MEET THE TEAM

The "SPP team"...   friendly, helpful, reliable expertise!

At SPP, we believe that owning a swimming pool or spa should be one of life’s most enjoyable experiences, and we’ll work to make it just that for you. So please feel free to give one our professionals a call…you’ll be glad you did!

Company History

Gerald Coleman Parker founded and eventually incorporated Specialty Pool Products in 1994, after the swimming pool retailer he had worked with for over 19 years began to downsize their operations as market conditions in his area began to change. Gerald, called Jerry by friends and customers alike, came to know the swimming pool trade intimately from owning his own company and by working with this local retailer in both sales and customer service. He even managed their mail-order catalog division for some time. He was well schooled in both the good and the bad aspects of the business when he was downsized.

Jerry, being a man of ideas and action, did not rest on his laurels. In fact, the very next day he took his savings, bought the last "800" number with "POOL" in it, rented a very small one-room office in Ellington, Connecticut, and named his new venture "Specialty Pool Products." Jerry felt that the word "Specialty" was important because he wanted to attract customers and encourage repeat business by providing what the other retailers did not: hard to find products, replacement parts and expert advice.

While working in the industry, Jerry saw the repeated disappointment of customers who were sold inferior goods. This fueled his drive to be different and "special" and offer only top quality merchandise. This he did and the prices he provided were near wholesale! He knew that if the quality of product and customer service were good, the business would grow. And grow it did, thanks to his business model and a little thing called the Internet.

With some good advice and the few dollars he had left, Jerry bought www.poolproducts.com and put his catalog on the web. Now Jerry had a store in every town in America. Back then the Internet was a foreign word understood by very few, except Jerry. He quickly found some industry trained pool professionals, a technical guru and some luck, and grew his business to what it is today: the most informative, professional and competitively priced source for everything and anything in the swimming pool and spa industry. As the business grew, so did his offering to include products for your backyard and beyond. Today we are truly pleased to say...

"Your backyard is our business!"