It’s not an exaggeration to state that Andrew L. Pansini invented the automatic pool cleaner. It was his way of looking at things differently that started it all one afternoon in the late 1950s. He had been cleaning around his pool —— when his garden hose fell into the pool. His observation that the hose snaked along the floor of the pool, driving dirt towards the outlet drain led to his invention of the world’s first automatic pool cleaner.
In 1958, Pansini founded Jandy Industries (combining his wife’s name, Jane, with his name Andy).
“People wanted to work with him,” says Vance Gillette, an early Jandy employee and retired Vice President of Business Development for Zodiac Pool Systems. “And once you did, you couldn’t help but believe in his vision. He was a great individual who believed in trust, honesty and that a handshake was everything.”
Pansini continued inventing swimming pool related products into his 90’s. Over a period of 50 years he was issued over 40 patents.