The Brand Story
Unicel: From a Family Garage to the Filter in Millions of Backyard Pools
In 1956, in Dick Meissner's garage, a small family business was sewing for other people. It was a contract shop, the kind that takes whatever work comes through the door. Within a few years that sewing know-how would be pointed at a problem nobody in the pool business had quite solved: how to build a filter element that could catch fine dirt, rinse clean with a garden hose and come back for another season. The answer became Unicel, and the Meissner family still runs it.
Chapter 1 · 1956
A sewing contractor in a garage
Meissner Mfg. Co. began in 1956 as a sewing contractor working out of Dick Meissner's garage. Every pool needed a filter, and most of the industry relied on sand or on diatomaceous earth, and cartridge filtration was still a newer and less common idea. The company set out to build a manufacturing process around it.
Chapter 2 · Early 1960s
The first all-polyester cartridge
In the early 1960s the company engineered what it describes as the pool industry's first cartridge made of 100 percent spunbonded polyester. Spunbonded polyester is made of continuous filaments bonded into a fabric rather than woven, which gives it a consistent pore structure, strength when wet and resistance to the chemicals in pool water. Pleat it around a core, cap the ends, and it becomes a large filtering surface in a compact cylinder that can be hosed off and reused. That basic idea still sits inside nearly every pool and spa cartridge sold today.
Chapter 3 · 1972
Bigger cartridges, bigger filters
Early cartridges were small. In 1972 the company worked with Purex to develop a 33-square-foot cartridge at a time when 6 square feet was the norm. It then manifolded three of those cartridges together into a single 100-square-foot filter, a design the company credits with changing how the industry thought about cartridge filtration. More surface area meant longer runs between cleanings and filters that could keep up with full-size residential pools.
Chapter 4 · Today
Chatsworth, the third generation and a global shelf
Unicel is still built by Meissner Mfg. Co. in Chatsworth, California, and the company remains family owned, with a third generation of Meissners working in the business. It describes itself as the world's largest manufacturer of replacement pool and spa filter elements and the only one producing exclusively in the United States. In 2018 it partnered with HASA, Inc. to represent its replacement cartridges and grids across eleven states, and in Europe its range of more than 250 models is stocked in Leuven, Belgium for pool professionals who need elements that fit filters from many different brands.
That range reaches well beyond backyard pools. Unicel builds elements for spas and hot tubs from makers such as Sundance, Jacuzzi, Hot Springs, Caldera and Dimension One, and for above-ground pool systems from brands such as Intex and Coleman.
How It Works
Cartridges, grids and the job they share
Unicel makes two kinds of replacement elements. A cartridge is the filter itself: water passes through the pleated polyester from the outside in, dirt stays on the surface, and the cartridge is pulled and rinsed when pressure climbs. A DE grid is a fabric-covered frame that holds a thin coat of filter powder, such as diatomaceous earth or perlite; the powder does the fine filtering, and the grid holds it in place until backwash. Both wear out over time as fabric fatigues and pleats or seams lose their shape, which is why a properly sized, properly fitted replacement matters as much as the filter tank around it.
Fit Matters
Matching the element to the filter
A replacement element only works if it fits the tank exactly. Cartridges are identified by their outside diameter, overall length, the size and style of the openings in each end cap and their rated filter area in square feet. A cartridge that is a fraction of an inch too short can let water bypass the media entirely, and one with too little area will clog quickly and push filter pressure up. DE grids have their own geometry, with each grid shaped to sit in a specific position on the manifold of a specific filter family.
That is why Unicel publishes its elements against the original manufacturer's model numbers, and why the product names on this page carry the filter they replace, such as the Jandy CS200 or the Anthony Apollo. The simplest path is to read the model and filter area off the filter tank's label, then match it to the Unicel element built for it. When a cartridge's pleats are flattened or torn, its end caps cracked, or it no longer rinses clean, it is time for a new one.
The Lineup
What Unicel builds today
Unicel's catalog covers replacement cartridges for pools, spas and above-ground pools, DE filter grids and filter discs, cross-referenced to the original equipment of most major filter makers. HVAC365 carries Unicel elements in two main groups:
- Replacement filter cartridges: elements such as the 200-square-foot cartridge for the Jandy CS200, along with filter discs for specialty housings.
- DE filter grids: the FG-series grids, such as the FG-2000 for Anthony Apollo and Flowmaster filters, and PG-series grids such as the PG-1900 for American, Pac-Fab, Hayward, Astral and Waterway DE filters.
Both sit within our wider filters and sanitizers range, where matching an element to its filter by model number is the first step.
At a Glance
Unicel at a glance
- Founded
- 1956
- Company
- Meissner Mfg. Co., Inc.
- Headquarters
- Chatsworth, California
- Ownership
- Family-owned, third generation
- Known for
- First 100% spunbonded polyester pool cartridge
- Milestone
- 1972 33 sq ft cartridge with Purex
- Products
- Replacement cartridges, DE grids, filter discs
- Made in
- USA
Questions
Frequently asked questions about Unicel
Who makes Unicel filters?
Unicel filters are made by Meissner Mfg. Co., Inc., a family-owned manufacturer based in Chatsworth, California.
Where are Unicel cartridges made?
Unicel says it produces its replacement pool and spa filter elements exclusively in the United States, at its home base in Chatsworth, California.
When was Unicel founded?
The company began in 1956 as a sewing contractor in Dick Meissner's garage and moved into pool filter cartridges in the early 1960s.
What is Unicel known for?
Unicel engineered the pool industry's first cartridge made of 100 percent spunbonded polyester in the early 1960s, and in 1972 it worked with Purex on a 33-square-foot cartridge when 6 square feet was standard.
Do Unicel elements fit other brands of filters?
Yes. Unicel makes replacement cartridges and DE grids cross-referenced to filters from Jandy, Hayward, Pentair, Waterway, Astral and many other makers.
