ithin the concrete monoliths in New York City lie pockets of respite in the forms of spas and swimming pools. Behind each high-rise oasis lies a long timeline of planning by architects, designers, engineers, fabricators and construction crews that take an idea and figure out the logistics behind making it a reality. At Bradford Products, stainless steel is used to create lighter, stronger and sleeker swimming pool designs, where fabricators bring architects’ visions to reality.
ithin the concrete monoliths in New York City lie pockets of respite in the forms of spas and swimming pools. Behind each high-rise oasis lies a long timeline of planning by architects, designers, engineers, fabricators and construction crews that take an idea and figure out the logistics behind making it a reality. At Bradford Products, stainless steel is used to create lighter, stronger and sleeker swimming pool designs, where fabricators bring architects’ visions to reality.
Using steel instead of concrete opens up design and placement opportunities that might otherwise be difficult to achieve and maintain due to weight or size constraints. At Bradford Products, pools are prefabricated then disassembled in order to transport to the pool site—whether that means ushering two large slices of steel via crane to lay down at a Las Vegas hotel, or dissected into multiple pieces in order to ascend to the top of a New York City rooftop deck.
“We’ve managed to install pools in some pretty challenging and unique places—including mountainsides and skyscraper rooftops,” says Michael Brodeur, CEO. Most recently, Bradford built and installed a pool unlike anything in the world. Set atop steel bearing plates, Bradford’s engineers managed to design a stainless steel and acrylic pool that connects two buildings, 10 stories up, in downtown London.
Photo: Golden Dusk Photography
It’s just not feasible [to use a welding robot] given the way pieces are reassembled at the job site. 
Photo: Golden Dusk Photography
“Our team blows the entire drawing up, flattens it out and sends it to the shop floor where all the pieces are laser cut,” he continues. “Then we send it to a brake where everything is bent.” The result is hundreds of puzzle pieces that are then moved on to the fabrication department where welders match labeled pieces to one another and bring it all together. They fully fabricate the pool, regardless of the size, on the shop floor.
Fabricators work within a 180,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility where, at any time, 10 or more projects can be laid out. “We just sent out some pools to Las Vegas for the Circa Resort that were over 5,000 sq. ft.,” Brodeur says. “We prefabricated the steel pools, then broke the vessels apart into sections that will fit onto a flatbed truck, which we then ship to the job site. Once the pieces get there, we weld everything back together.”
Bradford pools and spas are transported all over the country, but one of its latest projects for Ballymore in London required that each piece be prefabricated and placed in waterproof containers to be shipped across the Atlantic. Once there, the next hurdles included planning logistics to include taking down road and overpass signs because the pieces were oversized for roads that are much narrower than those in the United States. “We had to get special permits to remove roadside features; all of that took time and careful planning,” Brodeur says.
For a 15-ft. by 40-ft. pool, Bradford fabricators will weld the entire pool together in the factory with the intention that it will be shipped in two pieces. “For a pool this size, we prefab the entire thing then cut it lengthwise with lifting lugs welded on each half that the crane will attach to,” explains Brodeur. “A spreader bar helps move the halves into final position on site. From there, we level it and finish-weld it together. If access is tight, we might end up cutting it down into much smaller sections that are brought up using a freight elevator.”
Bradford employs about 60 welders at any given time, a dozen plumbers, three laser cutting technicians and eight press brake operators. They work closely with 14 engineers and eight project managers to bring the design to life.
We’ve managed to install pools in some pretty challenging and unique places. Photo: Golden Dusk Photography
While Bradford’s designs are modern and customized for each client, the methods they use are decidedly traditional. Welders TIG weld each seam where an automated welding robot cannot reach. “Every job we do is different from the last,” Brodeur says. “It can be frustrating at times to constantly redo things where it might be easier using a welding robot. It’s just not feasible given the way pieces are reassembled at the job site.
“All of our welders go through a long, rigorous training process,” he continues. “We’ll start folks on welding full tile pools because the beads will be hidden by the tile finish. A welder will do this for quite some time before they can work on exposed stainless vessels where every bead is visible to the end user.”
Based near Wilmington, North Carolina, much of the demand for Bradford’s pools comes from out of state, but its welders are home grown. “There’s not a lot of industry here in Southeast North Carolina. We’re actually the second-largest employer in our entire county outside of the hospital,” Brodeur says.
To ensure a constant supply of welding talent, Bradford has established a program with the nearby Cape Fear Community College. There, welders are trained with Bradford’s specific requirements in mind. “We get a lot of our people from that program,” he says. “Wilmington is not a huge town, so word of mouth has drawn a lot of interest and brought students to the area.”
Most workers are based in North Carolina but travel throughout the country and around the world. “Our welders live here and travel so that we can keep a close eye on the level of quality we demand,” Brodeur says.
It is important that welders are well versed in the niche skills required to fabricate stainless steel swimming pools. The quality and consistency of the welds are critical to the watertightness and integrity of the pool shell.
