The National Spa and Pool Institute (better known as the NSPI) is a watchdog organisation which has the interests of the industry as a whole at heart. This means that it is there for the benefit of pool builders and other members as well as pool owners.
Formed in the Western Cape in July 1972, the NSPI owes its origins to the American NSPI, formed two decades earlier than ours.
The world's swimming pool industry started in the USA, but ours was not far behind. Our first swimming pool company of note was Penguin Pools, formed by Dr Michael Finn in Johannesburg in 1956.In Cape Town, Tony Goldie was an industry leader who joined the American NSPI after a trip to the US in 1968; and it was he who was instrumental in launching an institute here.
Today there are more than 100 members and the numbers are growing annually. Tony is an honorary life member of the South African NSPI.
From the start, the idea has been that the NSPI will provide pool owners with 'peace of mind'. Only companies that have been in business for at least two years, trading under the same name, may join. They must also pass stringent financial checks. No company with a judgement against it may join, and the owners and directors must undertake to abide by a strict code of ethics. Both big and small companies operate under the umbrella of the NSPI, and every pool construction type is represented - concrete, gunite, fiberglass and vinyl.
