The story begins way back in 1951, when a penniless refugee, Ferdinand Chauvier, from the then Belgian Congo, brought his family to South Africa. Ferdi was a qualified hydraulics engineer, and had previously owned a hydraulic pump factory. Ferdi used his mechanical skills at a service station in Springs - (Gauteng).

Daniel Chauvier - Ferdi's son, grew up and began selling pool equipment and chemicals door to door. It soon became obvious that most pool owners disliked their pools, as a result of the laborious task of keeping them clean. Danny discussed the possibility of an automatic pool cleaner with his father, who soon put some ideas together, making use of his hydraulics engineering background.

In 1974, the first machines were made from wood and rubber tubing, which incidentally were melted together on the kitchen stove! Danny took these prototypes out to his clients, and most were extremely reluctant to part with them, once it had been demonstrated to them in their pool.

It was obviously not very long before it became apparent that the "Kreepy Krauly" was a success story. By 1978 a sufficient number of cleaners had been sold to cover the costs of plastic injection moulding, and the first Kreepy Krauly's, as we know them today, were rolled out.

As technology has developed and advancements have been made over the years, the Kreepy Krauly has been improved on, so that the nuts and bolts of yesteryear have been replaced with clip-on, single piece moulded plastic parts. In fact, the patented design, with a few improvements, is so solid, that it has essentially remained the same for over 27 years!

Kreepy Krauly has become a household name in South Africa, and has been proud to be associated with the sponsorship of swimming, yachting, motorcar racing, motorbike racing and paraplegic athletes over the years. A national network of over 90 warranty stations, and most retailers stock the Kreepy Krauly range of products. Kreepy Krauly has exported to Canada, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and the Indian Ocean Islands over the years.

The injection molded Dive Float with a detail of the plastic clip

Over 1.5 million cleaners have been sold internationally!

Sadly, Ferdi Chauvier passed away in 1985, leaving Daniel the legacy that is Kreepy Krauly. In 1999, Daniel who resides in the United States, accepted an offer from an international company called Pentair Pools Products Incorporated (Pacfab at the time of the acquisition) to purchase Kreepy Krauly. This acquisition has meant that Kreepy Krauly have broadened their range of pool cleaners, to include pool pumps, pool filters, lights and pool tools.