The Brand Story
CMP: The Georgia Molder Behind the Fittings Nobody Notices
Stand on the deck of almost any concrete pool and your eye goes to the water, the tile line, maybe the light. What you don't see are the small plastic parts set into the plaster: the skimmer throat taking in leaves, the return fitting pushing filtered water back, the eyeball aimed to keep the surface turning, the jet body behind a spa seat. Somebody has to design and mold thousands of those parts in every size, color and thread a builder might need. In Newnan, Georgia, that somebody is Custom Molded Products, known across the trade simply as CMP.
Chapter 1 · Newnan, Georgia
A catalog built one fitting at a time
CMP makes specialized plastic components for pools, spas and whirlpool baths, with a focus on the outward-facing parts people actually touch and see: jets, fittings, skimmers and filters. Its catalog has grown past 3,500 SKUs, and it supplies more than 350 active customers, from the hot tub manufacturers who build CMP jets into their shells at the factory to the pool distributors who stock its inlets and skimmers for builders and service companies.
The company is headquartered in Newnan and runs manufacturing and distribution facilities in several U.S. locations and in China. That combination of in-house molding and a very deep parts list is the quiet reason a pool builder can often find a CMP fitting in exactly the configuration a job calls for, down to socket or spigot ends, pipe size and finish color.
Chapter 2 · 2013
Investors arrive with a growth plan
In November 2013 Riverarch Equity Partners invested in CMP, backing a specialty manufacturer with a long list of loyal customers. That investment has since been realized, and later ownership passed to Tenex Capital Management. What the period set in motion was a strategy of growing beyond molded fittings into the equipment that keeps water clean and makes it beautiful.
Chapter 3 · 2017 to 2020
From fittings to clean water, light and fire
Under chief executive Bill Drury, CMP went on an acquisition streak. It started with DEL Ozone and saline generating systems, sanitation equipment long familiar to spa owners. In 2018 CMP bought Aqua Sun Ozone, its third acquisition in under a year. Desiree Otero had founded Aqua Sun Ozone in 1994 to make water-treatment systems for hot tub manufacturers, and CMP pursued it after recognizing it as one of DEL's strongest competitors. Its manufacturing stayed in Palm Springs, California, with its leadership intact.
Bobé Water & Fire joined as well, bringing fire bowls and water features to a company that already sold Brilliant Wonders LED lighting, Natural Wonders water features, SpaMaster spa systems and Hydroseal pool valves. A business that once lived mostly behind the plaster now also sold the lighting and fire that people come outside at night to see. For a builder, that meant one supplier could cover the circulation fittings, the sanitizer and the evening light show on the same project.
Chapter 4 · 2021
Joining Fluidra
In March 2021 Fluidra, the Barcelona-based pool equipment group whose U.S. headquarters is in Carlsbad, California, agreed to buy CMP from Tenex for $245 million. Fluidra had entered the U.S. market in 2018 by merging with Zodiac Pool Systems, and it saw CMP as a way to expand in alternative sanitizers, in the white goods that complement its Jandy equipment, and in dedicated spa equipment, including a path into the spa manufacturer market. CMP's team and base of operations stayed in Georgia, with Tom Moore continuing to run the business.
The Lineup
What CMP builds today
Today CMP builds plumbing fittings, skimmers, jets, sanitizers, LED lighting, water features and fire elements for pools and spas. HVAC365 focuses on the parts a builder or service technician sets into the shell:
- Skimmers and in-wall fittings: the dual-port gunite skimmer with a round cover, the front access skimmer kit, and the Vac Lock vacuum fitting.
- Return inlets: Insider and Aussie Insider wall inlets for gunite and in-ground pools, insert and slip wall inlets, floor inlet fittings and covers, and directional flow outlets with 3/4-inch eyeballs.
- Spa jets: Insider gunite directional jets in stainless steel and white, plus gunite jet bodies sized for 1-1/2-inch plumbing. More spa parts sit under spa equipment.
- Drain and suction covers: replacement covers for main drains and suction outlets.
- Water levelers and filter and sanitizer parts that round out the circulation system.
The Next Chapter
Why the drain cover became a federal matter
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 changed what sits at the bottom of a pool. The act set Consumer Product Safety Commission standards for suction outlets, and public pools had until December 19, 2008, to fit every suction drain with an anti-entrapment cover meeting ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007. Because the federal law carries no enforcement provisions of its own, states and local health departments do the enforcing, and very few covers installed before 2009 meet the newer standard. For anyone replacing a drain or suction cover, the rated flow printed on the cover and its listing matters as much as the size.
At a Glance
CMP by the numbers
- Full name
- Custom Molded Products
- Headquarters
- Newnan, Georgia
- Parent company
- Fluidra, since 2021
- Acquisition price
- $245 million
- Prior owner
- Tenex Capital Management
- Catalog
- More than 3,500 SKUs
- Facilities
- Multiple U.S. sites and China
- Family brands
- Brilliant Wonders, Natural Wonders, SpaMaster, DEL Ozone, Bobé
Questions
Frequently asked questions about CMP
What does CMP stand for?
CMP stands for Custom Molded Products, a Newnan, Georgia, manufacturer of plastic components and equipment for pools, spas and whirlpool baths.
Who owns CMP?
Fluidra, the pool equipment group based in Barcelona, bought CMP from Tenex Capital Management for $245 million in March 2021. CMP continues to operate from Georgia.
Where are CMP pool fittings made?
CMP is headquartered in Newnan, Georgia, and operates manufacturing and distribution facilities at several U.S. locations and in China.
What does CMP make?
CMP makes skimmers, return inlets, jets, valves and other plastic fittings, along with DEL Ozone sanitizers, Brilliant Wonders LED lights, Natural Wonders water features, SpaMaster spa systems and Bobé fire and water features.
Is CMP related to Jandy?
Both CMP and Jandy belong to Fluidra. When Fluidra bought CMP in 2021, it said CMP's fittings and accessories would complement its Jandy pool equipment line.
What is the VGB Act and why does it matter for drain covers?
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 set federal standards for suction outlet covers. Public pools had to install anti-entrapment covers meeting ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 by December 19, 2008, so replacement covers must match the rated flow of the drain they serve.
