POOL & SPA INDUSTRY The Howards Way
WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT BISHTA MEMBER HOWARDS HYDROCARE LTD, A COMPANY WHICH WHEN IT COMES TO THE WET LEISURE SECTOR, COVERS IT ALL AND PRIDES ITSELF ON BEING A FAMILY BUSINESS
H
owards Hydrocare Ltd is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, although its founders have been involved with the swimming pool
industry for over 50 years.
The company was formed in 1983 when Roy Howard and wife Stephanie teamed up with Roy’s father who has a career in the wet leisure industry which dates back to 1952. The partnership works well with Stephanie and the girls heading the sales along with the running of the office, while Roy is responsible for commercial sales and overseeing the sites. The company’s expertise covers the entire field, including full installation, maintenance, chemical supplies and computer controlled dosing equipment. Howards Hydrocare trades from a 2,500 sq ft showroom which is based in Nazeing, Essex and prides itself on being a family business which also employs three of the couple’s daughters, their son plus two son- in-laws. A great bunch of sub-contractors completes the ever growing team. “Running a business is not as easy as it was years ago, with all the new regulations coming into force, we now have to employ a Health & Safety and Human Resource company to ensure that we comply,” says Roy. Over the years, and with the business accelerating, the need for certification and accreditation became imperative and was sought through organisations including ISO9002, BISHTA (members since 2006), ISPE, CHAS and the list goes on!
“RUNNING A BUSINESS IS NOT AS EASY AS IT WAS YEARS AGO, WITH ALL THE NEW REGULATIONS COMING INTO FORCE, WE NOW HAVE TO EMPLOY A HEALTH & SAFETY AND HUMAN RESOURCE COMPANY TO ENSURE THAT WE COMPLY”
All the company’s engineers are highly trained and certified in the required aspects of the pool industry meaning they can offer installation and maintenance of the whole plant room, air blowers, UV, pumps, tanks, dosing equipment and much more. The fully qualified team at Howards Hydrocare look after clients in both the domestic and commercial leisure sectors – from the back yard pool to lidos, new builds, maintenance and refurbishment – the most prestigious being the Royal Household, so well worth the effort!
In addition to the wet leisure products and services, the company also cover a wide range of water features. Included among the many that they have installed and maintained is a large refurbishment on a 30 metre diameter fountain which has been situated in front of the impressive Waltham Forest Town Hall for almost 50 years. The London Borough of Waltham commissioned the refurbishment of the much loved and well-known water feature to celebrate the millennium and it boasted a LED light system from Astral, plus inverter booster pump and chemical dosing in order to reduce the carbon footprint.
Howards Hydrocare are proud of the quality of workmanship, exceptional customer service and aftercare they provide to clients with Roy saying: “We endeavour to keep a good relationship with our customers, in fact recently we had a distraught customer contact us that had been let down by another pool company after the installation of a liner. I do not like these stories as it tars the industry with the same brush
34 October 2014 SPN
and after some investigation and remedial work we had her pool up and running. The client and her mother who at over 90, still swims every day, were over the moon and phoned BISHTA to sing our praises and passed on two new customers to us. A welcome bonus!” With a reputation earned through years of hard work, the company has carried out many projects, fully understanding the individual requirements of each client. Listening to a client’s needs and paying close attention to exactly what they are after has been a key to the success of the company and has ensured advice based on best practice at all times.
When asked about any current or future trends for the business Roy says: “We are finding a demand for greener products and oblige our clients as new technology is introduced. There seems to be a bigger demand for special needs pools at home especially now government are encouraging it. With the market showing signs of movement let’s hope all our industry can enjoy a buoyant 2014.” SPN
Howards Hydrocare Ltd 01992 893 389
www.howards-hydrocareltd.co.uk
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
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