With the flip of a switch,
our automatic pool
covers provide a cleaner
and more energy
efficient pool that you’ll
get to enjoy more often,
with less hassle.
We are a Canadian-based company that provides pool owners, coast-to-coast
and beyond, with quality cover systems for swimming pool covers. Unlike our
competitors, our motorized pool covers do exactly as promised: they are truly
automatic, meaning they’ll help you unwind and retract your pool cover like no
other electric cover reel or roller on the market. With leadingedge technology,
and a passion for elevating everyday pool ownership & maintenance, we’ve
created a pair of products that remain incomparable to anything else on the
market.
Our products are meticulously designed for safety, convenience, and ease of
use, so that you can go for a long swim or a quick dip without worrying about
covering and uncovering the pool each time.
Our Journey
APR began with a simple mission: find a less permanent and more cost-effective way to cover and uncover pools with a flip of a switch.
20 years ago, when we decided to add an in-ground pool to our backyard, there was no doubt in our minds that we would be able to find an “offthe-shelf” cover system that was
completely automatic, since we’d previously seen several products advertised as such. Keeping this in mind, we decided not to install a custom cover system. We also knew it would
amount to roughly 2/3 the price of the pool itself, which we didn’t feel was worth the expense
After a few years of manually dragging the cover on and off, we decided it was finally time to invest in a cover system that would do the work for us. But after some diligent research,
we were surprised to discover that a ready-made cover system that was truly automatic, did not exist. Every automatic cover system we could find, could only retract (wind-up) the
cover. The unwinding had to be done manually, typically by pulling a rope or tether attached to the end of the cover. To me, this was a semi-automatic cover- not an automatic one.
At the same time, some friends of ours had run into a similar problem. They wanted to put in a custom cover system, but the pool had already been installed. The only option left
was to fix unsightly (and very noticeable) tracks to either side of the pool deck, which they did not want. This was an option we knew wasn’t feasible for us, since we did not have a
rectangular pool that was suited for a cover system involving tracks. But we didn’t want to give up on an automatic cover. So, we set out to design an “off-the-shelf” cover that was
more than semi-automatic. We had 3 primary goals in mind for our product that would draw in clients: reliability, simplicity, and budget consciousness.
We started by dissecting how most motorized covers worked. They all functioned similarly: the cover reels itself in automatically (with manual adjusting needed along the way) and
unwinds when ropes/tethers are pulled manually. The question then became: how do we get a reel to propel the cover onto the water without manual force to help it along? Lots of
experimenting ensued. The ropes we often saw for unwinding automatic reels already on the market, served as the inspiration for our appendable feed strips. The appendable feed
strips were designed to be fed through our edge-guides, a patented piece of technology that was developed so that it could use the strips to push the cover onto the pool. This
replaces the need for manual pulling. We then tested several methods for attaching our strips to the cover, so that they would hold-up in harsh, pool-side environments. Once we
found a method that “stuck”, we had created the first *completely* automatic cover system that didn’t need to follow permanently fixed tracks in order to unwind.
Our first units were made entirely by hand and sold to a handful of clients across Canada. With their feedback, we began resolving problems that were encountered, experimenting
with different materials, and developing new iterations of our automatic pool cover reel. With constant use, we found that, as the reel wound itself up, the cover would favour one
side of the arbour and result in an uneven pile. Self-correcting technology was developed to reduce this effect. By programming the reel to unwind and re-wind itself at regular
intervals, we were able to create that human touch that was missing. This process continued until we landed on a design we were satisfied with. We decided to call it the Auto Pool
Reel. Alongside the success of our Auto Pool Reel, we wanted to offer a version of the reel that differed from our original vision, and that met the demand for more cost-efficient
cover systems. So, we set out to create something that more closely resembled the abilities of other automatic covers on the market- but better. After more experimenting, we
created the Auto Pool Roller- a motorized cover system with a narrower scope of capabilities when compared to our reel. Designed for unwinding with manual assistance, but
without the ropes, tethers, and other unnecessary parts, that other automatic pool covers require.
What began as a Canadian company, has blossomed into an international endeavour to provide pool owners everywhere with truly automatic pool cover systems. We’re so pleased
that APR has been able to provide a solution that resides in backyards, recreation facilities, and therapy centres across the globe. It’s such a rewarding feeling to know that our
products are enjoyed by so many people. Even with so many satisfied customers, we continue to uphold our client-oriented philosophy in which we’re constantly seeking feedback
so that we may continue to learn, improve, and evolve as small business. Through our maintenance of these values, we are happy to see our demand continue to increase year after
year as more people discover the magic of our cover systems.
