Business View Oceania | April/May 2022

39 40 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 4 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 4 businesses and mitigate the risks presented by inferior workmanship.” Looking to the future, MBPAA aims to extend their brand story throughout the entirety of Australia, and provide their services to a higher number of quality pool and spa industry players. The association hopes to introduce standard uniformity across state and territory lines in the long-term, to ensure a quality of care and ethical standards that protect consumers, business owners, and industry associates. Mr. Samartzis concludes, “We are definitely on the right path. We don’t want to take over the world, but we’d certainly love to see a pool or spa in every backyard across the country. And we are blessed to have the passionate staff, knowledgeable partners, and committed member base to facilitate that growth moving forward.” MASTER POOL BUI LDERS ASSOC I AT ION AUSTRAL I A 10th of July. The association has partnered with Landscape Victoria Master Landscapers, to co- locate the Backyard and Garden Show, as they bring the expo to life this winter. It promises to be a fantastic event featuring a wide variety of exhibitors for spas, swim spas, and plunge pools, swimming pools and lap pools, saunas, equipment supply, tile, stone, and paver supply, landscaping services, outdoor products, solar heating and pool technology, and fencing and safety supply- everything from the back door to the back fence. The show will present a free seminar program covering topics such as smart pool and landscape choices, engaging designers, evaluating materials, pool technology, pool safety, and more. Industry experts will also be in attendance to provide their advice, inspiration, and expertise for consumers and industry associates. The team of six at MBPAA value respect, confidence, success, influence, and inspiration. Mr. Samartzis elaborates, “Our core principles extend from us to our member base, and also to consumers. Therefore, it’s extremely important that we hold ourselves to an incredible standard. We have a strict code of conduct for our members that holds them to those values as well- they are the consumer-facing representatives of our industry, after all. Not everyone who applies for a membership with MBPAA is successful. There’s a very strict process they have to go through to be called a master pool builder by us. That has been a difficult path to take, because at the end of the day we are turning down potential members, but it’s worth it. There is a real sense of trust between us and the consumer that, when they choose an MBPAA member to design, build, or manage their pool, they are working with a quality business provider. As a whole, the swimming pool and spa industry is very well regulated, as it should be. We sit on the Standards Australia Swimming Pool and Spa Committee to help shape the way those standards are drafted and delivered, so we are confident in our ability to identify quality Chris Samartzis, CEO of MBPAA