Does Jacuzzi own Sundance?

[bwbski22]

im pretty sure they used to.  do they still?  if they do which is there top of the line brand?  thanks again,
Brad

[East_TX_Spa]

I'm not sure who owns who, to be honest.  I would imagine that Jacuzzi owns Sundance.

Terminator

[tony]

Its complicated.  Jacuzzi owns Sundance but Sundance makes Jacuzzi's.

[East_TX_Spa]

That reminds me of when I was looking around the State Fair of Texas and the salesboy for Rec Warehouse told me that Caldera bought out HotSpring.  I just said "Wow!  I didn't know that."

The Illuminati owns all the spa companies anyway.

TerminatorJohn Doh!

[NJDave]

Yes. A few years back the  company that owns Jacuzzi, purchased Sundance Spas. That is a plus for Jacuzzi. It became a better product after that transaction. Jacuzzi, was laying back and was not an exciting spa the last years leading up to the aquisition. After the purchase, the Sundance engineers, started adding new designs, technology and Sundance type features. The two companies compliment each other, as Jacuzzi brought good stuff to the table too. Dave.

[Micah]

June of 98 Jacuzzi Brands Inc purchased Sundance spas.  Jacuzzi Brands accuired a state of the art production facility to build both sundance and Jacuzzi Premium Spas.  To say that Sundance Builds Jacuzzi is like saying that Mercury builds Fords.  I'm sure thats what some Sundance reps would like to say, But it's not true.  The truth is that both Jacuzzi and Sundance are built on the same assembly line in the former Sundance plant that is now the Jacuzzi Plant.  
 

[tony]

June of 98 Jacuzzi Brands Inc purchased Sundance spas.  Jacuzzi Brands accuired a state of the art production facility to build both sundance and Jacuzzi Premium Spas.  To say that Sundance Builds Jacuzzi is like saying that Mercury builds Fords.  I'm sure thats what some Sundance reps would like to say, But it's not true.  The truth is that both Jacuzzi and Sundance are built on the same assembly line in the former Sundance plant that is now the Jacuzzi Plant.  
  

Incorrect.  It is true that Jacuzzi Brands purchased Sundance in 98, but Sundance was and is a wholly owned company.  Sundance was to retain their own identity, their own management team and was to take over all the spa manufacturing for Jacuzzi.  Jacuzzi Whirlpool spas were manufactured for a couple of more years unitl Sundance closed them down and created (yes Sundance created) Jacuzzi Premium Spas with many of the parts and features of Sundance spas.  They also moved the manufacturing of Jacuzzi Premium to their own plant.  Top of the line Sundance spas will always have the newest engineering and best bells and whistles while JP and the lower tier SD spas will lag behind.

Jacuzzi, the comglomerate, bought Sundance....but Sundance, the company, builds Jacuzzi.  Much different than Mercury building Fords.

[Micah]

Tony, I'm sure that is what your sundance rep tells you.  If that is the case then why is the new and updated version of the optima now showing a Jacuzzi Logo...I'm sure you saw the J-470 at the aqua show.  The same enginierrs that design Jacuzzi and Sundance were at the show explaining how the new J-470 had all the "newest and most state of the art" features.  All the sundance Reps were upset to see the new waterfall on the jacuzzi when they thought they were getting those in 07.  And why is the pan bottom only on the Jacuzzi brand while sundance frames still have the same wood bottom structure that the J-200 series has (u remember the lower line)  And finaly the flagship of the Jacuzzi Brands (including Sundance) has a Jacuzzi logo on it

[tony]

Tony, I'm sure that is what your sundance rep tells you.  If that is the case then why is the new and updated version of the optima now showing a Jacuzzi Logo...I'm sure you saw the J-470 at the aqua show.  The same enginierrs that design Jacuzzi and Sundance were at the show explaining how the new J-470 had all the "newest and most state of the art" features.  All the sundance Reps were upset to see the new waterfall on the jacuzzi when they thought they were getting those in 07.  And why is the pan bottom only on the Jacuzzi brand while sundance frames still have the same wood bottom structure that the J-200 series has (u remember the lower line)  And finaly the flagship of the Jacuzzi Brands (including Sundance) has a Jacuzzi logo on it

The engineers that design the SD spas are the same that design the JP spas.  Sundance is owned by Jacuzzi Brands and should carry the logo like all Jacuzzi products.  The new JP 400 series spas have all the newest technoloy, but the SD 880 series has had that for over a year now...the 56 frame pumps, the high flow circ pump with waterfalls, the new filtration.   It looks like the JP spas also are now sporting the SD bearingless jets.  JP spas have always had the plastic pan bottom as a holdover from the old Jacuzzi Whirlpool days while the SD spas have a hard plastic sheet across the bottom.

I do believe that as the original owners of SD start to exit out of the company the lines will blur somewhat, just like all business deals.  Then they will all be Sundance Spas by Jacuzzi.

[bwbski22]

so what u guys are saying is the new JPS J400 series are the new top of the line from  both jacuzzi and sundance engineers?  but i still feel that the j385 has more interior room then either the J480 or the J470?  right or wrong?

[Chris_H]

No, I don’t think anyone is stating the 400 series is the top of the line from both Jacuzzi and Sundance.  I would recommend you to read the complete manufacturers warranty for both brands (make sure you read the details) and decide which one has a better warranty.

[Snowbird]

Regardless of who makes what, the Jacuzzi line has its own dealer network while Pool City sells Sundance.  Considering the quality of employee (part time high school kids with pierced eyebrows and spiked collars who answered my questions reading from a notebook) at the local Pool City, you might be better off buying on eBay.  

I looked at Sundance before I bought as Jauczzi and was totally unimpressed with the product, the sales staff and support system.

[Brewman]

That can be said about any spa brand, and really has nothing to do with the Jacuzzi/Sundance ownership issue.  
I'm sure that both brands have dealers ranging in quality from awsome to totally crappy.   Has absolutely nothing to do with the manufacturers.
The Jacuzzi dealer just up the road from my office here had a not so good reputation for poor quailty customer service, and they boarded up the place a couple years ago.  Doesn't have any bearing on the relative quality of Jacuzzi spas to anyone elses, just a shoddily run business.

[Snowbird]

Brewman,

The point I was making was that Jacuzzi has a stand alone store that sells only spas.  They have to do it right.  http://www.spashowcase.com/

But I have never seen a Sundance store.  The Sundance spas get what ever room Pool City has left over.  And it is doubtful that Pool City will care about your tub very much when their showroom is filled with Christmas trees or above ground pools.  The Sundance spas were relegated to the far corner of the room.  The sales person couldn't even be bothered enough to learn about them.

You are right in that it could be different elsewhere.   This is how it is in my neck of the woods.  No matter how good the spa, a bad dealer will kill the sale everytime.

[Wisoki]

Incorrect, The dealership I work for has 3 stores. One is Jacuzzi, the one I manage, another is Sundance, the 3rd will remain nameless. None the less, this week after selling 5 J-470's among other models at the Indiana Flower and Patio Show, we needed to get the dinensions and specifications of the 470 for our customers that are doing "built in" instalations. My long history with Jacuzzi I told the owner not to worry I'll handle it, his long history with Sundance he decided to handle it. He soon found out that he could get ZERO information from the sundance engineering department regarding Jacuzzi spas. He had to call the Jacuzzi engineering, which is completly seperate from the Sundance side. I very seriously doubt the most recognizable name in the industry will ever sucumb the sundance.

The engineers that design the SD spas are the same that design the JP spas.