_JAN10.indd 38 12/30/09 8:38:51 AM