Crystal Clear Chlorinators gutted by fire
Swimming pool chlorinator manufacturer Crystal Clear Chlorinators has overcome a devastating fire at its Gold Coast premises to post a record July, and is on target to post a record August.
No-one was hurt in the fire and the manufacturing facility and warehouse were spared. However the trade outlet was destroyed.
Crystal Clear owner Wally Nunn received an alarm call after 10pm on the night of July 24. He rushed to the premises expecting to confront burglars, but instead saw the fire brigade arriving at the same time. Smoke was billowing from the property and he warned the firemen to be careful of the chemicals stored onsite.
“We warned them about the chemicals,” says Nunn. “But it turned out it wasn’t the chemicals that were the problem, it was the plastics. We had 400 pool cleaners in there and the plastic doesn’t have retardants in it – they all went up.”
Ironically, the chemicals were the only things that didn’t burn in the fire, although the plastic containers melted.
Initial reports from the insurance company suggest a chlorinator under repair activated during the night, generating heat and starting the fire.
The premise includes three properties: the manufacturing facility, a bulk storage area and a trade outlet. The trade outlet was destroyed, though luckily the fire brigade arrived just before the fire managed to spread to the other two areas.
“It was a huge shock. It took the whole trade outfit – it was one of the best trade outfits on the whole Gold Coast,” says Nunn.
The fire happened on July 24, and by July 26 they were taking orders out in the carpark. On the weekend they moved into a vacant unit next door, then up the road the next week.
“I’ve seen fires on TV and I now sympathise with those people – it’s dramatic enough just to move – but when you have to physically clean and move every item you own, it’s devastating,” he says.
“The amazing thing is we had a record month for July! This month we sold two big commercial chlorinators as well and if we manage to get all the orders out for August, it will be better than August last year.”
Renewed focus
“It was a big loss for us, but it’s made us sit down and focus on what we’re doing – we’ve got a strong business, we don’t owe anyone any money.
“Fortunately no-one was hurt. We had to let two permanent staff go – their speciality was in the trade side and we’ve decided not to go back into the trade again. We’ll focus on manufacturing OEM products.
“The trade side was dynamic but so busy. We had astronomical traffic. We did it because there was a real need for it on the Gold Coast – especially for the guys with vans. But now we’re talking with other distributors – one of them will actually move in next door.”
Crystal Clear was lucky to save all their data – despite losing the server – as it was stored in a couple of locations including on the cloud.
Nunn says the insurance doesn’t cover everything, as his stock had grown by 60 per cent but the last insurance review was September 2012.
“We just cop it on the chin and move on.
“Our focus it going to be on new directions with chlorinators – everything seems to be moving that way now – we used to do some of that ten years ago, but then the market wasn’t interested; but its matured now and become more health savvy.”
Crystal Clear Chlorinators have moved into new premises at Unit 3, 498 Scottsdale Drive, Varsity Lakes, Queensland and will be operating from there for the time being.
“I want to thank all our customers for the incredible support and understanding,” says Nunn. “Also, we have regrettably had to let a few staff members go and are looking for any placements anyone has.”
People with relevant positions vacant can contact Wally Nunn on (07) 5593 5494.
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