38 Years of Pool Cover Expertise

This year marks 38 years in the industry for Pool Patrol owner Allan Horwood. From his early days at the family pool, which was central to the home, to running a B.C. pool cover empire, Allan has been close to the water his whole life. In the nearly four decades he’s been in and surrounded by the industry, he’s managed to carve out a mighty niche in the automatic pool cover world.

Back in 1984, a young Allan was living the beach bum life in Tsawwassen, B.C. He got his start in the industry when he decided to take a job with a local pool supplies company. “We did everything manually,” he said. After four years of filling orders by hand and getting to know the ins and outs of the industry, he decided it was time to move on.

“I packed my bags, jumped in my car and made my way to Southern California, the birthplace of the swimming pool,” he recalled. “They were years ahead of what we were doing in Canada.” After a year spent working on pools in SoCal, it was, once again, time to move on.

“I came back to Canada and knew I needed to go out on my own.” With a brand new pager in tow, Allan registered his very own company in 1995 — the Pool Patrol. Since then, the Pool Patrol has only further drilled down on their specialties, becoming a leading auto pool cover supplier in B.C.

A real water child, Pool Patrol owner Allan Horwood grew up in and around pools, and now demonstrates the strength of his auto pool covers by walking on one.

He gathered a small but mighty team of pool cover specialists and got to work — and to Allan, that team is paramount. “The business is nothing without the employees,” he said. “Their commitment to the company is directly responsible for the success. Without the guys, it doesn’t work.”

At the end of the day, it all boils down to commitment. “You need to decide how committed you are and keep moving forward, no matter the business,” he said. “Our success has been my ability to stay on my toes, which comes back to commitment. There are times when you want to throw up your hands and give up but you keep going.”

Allan and the team’s commitment shone over the last two years as the pandemic took hold, supply chain issues deepened and demand for pools soared. “It was the perfect storm,” he explained. Add trucking delays to the mix and the challenges could have felt insurmountable for someone less determined to reach their goals and serve their clients.

But the work isn’t over. “Retirement’s not in my future,” Allan said. “I’m enjoying the ride. We’re not where I want to be yet — we can always do better and we’re going to do better.”

Commitment. Expertise. Determination. Work with an automatic pool cover company that has made your safety their life’s work. Contact the Pool Patrol to get started on your pool safety cover installation today.