Lust for life: emigrating from Italy in the early 1900s, the Jacuzzi brothers were soon renowned for inventions that provided luxury and comfort to people everywhere

Pool & Spa News, Nov 15, 2002 by Bob Dumas

Italians have always had a lust for life, evidenced by the exports that we Americans have so heartily embraced: scrumptious foods and wines, fast sport cars, music and art, and, of course, the Jacuzzi hot tub.

Well, Italy didn't exactly export the Jacuzzi hot tub to the United States; they sent us the family that helped invent it instead.

In the early part of the 20th century, the Jacuzzi brothers immigrated to America, eventually settling in California.

After inventing the first endosed cabin monoplane (which was used by the U.S. Postal Service to carry mail), the brothers had developed a keen insight into how hydraulic systems operate. They used that knowledge to make advancements in the agricultural pump industry.

In 1954, Joe Jacuzzi, one of seven brothers, developed a pump that could be coupled with air-injection jets to create a massaging air/water mixture. Two years later, the Jacuzzi brothers placed the first portable whirlpool pump freestanding in a bathtub, dubbing it the J-300.

In 1968, Roy Jacuzzi made history by inventing the first sell-contained and fully integrated, portable whirlpool bath. By 1970, the Jacuzzi spa was born.

But the company still had more growing to do. In 1998, Jacuzzi Inc. purchased Sundance Spas. Then, in April 2001, Jacuzzi's portable spa line was transitioned to the management of Sundance Spas, to allow Jacuzzi to focus exclusively on products such as jetted baths and steam rooms.

Under the auspices of Sundance, a new line of spas was created: Jacuzzi Premium.

Jacuzzi Premium operates as a separate entity from Sundance Spas, which still maintains its own line of hot tubs.

One year later, with its enhanced waterfeatures, fiberoptic lighting and upgraded marine stereo speakers, Jacuzzi Premium seems to have found a permanent niche in the luxury portable spa market.

The company holds more than 250 patents for innovations in pump systems, jet technology, air controls and product design. It has become the largest whirlpool bath and spa manufacturer in the world.

And that is something to which the seven Jacuzzi brothers who immigrated to America nearly a century ago would surely love to raise a glass of wine and make a toast.