PEDREGUER – Tim Schoordijk is happy with his job at the Dutch company Dekobo in Spain. Dekobo manufactures and installs tailor-made automatic pool covers for customers throughout Spain and beyond.
Tim is responsible for the Dutch-speaking, German-speaking and English-speaking markets and has been working for Dekobo for a year and a half now. His job takes him all over the country. He visits private customers looking for an automatic pool cover. He also speaks with construction companies and Owners’ Associations who are looking for a cover for their communal swimming pool. He enjoyed telling InSpain.news what exactly he sells and why customers are so happy with a company like Dekobo in Spain.
“We are very specialised”
Tim tells us that Dekobo has no direct competitor in Spain. “There are some parties, but the difference is mainly in the fact that we specialise in manufacturing covers. What you often see is that companies supply everything in the field of swimming pools and also do swimming pool covers. They usually have a smaller portfolio and they do it more as a service. All day long we do nothing but make covers and that is reflected in the quality.” Fifteen years ago, Dekobo started in Spain with two models. Now 25 people are employed and at least eight models are used.
“It started to itch”
Having lived and worked in Mallorca for two years from the age of 20, Tim already knew exactly what Spanish life was all about. He liked that. Back in the Netherlands, he always insisted that as soon as he got the chance, he would return to Spain. Then corona came and he was forced to work from home a lot. “For someone like me, who wants to be outside a lot, that was very annoying. It started to itch and the moment I saw a vacancy at Dekobo, I immediately applied. From that moment on things went fast. I got an interview and was able to start on January 1, 2021”.
Customer visits throughout Spain
Now Tim travels all over Spain. He visits several customers at once per area, but the base is Pedreguer. There are both the factory and the office of Dekobo. He consults with engineers about the technical aspects of the customers´ wishes. These customers are located all over Spain, but above all in the Costa Blanca region and on the islands of Mallorca and Ibiza. However, it also occurs in the Canary Islands and regions such as Málaga in the south of the country. A colleague works with the Spanish and French markets.
“The best thing about my job is those customer visits throughout Spain and sometimes beyond. I like to travel. But especially those visits in combination with feedback from engineers, continuously looking for points for improvement and looking closely at the technical aspects of the models we work with and thinking about them, I find very interesting”.
Each Spanish region has its charm
Tim, therefore, sees a lot of Spain, but cannot immediately choose a region or area that he prefers. “It’s hard to say because each area has its nature, its beauty and each region is different and has its charm. If I ever have to make a choice, I have always had a link with Mallorca on a personal level. Now I live in Dénia and I think that is a wonderful area, nice by the sea, nice environment and in an hour you are in Valencia and Alicante”.
“Of course, we do all the installations ourselves”
Tim says that Dekobo is also increasingly active outside of Spain. In the past year, he has had clients in Germany and Austria. “The way of working remains the same as for customers in Spain. When a customer signs up, we go there to measure the pool and negotiate. And of course, we do all the installations ourselves. Then our team goes to a customer, so possibly also to Germany, to install the pool cover.
That sounds like a complicated process across the border, but Tim explains that an installation takes about six weeks from measuring everything to completion. “Once the measurements with laser equipment are made, a 3D drawing is prepared by our engineer and then everything is custom made in the factory so that the installation team can install the cover in one day”.
Energy saving
We are curious about what the most important consideration of people is to choose an automatic pool cover from Dekobo. Tim: “There are several reasons, but energy savings are a very important consideration. Especially now with the high energy prices, such a solution is a godsend. In general, you have a saving of 60% on the water loss”.
Related post: Save energy when using your swimming pool in Spain
Service and Quality
He continues: “We are also a Dutch company and that appeals to people, especially given the service and quality we provide. This quality is reflected in the material, which is all suitable for both saltwater and chlorine pools. For example, we have patents on our submersible motors. And it is also important that our covers last 15 to 20 years. People make long-term investments with us.”
Safety
Safety is another reason for many people to take cover. Tim: “Our slats can carry an adult. This also means that many people who have children, grandchildren or pets purchase a cover for this. Of course, a cover also keeps dirt such as leaves and dust out of the water, so that you have to do less maintenance”.
Extending the swimming season
Finally, extending the swimming season is an important consideration for many people. They then choose one of the models with solar slats. “They heat the water by 5 to 7 degrees. This allows you to extend the period in which you can swim comfortably by six months,” explains Tim. “That is also very interesting for people who rent out their property as a holiday home,” he adds.
“For people who use a heat pump to heat their water, another advantage of those solar slats is that you get those 7 degrees for free. With the combination of heat pump and solar slats you have a cost saving of 12 months”. Tim adds that in the summer it is useful to only use your cover at night. “If the water is already 30 degrees, you don’t need another 7 degrees.”
Special project in Marbella
We ask Tim about a special anecdote. He tells about a client from the exclusive urbanisation La Zagaleta in Marbella who approached many companies for his specific wish. In the end, Dekobo turned out to be the only party that was able to make his wishes come true. “That customer wanted five automatic covers side by side for his huge pool. It involved all our underwater models side by side. That is a project we are very proud of.” He is also proud to bring in a construction company in Mallorca that builds many villas with swimming pools on the island. “We started a good collaboration with that, and a lot has come of it.”
Image: Sebastian de Kok (l) and Tim Schoordijk (r)
