#10: Black Diamant Line Meets a Revolution

Live from Spatex in Coventry, Angela and Michael turn the mic on themselves for a revealing interview. What exactly is the Black Diamant Line? What makes it truly groundbreaking? And what sparked the creation of the new Revolution line? It’s an episode where they challenge each other with questions, share surprising insights, and take listeners behind the scenes of their innovation process. Tune in and find out.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Swimming pool international, the swimming pool podcast.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

A warm welcome to our international swimming pool podcast. In front of me sits Angela. Angela Herrmann, International Sales Manager at Bank and Manufacturing in Germany.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

And in front of me sits Michael, Michael Fisser, Export Manager at Fluvor Schmallenberger from Tüming in Germany.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

Hi Angela. Long time no see.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

That's true, actually. And I saw I see you different. Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

I have changed quite a bit and uh I lost a lot of weight, and that makes me feel really fit.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Yeah, you look great.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Thank you. Thank you. Well, it's the same for you, of course. Um yeah, this is uh in a place where we haven't been before, and uh in the sense that we uh we didn't do a podcast here about you know about us. And tell me, where are we?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yeah, actually we are at Spartec. Uh this is like a swimming pool fair here, a local fair we can say in in Great Britain. So where we are actually for the Spartex here is called the Coventry Building Society Arena or the CBS Arena, and it's really a football stadium which has quite a history because it was bankrupt and then was not bankrupt, and uh it was actually bankrupt twice with two uh clubs, and then now they have a very young team and they play again with the football or soccer. And so actually there's a game tonight also, so yeah, it would be actually fun to see it. And uh yeah, but uh talking about his arena, it's not only the arena, it's also they have um the exhibition hall where we are for Spartex, and uh yeah, there's also a casino and a hotel, so it's quite quite some area where we are actually. And yeah, it's a small fair, very nice and lovely, I have to say. People have time to talk. It's uh it's a very good place uh to be.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Something completely different compared to a massive exhibition like Lyon.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

That actually it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

And uh and uh I just arrived this morning, so I didn't have a chance at all to uh look around Coventry or the surrounding areas. But you arrived yesterday and uh you managed uh to look around a little bit. Anything specifically interesting?

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Actually, I did, which I usually don't, but I took the time yesterday night and I worked around a bit. And um I think it's good to know actually where you go, no, since we travel so much. And yeah, it was uh it's an interesting city. Uh and I I looked up uh also some information which I didn't know. Um there's a church, and actually when you just visit and you think, why is this a ruin? No, this beautiful big church where you can see, I mean, there you're still the towers. And then of course, especially as Germans, we do remember some history, what happened here. Yes, so yeah, and it's it was I read later was a center actually, which I also thought in the 20th century of the bicycle industry and then car industry. So yeah, they had a very, very, very good um industry, and yeah, with some years then it went down a bit. Um, also, of course, um, yeah, as I told you, you know, it was bombed very heavily. Right. So I felt also in this kind of sense a bit yeah, touched as a German, I have to say.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

And uh, in between, did you, as a tea lover, find your uh English cup of tea?

SPEAKER_01 4:01

I did not, and I drank drank some coffee, I have to say, which is I can't do this anymore. Today I'm gonna have another, I have a tea and I'm gonna buy tea. Yeah, I always buy tea in England. Yes, yes, yes. It's a good place to do so.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

Of course, and um well, this podcast uh is something uh completely different compared to uh what we normally do. We normally interview people, all kinds of people, with subjects, uh topics related to the pool industry, but nobody interviews us. So uh, and we also have some interesting things to say. So today we've decided to uh introduce ourselves a bit more, talk about our products, about new things, and uh what we can uh do to help you uh create the pool of your dreams.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Yeah, that's actually the topic. You're totally right.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

And uh in that instance, if I may, uh Angela, can you tell us uh a little bit first about uh Benke, the background and what kind of company it is, what they do?

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Yeah, I make it very short. Banke is uh, you know, we maybe a lot of people know we are uh founded in 1945, so we have a very long history, and at the time, of course, we didn't do anything with pools. So we did like uh people many people know, we did this car lift thing, and uh we even built little little wagons for cars. And the other day, actually, a French customer, or not a customer, somebody called me and said if we still have the drawings for this wagon. So uh yeah, this is what we do, but uh did. And 50 years ago we started with swimming pool equipment and we started with stainless steel, with heat exchangers and stainless steel inbuilt parts. So skimmers, nozzles, drains, bottom drains, broom connections, all what you need for a pool. And this is what we do until, of course, much, much more than that, but this is what we do until today.

SPEAKER_02 6:01

Okay, because you actually started uh with manufacturing of stainless steel, and later on you added the wholesale part, and you've tr uh sold many other products. That is true.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, we are as you always think amazing. We're a manufacturer. Yeah, yeah. We have two manufacturing sites in Germany, as we do with the filters also. No, we're manufacturing filters, um fever glass, reinforced with Ryzen, and we have the stainless steel factory, and we are a wholesaler. That means we do sell other parts for pools, uh, everything related to uh water treatment. So you have clean water, and you can buy actually everything with Binker, what is needed for water treatment.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

That's uh a one-stop shop one-stop supplier.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Yeah, that's it. So it's not like you need to think, you make your brain tired of oh, where I can get this part or this part. You just ask us. Uh simply.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

Yes, yes, yes. And uh in these days, that convenience and time is money, and if if you can get it. Okay, quite interesting. Uh later on, we will go specifically uh into some uh of your products.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Yes, and Michael, tell me something general about Fluvo Schmallenberger. Yes, I'm also always surprised because you do also two things.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

Yes, yes, yes. Let me let me uh start uh from the beginning. Schmallenberger before the Second World War were a cigar manufacturer in Kaiserslauten, uh, made by the two brothers, the brothers Schmallenberger. And in the Second World War, the uh factory got bombed uh in Germany, and for about seven or eight years they didn't do anything. And then in 1953 they decided let's make pumps. So they moved from cigar to pumps.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

That's very close.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Yes, it uh uh yes, and and not uh standard pumps, no pumps in the automotive industry, pumping all kinds of heavy metals with cooling liquids and very complicated. And then in 1970 they decided, well, since we have a pump, why not pools? And I believe we were the second one in Europe, uh uh at least in Germany, uh, who made their own countercurrent. And this was in the early 70s. And from there on, you know, the uh like with Bank uh it grew and it grew, and we added more products and everything related to pools, but from uh from countercurrents to you name it, for big public pools, for um so we are also a one stop sh supplier, but more in the uh water features, the attraction side, and not in the water treatment side. So um that makes us uh you know good partners worldwide. Uh with as we are not compet competitors um and that is the story in uh in a nutshell. It's also still a family-owned company. So uh generations ago they started, and very soon I think generation five or six will enter the company and we will see.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yeah, that's the same for us actually. And I think uh since you mentioned it, it's interesting because there are, especially in the swimming pool industry, as you do also industry, no. In the swimming pool industry, there are not many companies anymore who are really like we are Binke as well, family-owned businesses. No, most of them they're already bought by other companies and belong to big groups. So we are here the fighters, let's say.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Yes, yeah, yeah, you can say so. Um, and um yes, so well, quite interesting, you know, to know a little bit the background of both companies. And now at the beginning of the season and having uh uh did the Lyon exhibition a few months ago, you introduced a couple of new products. And uh the one that really caught my eye is a product called Revolution. And first of all, what is Revolution?

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah, if I may just go one step before that, yes. Yes, because then it can lead much better to the revolution because we are, as I mentioned, we're a stainless steel uh manufacturer and we already had so many stainless steel products in polished version. Yes. Uh you know, always um yeah, always we did that, and then we started actually about two years ago with a black stainless steel line, and we yeah, we were always kind of looking for something new, you know, to change something because um yeah, we had so many years, the same thing, and after some time you also think, oh, you want to see something different. And yeah, we have the revolution line. We did see something different, we developed something new, and um, yeah, it's uh it's a very different line. Uh it looks different, it's different from the how we how we connect to the niche and all these things. So it's um it is a revolution, I would say. Also, from the touch, the look, the uh the system, it's new.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Right, right, yes, yes. And and uh uh for the first time today, I uh had to the opportunity. I've seen it on pictures, but I never touched it. And uh so now at the Spartex where your partner is exhibiting the uh the the products I had a chance to feel it and it really feels differently. It's very difficult to describe how it feels and how it looks. Yeah, I can say the color is grey, yeah. Uh, but how to describe how it feels and uh and it's uh silky in a way.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

I I would say, you know, I like fabrics, so for me, I would say, yeah, it's actually a mix of silk. I would have thought it's velvet.

SPEAKER_02 12:19

Velvet, velvet, yeah, that's a better word. Because velvet is is more the soft and and uh silk is of course uh uh slippery.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Yeah, and and the funny thing is I I've noticed now at two fairs that uh people, and I have to say sorry, but also men, they are there and touching the inbuilt part because it has this uh the surface really has this feeling where you want to touch it. It's something new and it doesn't have any stains. I uh you know you actually can freely touch it. Um, so this is already something from the surface, you know. It's a totally different surface, and also of course the look.

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Yeah, yes, and but I can confirm when I saw the product, the first thing I did was touch it. Yes, and it it's actually right, correct. So and um well, yeah, so this is the uh um uh aesthetic part, which is really really looks nice, and I have not seen not seen it before anywhere in the world. And so, what is the material?

SPEAKER_01 13:30

It is stainless steel, um 316L, as we always use now for the standard line as we have um the the the black line. Also, now we have a gold version, so it is 316L as we always use. So people have asked it a lot of times actually on the fair because they could not believe that this smooth touching feeling is stainless steel, but it is.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

So you have it now in uh let's call it grey, uh, but you also have it in gold. Did I hear it correctly?

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Yeah, we do have um um inbuilt parts also in in gold finish. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Interesting. Yeah, okay. And um, well, you you said always good to show people some some something new, something different. And was this the reason while you already have so many inbuilt parts, why did you uh think of a new line in the first place?

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Simply to have something new, or I think it was also to simplify. Um, because we have in the standard version, we have really we have so many parts, we have so many skimmer versions, and we always adapt to the type of the pool. That means if you have a liner pool, we have the right flunch for the liner. If we have a stainless steel pool, we'll we'll have a different ending. So we have such a wide range, and we really wanted to make it easier, easier for the customer, uh, also for storage, so we have less parts. And uh this is, I mean, this is also one reason to simplify the range. And later, and uh we are in the process at the moment that we will actually also the standard version that we will take it in the revolution version. That means we want to simplify the whole range, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Step by step, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

And uh what I've now it's a little bit technical, but as that interests me. When I look at the brochure, you basically have two sizes.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Yes, we have uh two sizes, uh 170 and 240. Yeah, these are the two sizes, and uh simplifying is because we are the niche, for example, we can use uh for the light, we can use it for the bottom drain, and we can use it for the piazza button. So it means we have the same niche. Uh so we don't have you know so many different niches for all of these parts. We we are using the same niche, and there are simply two sizes, and that's it.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

So a customer could theoretically say in the niche where he now has a light and he wants to have buttons in there, it would fit for retrofitting as well. Exactly. Okay, so that's very, very convenient. And uh and uh so besides uh your um the new revolution uh um uh built-in parts, I see you also do skimmers and uh uh uh in revolution.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Yes, we have skimmers, we do the whole range in the revolution, the revolution style from the outside. Right, you know, where we actually use um we have two versions again, but we have one version where we have the screws, we use torque screws. Yes, yes, and there's it's kind of like an industrial kind of design. And actually, uh the idea came from a watch, um, from uh let's say from a rather expensive watch, and they have these screws, you know, around and this is how the idea uh idea actually came up that we think uh this watch looks pretty cool, so why don't we take that design for our inbuilt parts? So we have this also for the nozzles, for this for the schema, you know, what you see in the pool, the schema, the cover, and um in also the the whole range basically will be in revolution.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Well, it's it's very it looks very impress impressive, and of course the the listeners uh cannot see it. But if you go to uh wwbanker.com, you can uh actually see uh the products for yourself and you will be amazed. So uh one last question uh that I have regarding this product. Uh is it suitable for all kinds of pool types?

SPEAKER_01 17:55

Yes, it is. So we adapt again as we did in our big range again with the simplified version, but then we have uh flunch or not a flunge, and that's basically it. And also we have before we had, for example, for the wall transition, we had, I don't know, like five different models of the lengths. Yes. And now we only have um like two, and then we can adapt with um you know you can extend it. We can extend it, and that's it.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

Okay, so that's uh also a major pro improvement. Yeah. Well, thank you very much, and I think you will you will gain uh a lot of interest uh with this product, and uh yes, uh uh it will, I'm sure. I mean it's brand new, but uh you you have uh one question I forgot.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Uh yeah, I mentioned I forgot actually a major thing besides the touch and the look, and it's very flat, so it's only three millimeters.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Uh that's a good point. I I just read it. Uh that it's it it it is almost uh it's almost flush with the pool wall, it's just three millimeters, so you can use it for movable floors.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Yeah, exactly. Uh it doesn't stick out, you don't fall about a bottom drain, and you think what is actually in the pool is there something, some something somebody forgot something because it's really into almost into the surface of the pool.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Really, really nice. One last question I don't do uh have that I forgot too is um so far you introduced it in Lyon last year, now it's uh about four months later, and I realize it's winter. Have you got any? Did you receive any feedback from worldwide, from Germany?

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Yeah, uh actually we do, and also here at Spartex. Uh people are really loving it.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Um, it's really something where they say, Wow, you know, like as you said, just now, it's something definitely definitely new and it looks good with a liner. We have it here in our our uh tower where you can see it. Yes, and they're really like uh amazed about what is also maybe possible with inbuilt parts, no, because sometimes you would rather think maybe it might be boring, but actually there is, you know, you can put design into it, yes, and that is actually possible. I do have to say that um, you know, there are some countries where it's more like you know, far from Europe, they would rather prefer a blink blink version. Yes, so it depends a bit on that also. But here for Europe, I definitely it's a gore.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Yes, yes. Okay, well, of course, good luck with it this season, and uh we we we it's uh it's not possible for us to really do a glass ball protection, but it's looking good.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Thank you, thank you so much. Yeah, okay. Okay, yes, and we're here also because um I wanted to learn much more about Fluvo, and which I actually I have to admit, you just did because in my preparation here, and you sent me some material about your company, and I was amazed, and I'm not just saying that because here is a podcast, I was amazed how many products you have, and yeah, how many different products you have, and it was fun to read the brochures, and you have a very good brochure actually where you can see in the pool where you mentioned like one, two, three, four, five, and then you can see the different products you're doing, actually.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 21:29

And um, yeah, it's a very wide range besides your doing industry. This is something I wanted to mention now with your pumps. Um yeah, we are at Spartex, you hear some noises.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

That's uh exactly.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

And uh but um yeah, I do um it was surprising how many things you do. And then there's another thing. Um yeah, we wanted to talk about new things you have. Uh as you mentioned Lyon, no, what you presented again. Also at the fair, and of course, I like it a lot. You have the black diamond lion. I already love the name since I love jewelry. And yeah, yes. Just tell me a little bit about it. What is Black Diamond Lion?

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Yes. Uh, I will, and I have to uh add uh something up front. It is not completely new in that sense, but it's the first time for us that we presented it outside Germany. So in that sense, it was uh it was completely new. And uh black diamond line, uh in that sense, there is a comparison to revolution is that we use our 316 Ti stainless steel and apply a chemical process to make it uh black diamond line. And it's it's very, very thin the layer, but still it goes almost through and through to the stainless steel, so you cannot make scratch it or scratch the coating off. It is uh it is I it it goes it really goes into the metal and stays in there. And yeah, so and it so it's super resistant. It's super resistant, it's it's uh suitable for uh salt chlorination, salt electroloser, and theoretically we can make a version for seawater. Wow, but the standard version is is um the standard black diamond line is suitable for uh for salt uh chlorination. And yeah, what I also would like to add, we started with just a few products, and slowly but gradually we add more and more depending on the request. Uh basically any stainless steel to a certain size, we can make it black diamond line.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

It it goes in into a heating process where the the the size of the oven is what is the limitation.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

And uh yeah, so that's a bit the story of what is black diamond line.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

So it means you have this as you described now, how you how you make it. So it means you have all the parts inbuilt parts or all the parts and the many. I I've mentioned already that you have so many for water features in black.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Well, yeah, if I may uh point it out, our our main com products uh um swimming countercurrents, hydro massage, uh smaller suctions to accommodate the pumps, piezo switches, this we all have in black diamond line. These are mainly meant for private pools.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Uh that's the main part of the market. If there is a demand from uh architects, especially in Sweden who like this high quality uh stuff, it may uh grow even further.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

Okay. Yeah, as I said, um you have so many products for the water features. Yes. I I saw that you also have water currents and water cannons.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Um yeah, so what kind of water currents and cannons are space fluvo making?

SPEAKER_02 25:29

Okay, so um water cannons is uh in general a stainless steel pipe and where the head creates uh uh a shape of a of a flow, a stream. And there we have like flat jets, bell gets, bell jets, tree jets, and I believe six different uh shapes in the water cannons. And we do custom build if uh a customer wants it in an angle or a little bit longer or shorter, we we do that.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Ah, that's interesting because sometimes when I go to I don't go very often now to a open or a public um, you know, when they have this water cannons, and I sometimes feel they are way too high. Yeah, because I'm not I'm short.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Yes. But there is uh a reason for that. Uh by law, by the European standards, uh in public pool the head has to be a certain distance to the water.

SPEAKER_01 26:27

Ah, okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

So that people cannot injure the heads.

SPEAKER_01 26:30

Uh not that they bump against it or something.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Again, if you're lower, the the pool is rejected.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

Okay, there's no danger for me.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

No, no. Uh and uh but um um going back to your question there, so that's the water cannons, and then we do something we call water curtains, and that is uh in the sh in the shape of a snake, and that's why we call it a cobra. And uh we do these in stainless steel, but we have one unique uh version as well, which is coincidentally also black, but it's made out of carbon fiber, and it's the same carbon fiber as you use on Formula One cars. So there is a certain type of customers uh who like cars who generally uh buy that rather than stainless steel. But the shape is the same, and the out and the cobras are really made for uh massage of your shoulders and is very often used together with hydro massage nozzles. So you can instead of swimming against the machine, you go into a pool after work and you relax. You get a shoulder massage, and and that's big uh gaining popularity in the last decade that people are more moving to uh relaxing in the pool than exercising in the pool. I mean the exercising is not gone, but you see more wellness. Yeah, and chilling and chilling and grilling in the in the in the pool.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

Yeah. Yes and and actually maybe the cobra, even though it's a different material, fits also again. With the black line. Yeah, with the black diet.

SPEAKER_02 28:18

I would uh I would say uh definitely say so because at least the color is the same, and one is above water and the other one is underwater.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Yeah, I imagine that looks pretty cool actually. Yes, yes. Yeah, so we have you said uh people are not so much more they like to chill, but there are still people who do want to exercise now and who maybe have a smaller pool and who are looking for a countercurrent system in the pool. And uh yeah, tell I know you're doing that. Um I didn't do my homework, so tell me something.

SPEAKER_02 28:54

Yeah, uh well, Fluvo uh S from the early 70s uh was a player in the uh countercurrents from the beginning, and some people call it countercurrents, all others call it jet streams, others call it swim jets, and it's all the same. Uh yeah, countercurrents is very English, and the rest of Europe, I would say, call it jet streams.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Okay. Well you're in England, you know.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Yes, yeah, so I so so we call it countercurrents. So yeah, so we started from the from the uh early seventh with this, and uh the the the standard configuration is a pump behind the pool wall, with uh in the pool a hat coming out with uh uh an installed hat or a face plate where water and air comes out, which you can control, and then depending on the type of person who using it, you take one with more or with less power. We originally said it's done uh we uh our product is meant for families, so it's generally not for power swimming, as some of the other machines you see around now, uh like turbines and so we are more for for where the the the father, the mother, and the children play in the pool. They can swim against it, but you can also use it as some kind of massage, and it's a family feature.

SPEAKER_01 30:25

Okay. You just mentioned before that you were probably the first ones in the 1970s to start with a countercurrent, no? Yeah. Um that's interesting because I a lot of people at that time probably not even thought of a pool, no, they rather do gardening, and you were already doing countercurrents, and I think you have such a long experience, no? So tell me what makes a countercurrent a real good, as you said, countercurrent, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Well, it it is it the the whole trick with all countercurrents is you must create it in such a way that it's pleasant for the swimmer without getting splashed with water in his eye, and and so he has to uh in a in a relaxed way be able to do uh uh all kinds of swim techniques. Uh and you do that by, of course, calculating the perfect hydraulic design because you have to suck the water in and it has to be pushed out through a pump. So you have to design the shape, etc., of the nozzle in such a way that it becomes uh pleasant for the swimmer, and also at the same time he can be active, and that takes a number of years by trial and error.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Yeah, I think so, no.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

And uh nowadays you have so many, but in the early days it was two or three companies, and it was like uh inventing uh the wheel.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

And you just mentioned you want to understand or the customer or you do it for a family, it's not only you know, like for the uh for the swimmer who swims every day and wants to win a prize. So um how do you do that? Are there different programs? Uh how do I manage my counter-current system?

SPEAKER_02 32:18

For the professional swimmers or for the at home?

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Well, you said for the well, for the family.

SPEAKER_02 32:23

Yeah, for the family, uh the most basic version, which is the most common, is an on and off button, and you can with uh rotary buttons, you can add more air or more water or close it down. So if if if it's a child, you close it down, little air, and uh and so on. So it's fully adjustable. If you get more expensive, you can do it electronically with your phone. Okay, and uh and this is uh something that we see more and more that uh people want to control their features, their toys with uh with a phone. And we have an uh an app, a so-called my MyFluvo app, where you can control all uh kinds of fluvo products in the pool, whether it's massage, uh lights, uh countercurrents, uh water curtain, uh and all in one app, and you can make different programs for for papa, different programs for the children, and uh you can even if you swim really hard make the lights turn red, and if you're slowing down, it turns green. Uh so there's a lot uh to be able, you know. There is we make uh countercurrents for for a somewhat more limited budgets up to the sky's the limit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

Uh yeah, I saw the app and I liked the design also. It's very easy to to handle and very easy to see. So yeah, it's a very clear, clear management of it.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

Um and if I may add, now that you asked for the app, we came out this year with a countercurrent without any buttons. Not at all. You cannot control it on the device anymore, you can only control it from uh from a telephone, yeah. Uh which in nowadays are mostly waterproof anyway. And this is for minimalistic design. People don't want buttons and just yeah, yeah, it's very clear, very easy to do. So that's called and that's called Xana's Connect. This is brand new, uh, just in this uh price list, and uh we will make that in Black Diamond Line as well.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Muy bien. And my favorite, I have to say, um, I already like um since I got went through the brochure, um, and I also like the stories behind you have on the on the lazy river. And I yeah, just tell me more about this.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Well, please um um lazy river, same like countercurrents. Some people call it lazy river, and all other call it wild water rapids. And both are correct. With lazy river, they meant mean you go in the pool, you don't have to do anything, and you're moved by yourself, so you're lazy. But wild water rapids is also applicable because you have wild water moving, and so the whole stream is a rapid, uh wild race rapid. But more common is lazy river. And uh lazy rivers are generally done for uh either smaller ones for hotels or um things like center parks where you have all these small houses and you have uh a water park for the children and uh or in uh yeah in uh resorts and uh yeah, if I may, I have an uh uh some of them are so long, and we have to calculate every jet and the position where to put it to make sure that the whole thing has uh keeps maintains its speed because if you have 50 or 100 people going in and somewhere in the middle there is no flow, they all crash. Yeah. And so that is a big task of it, and uh, but we did uh one in uh Oman uh years ago, which was half a kilometer long, which is quite long, many pumps, many nozzles, and they wanted uh to make sure that people in uh in water features like a raft or something would move at this uh at a fast speed so that they could have enough people going in. So we calculated that and so on, and uh but obviously they want to test it. So uh when testing this, they actually threw in uh a couple of bottles of water, went to the other end with a stopwatch, and uh then uh that way could measure the guaranteed speed. And we were really happy because if you may do it wrong, you have to take out concrete and tiles and and reorganize. So, yeah, it's an interesting product. There are not so many uh suppliers in the world who are specialized in this. It's uh it's not an everyday product.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Yeah, for sure. And uh I don't have a lazy river in my garden.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

No, I can imagine.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

Um I don't even have a garden, but that's another story. Yeah. No, I I really to be honest, I really when I go to a water park or um I really always enjoy these liver lazy rivers. Yes. Because you you do have to do nothing and they just you know you just flow away. And yeah, it's it's something I definitely enjoy.

SPEAKER_02 37:56

Yes, yes, yes, yes. It's a lot of fun, and uh especially kids and uh oh yeah, and me. Yeah, exactly, exactly. But uh but aren't we all still a kid? Oh deep down inside. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

I do know that you do also hydro massage and air bubblers, and of course, this is all what you said, all the water features, no, what you can imagine you have at Fluvo. And as you you said something very beautiful before when we were talking. As you think you have the best, you're really, really convinced that you have the best system existing. Um, and of course, if you do have the best system, it's not always super cheap, but it's also not very expensive. No, you just have to ask for it. And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:50

Yes, uh, so yes, I uh I um um uh our uh quality is is is very high, and uh but uh if people have a little less to spend instead of stainless steel, we also do ABS, the same systems also in ABS. So uh that's why I said you can have a the sky is the limit. A moderate budget budget to the sky is the limit. Uh but um yeah, but you know that I can talk hours and hours and hours about our products since we have so much, but unfortunately, our our time is limited. And uh what I would say, you know, for people that are interested, and uh, since we were talking about our products, I said before, uh, they can look at your products at www.banker.com and so can they look at our products at wwfluvor.de. So uh there they can read everything we just told and download brochures, and uh and from there, if they're interested, contact somebody uh in our inside sales department.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Of course, yes. And I do, I mean, I do also a lot of LinkedIn, so you can always reach me and also reach us all the time.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

Well, yeah. So the main question: what did we learn today?

SPEAKER_01 40:11

I learned a lot about your products because, as I said before, I was amazed that you actually do so many, such a wide range. And you have a snake, you have you have everything. You have the black diamonds. Well, um, and many, many, you have, as I said, a wide range of water featured feature products um on a very um yeah, I know on a very technically on a very high level. And um, I learned also that you first did cigar and then you came from a cigar to a pump.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Yes, yes, yes. And yeah. Well, yes, and uh for me, what did I learn? Well, the the main thing for me today was really uh exploring the revolution. You know that you made such a nice modular system where you uh can with uh as few as possible parts make as many as possible products, leading to shorter deliveries and and stuff like that. So it's really, really amazing and and and it looks gorgeous.

SPEAKER_01 41:19

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 41:20

So you listeners, thank you, uh Ollie, uh, very much for your time. And I would like to uh unless you have something more to add, uh Angela, I would like to say you can write us with any comments or questions at mail at swimmingpool minus podcast.com. Goodbye.

SPEAKER_01 41:42

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 41:42

Gracias.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

Merci. Well, that was difficult. Bye bye. Bye. Thank you.