From industrial sediment control systems to pools for every backyard.

As the VP of Manufacturing for SCS, Chad Zimmerman has helped scores of clients with customized steel fabrication projects during his time with the company. Finding solutions for people is something that he is passionate about, so when a customer approached him in 2015 asking for an oversized roll-off container with its doors welded shut, Chad inquired about its intended use. The customer said that he wanted to use the container as a swimming pool. This was an unusual request, but Chad was happy to help.

He suggested that they use a sediment control container rather than a roll-off container because they are designed to hold water. Thankful for the advice, the customer green-lit the project, and SCS produced its first swimming pool that spring.

A few months later, an existing customer contacted SCS requesting a roll-off container that could be used as a swimming pool. Some may call it a coincidence, but Chad’s business instincts saw an opportunity.

SCS is a steel manufacturing company capable of designing and fabricating a wide array of custom steel projects. Therefore, building steel swimming pools wasn’t a stretch, but at the time the concept was unheard of in the industry.

Intrigued by the prospect, Chad and his sales team traveled to New Orleans in 2016 for the International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo™. They spent their time at the convention searching for a similar product, but they couldn’t find anything close to a purpose-built steel pool. Upon returning to SCS headquarters in Nanaimo BC, Chad and his team came together and laid out a development plan to produce a steel swimming pool prototype.

But there was just one problem: SCS had limited knowledge about manufacturing swimming pools, and after some initial research, Chad quickly realized that he had a lot to learn.

Undaunted, Chad and his team dove head-on into the project and immersed themselves in swimming pool manufacturing regulations and municipal bylaws in both Canada and the United States.

After gathering together all of the necessary information, they set about bringing in the equipment and personnel required for manufacturing steel swimming pools. This was no easy task, and it required the effort of everyone at SCS from designers to steel fabricators to establish a knowledge base and a dedicated team to begin producing swimming pools.

Taking a prefabricated steel shell and turning it into a functional swimming pool is not as easy as it sounds. Along with the engineering regulations for the structure, there are several pieces of mechanical equipment necessary to make a working pool. The SCS team had to specify and source all of the components a pool needs including the water pump and filtering systems before they could put together a prototype pool. SCS approached this project with the intention of engineering a customizable pre-fabricated pool system that was thoughtfully designed, durable and easy to install.

After rigorous research, development and testing; all of their efforts paid off when they produced their first pool in 2017. That’s when dunk™ Pools a division of SCS was born.

Having completed the manufacturing journey, Chad was now faced with the challenge of introducing the marketplace to dunk™ pools. The initial reaction was somewhat mixed, because dunk™ was unlike any other pool system available at the time.  Once customers were introduced to the concept, they quickly realized the benefits of customizable modular design, the versatility of where dunk™ pool systems can be installed, short lead times on manufacturing, and the speed of installation.

The first pool shipped in April of 2018, and the company has not looked back. Since its inception, dunk™ pools has expanded to include a fully customizable product range with a host of accessories all available through dunkpools.com.

After delivering their first pool, dunk™ has grown at a rapid rate, shipping pools to customers throughout North America. Through constant research and development, the dunk™ team has continued to add products to their line including automatic safety covers, swim jets, and phone-controlled lighting systems just to name a few.

When asked about the future, Chad sees the company continuing to expand and innovate its product line and to grow the customizable options available to customers. In terms of overall production, he believes that the sky is the limit. Due to the quick turnaround times to produce a pool and the custom features that can be easily applied to the pool, it’s never been a better time to get a pool in your backyard.

If you would like to learn more about dunk™ visit their website to build and price a pool for your backyard.