Introducing AussieUndercover - the hidden pool cover specialists

This post is one that’s been a while in the making and I’m so grateful to Sandra from Aussie UnderCover for bearing with me. Aussie UnderCover offer some of the best pool covers in the business and they’re run by a small team of amazing, passionate people. In a very busy time of my life, when I was organizing the Wanna Win a Pool competition, I completely forgot to approach Aussie UnderCover to be involved. I needn’t have worried though because Sandra phoned me herself, putting her hands up to be involved which took me totally by surprise and I was and am so very grateful for their support.

Pool covers are an important part of what we do. And there are plenty on the market ranging from extremely expensive to some pretty cheap and nasty ones! Aussie UnderCover sits pretty perfectly amongst the good ones. An incredibly durable product, that is also aesthetically pleasing and affordable when considering the extra mileage you’ll be getting out of a pool you can swim in 365 days a year.

We sat down with Sandra from Aussie UnderCover to learn more about their product and why they were so keen to be involved in our Wanna Win a Pool competition.

Your truly home-grown business has such an amazing reputation. Can you please tell us a little bit about Aussie UnderCover?  

We started Aussie UnderCover in 2008. My husband designed and developed the system that we have which makes it possible for people to have a fully hidden cover for their pool. My husband started hiding the covers underneath for our own customers and we found as we went along that so many people wanted a pool cover you couldn’t see.

Why do you think people love invisible pool covers so much?

You can have the most beautiful pool but if you’ve got a big roller cover that detracts from it. Our product means customers can have total control over the way their pool looks, right down to the smallest detail. We’ve created a really unique system where you can cover the lid of the kit that we provide with virtually anything you want, and our customers really respond to that. We’ve got clients putting purpose made polished concrete tiles over their pool cover or matching their tiles with their pool so it all looks coloured and integrated. When you invest in a pool you want it to be perfect.

How does your system work?

The way our system works is that every single kit is customised to its location. When somebody makes an approach to us about a price, we ask a series of questions. We want to know if they’re doing a fiberglass or concrete pool, if they’re doing decking or paving, if they’re doing grass.  Once we have all the information, we manufacture a fully customised kit for that particular pool. We ask a lot of questions so sometimes it can be a longer process, but we want to make sure our customers get exactly what they want.

It’s such a genius design. Are you the only ones doing it?

We were when we started out In 2008 no one was doing this. There are other systems on the market now, but nothing is quite like ours. Other systems on the market have a lid which hides the pool cover, but then you’ve got to look at an aluminum lid. We’re a micro business so it’s hard to compete against the large companies but we’re getting national attention now because of what we can offer.

It sounds like a lot of work. Do you have a big team behind you?

We are small team, but we deal with all of our customers one on one. We call our customers personally if we need information and sometimes they put us onto their builders. Often, in the early quote process we get our customers to send us their plans so we can look at the size and the design and get a good idea of the overall project. It’s a very collaborative process.

When we heard you wanted to donate to our Wanna Win a Pool competition, we were so stoked. Thank you so much for your generosity. Why did you want to get involved?

When I saw what you were doing on Instagram, I just thought that was great. My mother had a life-threatening melanoma in 1984, so we’ve been on the rollercoaster. She’s ninety now and going strong. She was a lucky one and I just feel for families, it’s so hard.

That’s what I love about our industry – people life yourself, who just genuinely are wanting to give back, to make a difference in people’s lives through the great work they do.

It is a small industry, and there’s a sense of community. You can work on the fringes and just kind of put your head down, or you can work together. We build pools, too, so we have that background. We know what a difference in makes for clients when as an industry we work together. When we’ve got our Aussie UnderCover hats on we’re just after helping each other. It always helps if companies work with companies.

That is such a good point. I think, like us, you really care about the customer’s experience. Like, it’s not just selling a product. You’re actually making it possible for customers to have control of the design process and you’re also supporting them along the way.

We do work really closely with our clients, and we understand their situation. You know, by the time they get to doing their pool most people have probably gone through so much – they’ve bought a house, they’re renovating, they’ve been working with multiple contractors. This can be a nightmare and we understand. We can basically operate as a one-stop-shop and organise everything, depending on location or we can refer to suitable contractors. Or if we’re working with another pool builder we try to make it as easy as possible. We know what it’s like having multiple contractors on site and it can be difficult.

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us. Just wondering – what’s next for Aussie UnderCover?

We are in a real growth phase at the moment, which is exciting.  We’ve got the Sydney Pool & Spa Show coming up in May and the SPLASH industry Show in June in Queensland. That’s the first time we’ve presented our product industry wide even though we’ve been doing it for a number of years. We’re getting there. It’s exciting because we’re entering a different phase. We don’t want to be one of the big people though – we want to be one of the little people who help all the other little people. 

 To learn more about Aussie UnderCover click here