“All Standards Approved in the Industry Must Be Compliant”
In his interview with Havuz&Sauna magazine, EUSA Secretary General Agusti Ferrer said that standards are a topic discussed at every EUSA meeting. Emphasizing that it is important to have good installations so that people can enjoy swimming pools in safe conditions, Ferrer also made an evaluation of the European pool industry for 2024 and 2025.
What strategy does EUSA follow in the development of the pool industry, pool construction, project planning, proper product usage, and standard setting? What concrete works and projects have you carried out in these areas?
EUSA is the common space of the swimming pool trade associations, where they can share challenges, interests…align actions among different countries…or act at EU level to the European institutions.
Examples of that is our monitoring of the EU initiatives and legislation, standards works, settling a common narrative, sharing and promoting best practices in sustainability, safety…in order to have the best possible swimming pools and spas in Europe.
This is why all the sectorial trade associations that have a real voice in their countries are in EUSA.
Technologies such as digitalization, automation, and IoT (Internet of Things) are increasingly being used in the pool industry. What is the importance of these technologies from EUSA’s perspective? How do you view the impact of smart pool systems and digitalization on the industry? How do connected technologies and smart pools provide advantages in terms of efficiency, cost, durability, security, and hygiene?
Digitalization, automation…are very important because are the best tools for having the swimming pools the industry is promoting in terms of management and consumptions. Meaning, swimming pools easy to manage and highly controlled and efficient in consumptions. This explains the growing importance of this type of solutions in the market.
Sustainability and energy efficiency have become important global topics. High energy costs have accelerated the use of “neutral energy” in pools. What are the key features a pool must have to be energy-efficient and carbon neutral? What steps should be taken for carbon-neutral pools?
EUSA promotes sustainable swimming pools, and this begins with a good design of the swimming pool. Right materials. Then the equipment’s. And finally the management of the installations, that should be as automated possible.
EUSA brings together pool construction and renovation contractors, swimming pool and SPA manufacturers, and distributors of various pool industry products across Europe. How do you evaluate the developments in the global pool market, particularly in Spain and Turkey? What are the differences and opportunities between these markets?
Spain is one of the most important markets of swimming pool in the world. Since pandemia the sector in the country is growing every year above the average of the national economy, and there is a growing demand of the solutions related to optimize the sustainability of the swimming pools. Mainly because of the scarcity of rains.
The information we have about Turkey says that in the last 2 years the sector grows well, specially pushed by tourism, that demands swimming pools. Likewise, it seems that in some regions of Turkey are facing problems of hydric stress like in Spain.
The construction industry is constantly evolving. How has the use of geometrically challenging structures impacted the pool industry? How have architectural designs and technological developments shaped innovations in pool materials?
Today we can see the widest type of swimming pools than ever. Different systems, materials…and all is better integrated than ever. This is the future that already is a reality.
In Europe, legal regulations related to pool construction and maintenance can vary. How does EUSA address these differences? What steps are being taken to ensure consistency across the sector?
The legal differences among EU members is a fact. EUSA tries to facilitate our members know it, that they can learn from that, and we try together settling common positions to apply to each country in order to harmonise the sector as much as possible with the best practices.
There are various standards applied to the pool and SPA industry across Europe. What standards should pools and the products used in them meet to ensure safety and hygiene? What efforts is EUSA making to develop and implement these standards?
Standards is an issue that is considered in each EUSA meeting because we understand that are important to have good installations and thus people can enjoy the swimming pools in safety conditions. All the standards approve on the sector should be followed.
What trends are emerging in the pool industry in recent years? How does EUSA track these trends, and how do you foresee their development in the future?
As European association that gathers the important trade associations in the sector we can know how the sector is running in the different countries and the trends observed there and globally.
Thus, the main trends in the swimming pool sector in the recent years, and that will continue developing in the future are those related to facilitate the optimisation and the good function of the installation, meaning automatization, digitalisation, optimisation of consumptions, sustainable materials and more tailor made and little installations that can be located in places that in the past was not considered, which already facilitated notably that most people tagged as middle class have swimming pools.
2024 has come to an end. How did the year go for EUSA and the pool industry? Can you share your evaluation of 2024 along with your forecasts and goals for 2025? What new projects are you planning to implement in 2025?
In general we could say that the sector had a good 2024 year. Spain shows it very well, but some centre European countries had a bad year, accordingly with the performance of their economies. We hope that the policy of dropping money interest rates began in 2024, that is expected to continue in 2025, will boost the economy and thus will facilitate investments and the consumption. This should benefit our sector too. EUSA will be monitoring this in its next meetings in 2025 to know the situations and act consequently for the best of the sector and the users of swimming pools and spas, that every year increase.
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