CPC and the early roots of pool water treatment, as remembered by Jimmy Lamb…
JOHN LAMB A
fter completing a five year engineering apprenticeship, followed by a stint as an
engineer in the Merchant Navy, John Lamb came back ashore and home to Edinburgh as he and wife Maggie added to their young family. A move south in late 1969 to become Baths Manager at Whiston Road Baths in deepest East End London. Back then, this type of role came with accommodation. An exciting new opportunity came up at a brand new leisure centre in Cheltenham. Opened by the Queen Mother in May 1971, John secured the position of Deputy Manager at Pittville Recreation Centre. It was here that John first met
Peter Horne. Peter was the owner of a company supplying pool chemicals
OWN LABEL
Back then CPC pioneered private label supply of pool chemicals. Peter quickly struck up a great friendship with Dad as his preferred chemical supplier. Dad went on to work in management at two other leisure centres; Stroud in the mid 1970’s before another move to Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1979. Peter invited John to join him back in
Gloucestershire at CPC to develop the commercial market. Off we went back to Cheltenham in the summer of 1982 and a great partnership was formed between Peter and John.
called Complete Pool Chemicals (CPC). He started this business as an off shoot from a pool company based in Gloucestershire called Complete Gardener’s.
CPC partnered with Olin as they
were known back then and became one of the first to offer Fi-Clor and HTH brands. You can see some these products in the photos of what must have been the early days of a UK pool exhibition which ultimately became SPATEX. During this period, as an active member of ISPE (Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers) John joined ISPE Council and is the author of the ISPE technical paper ‘Water Treatment for Pool Operators’. He also acted as the chemical tutor/examiner for the ISPE Student Home Study Course. He was presented with a Fellowship of ISPE in 1989 and was inaugurated as President in 1990, some two years before he was due to take up the position.
MARKET GROWTH
In 1990 and after years of solid market growth and establishing Complete Pool Chemicals as the market leader, Peter sold the company and the name changed to CPC Hydrochem. His experience and expertise in
pool water treatment led John into becoming one of the leading providers of Pool Plant Operator courses on behalf of ISRM (Institute Sport & Recreational management) and ISPE. Not only was he already a Fellow of ISPE but, he was also presented with a fellowship of ISRM, today now known as CIMSPA. It was five years before CPC
2003 ISPE PRESIDENT, CHRIS CARR, presenting John Lamb, left, with the Selwyn Mindel Award for Performance and Achievement.
52 AUTUMN 2020
Hydrochem was acquired by the European market leader of pool care products, Munich based Bayrol in 1995. The company name changed this time to CPC Bayrol.
A LIFE IN THE DAY OF…
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