Sanford, N.C.-based Pentair Inc. has promoted Karl Frykman to interim president of Pentair Water Pool and Spa; replacing outgoing president Scott Levin on Jan. 19.
Jan 18, 2007
Pentair Taps Frykman to Fill Levin’s Role
By Shabnam Mogharabi
Sanford, N.C.-based Pentair Inc. has promoted Karl Frykman to interim president of Pentair Water Pool and Spa. He replaced outgoing president Scott Levin on Jan. 19.
Levin, who left the pool and spa industry to accept a position as CEO of a private firm, had worked for Pentair since March 2003. Frykman, who joined Pentair in 1999, most recently headed its National Pool Tile Group division.
“I thank Scott for his contributions and look forward to Karl’s leadership, depth of experience in the industry, energy and commitment,” said Michael V. Schrock, president/COO of Pentair, in a press release. “I am confident that Pentair Water Pool and Spa will continue to grow and strengthen its leadership position in the marketplace.”
Frykman will assume the position of president until a permanent candidate has been selected, said a company spokesperson.
Frykman’s experience includes more than 20 years of work on the manufacturing and construction sides of the business. Prior to joining Pentair, he held senior positions at American Products, Anthony Pools and Poolsaver.
“I definitely bring industry knowledge to the table,” Frykman said. “I also know the company well.
“My job is going to be prioritizing opportunities and orchestrating the energies of our employees and providing them resources to grow those opportunities,” Frykman explained. “My initial goal is to identify where the opportunities are in the business.”
For one, he would like to improve on the company’s delivery performance, which he said has been less than stellar since Pentair’s acquisition of the Sta-Rite brand.
“I think fundamentally the pool industry is a good business,” Frykman said. “I think we’ve seen less cyclicality in the economic cycles, due partly to the fact that we’ve built such a large installed base of pools in the last 20 years. The replacement and renovation market has become a larger part of the business, so it’s mitigated some of the effects of the peaks and valleys of the past.”
Frykman said he’s also excited to grow sales of the company’s “game-changing” products, such as its variable-frequency-drive pump.
“The pool industry is a fun industry. It’s dynamic; the people are great to work with,” Frykman said. “I’m really excited about this opportunity.”
|