Hot Spring® Spas New Zealand – The 40-year difference

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Around since the beginning of portable spas, with a trusted history and an international reputation for innovation, Hot Spring is a New Zealand – USA partnership that’s become a global leader. While most spas are built to last only 3-4 years, Hot Spring Spas have been around for 40 years – and their pools are all designed to last just as long. The first Hot Spring spas manufactured and sold in NZ back in the 80s are still going today.

A NZ-US partnership

Dale Paretovich, owner, founder and operator of Hot Spring NZ, says portable spas took off in NZ only five years after they first became available in California. Dale started manufacturing the first portable spa for NZ and Australia in 1980. He produced only two models and the technology was basic.

To check out the latest international technology, Dale went to a pool and spa show in Las Vegas. It was there he started talking to the Sales Manager of the USA company Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, producers of Hot Spring Spas.

“At the time they were the largest manufacturer of portable spas in the world – and they still are. Over a beer, we decided to do a joint venture.”

This arrangement, started on a handshake in Las Vegas, combined Hot Spring’s unique technology with Dale’s exporting knowledge, and led to expansion across NZ, Australia and Eastern Asia. Hot Spring spas are now sold through a network of dealerships in 220 countries. Customers can access the same standard of service, warranty and support anywhere in the world.

Leading by design

The design innovation that first sparked Dale’s interest in Hot Spring has kept the company at the top of the portable spa industry. As well as the invention of the moving massager, which remains a top seller today, Hot Spring has been the first to bring out:

• Artificial timber for spas
• Rust-proof, titanium heaters
• ACE® Salt Water System – a patented salt water system that makes its own chemicals, with chlorine levels the same as drinking water. Water can be in a spa for a year or two instead of having to be changed every month.
• Spas with fully solid foam, which adds to the price of a spa, but reduces running costs by about 75%.

Quality made to last

Hot Spring spas were manufactured in NZ for 30 years. This meant that Dale could oversee the quality of every spa – the company had a low warranty rate that was similar to a high quality European car. However, a shortage of skilled labour meant he had to make the tough decision to move the manufacturing to the US. As always, maintaining quality was at the top of his mind but Dale didn’t need to be concerned, because the US plant operated to an equally high standard.

Image sourced from a product brochure circa 1989. Dale with his wife Nerida and their two daughters enjoying time in one of NZ’s first portable spas.  

The company is the only one in the industry to have both their factory and distribution systems meet the quality control levels needed for the ISO9001 rating – an externally measured standard they’re proud to achieve.The NZ-US partnership has another quality control advantage for their customers. The parent company is publicly listed. Under US law Hot Spring must keep spare parts for 20 years, and alternative parts for every spa they’ve ever made.As Dale says, most of the company’s oldest competitors are less than six years old, often folding after each recession, leaving their customers with spas that can’t be serviced.With replacement parts always available, Hot Spring spas really are made to last. And when customers feel as if it’s time for an upgrade, they can trade in their Hot Spring spa for a newer model. Dale explains, “We’ll refurbish it, sell it with a one year warranty and it may last for another 20 years if it’s properly looked after and serviced.”So it’s no overpromise to say that when you buy a Hot Spring spa, you can look forward to decades of daily relaxation.Visit Ford HotSpring spas - NZ Dealer of the year 2016 to experience the 40-year difference – with a quality spa that is made to last.

We have customers all over the North Island, from Whangarei in the North to the Kapiti Coast. We service any spa we sell!

We are the East Coast's Longest Running Spa Dealer With 35 Years Sales & Service of Hot Spring Spas from Our Chapel Street Tauranga Premises.

Ford Electrical Limited now trading as Ford Spa Pools is a Family owned and operated business.  We are one of the longest running spa pool retailers in New Zealand with 55 years of uninterrupted business operation from the same premises originally as Electrical Contractors which included wiring of the Matakana Island Sawmill, the very first high rise apartment building at Mount Maunganui 'Mount Royale' and various other large and small residential and commercial projects. Max Ford the founder, diversified into in-ground spa pools in the 1980s as the market started to develop in NZ. Other products included in-ground swimming pools and custom built saunas made from Finnish White Spruce.

Our Family Business Was Established in 1970. We are registered Electricians.
We now sell a diverse range of Spa Pools, Chemicals, Covers and accessories.  All work is carried out to the current electrical standard by licensed electrical workers. We have been an authorised Dealer and Service Agent for HotSpring Spas NZ Ltd since 1990. We cover the BOP, Coromandel, Waikato and further afield on request.  If you want the most experienced installer of HotSpring Spas perhaps in the entire North Island then give us a call. We take pride in looking after our customers for the lifetime of their spa ownership.

Jason Ford BMS, EST(A) Owner Operator.   Electrical Service Technician Showroom Sales Accounts		Robert Ford Registered Electrician Service Manager Installer Electronics & PCB Specialist
Felix Ford  Student Spa Refurbishment		Hamish Crabbe Service Technician Experienced Installer
Max Ford  Founder Ford Electrical Limited 1970		Enzo Head of R & R Duck Wrangler

 We operate from our own building and showroom at 34 Chapel Street Tauranga.  The retail store is open 10am - 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am - 2pm on Saturday.  Call 0800 446 877 to speak to a sales person. 

Our service manager Rob can be reached on 021 136 0346.  Please have details of your spa pool and any error codes or other relevant information to hand prior to calling.  Sending photos is also a good idea (or bring them into the shop with you).  Please note that we do not service certain spa brands due to problems with supply, lack of warranty, and relliability of available parts.  We service every Hot Spring Spa brand including Hot Spot, Tiger River, Solana, Limelight, Highlife, Highlife NXT, and FreeFlow.

Ford Spa Pools - HotSpring Spas New Zealand Dealer of the Year 2016
As spa pool specialists, all service work and installations are carried out by Registered Electricicans to the current electrical code.  We offer a full installation service complete with code of compliance certification for any electrical work. We have chosen to sell only HotSpring Spa Brands as we believe they are without equal in NZ.  All spas have been tested to comply with the relevant electrical standards for Aus/NZ and copies of these important test documents that prove HotSpring spas safety are readily available.

when you buy your spa from Ford Spa Pools we look after you during the warranty period and for the duration of your spa ownership.