Indoor Swimming Pool in Almaty, Kazakhstan Refurbished with Leister

The “D-Fitness” swimming pool (formerly the “Dynamo”) in Kazakhstan’s former capital and largest city, Almaty, was built in 1930. It was the only indoor swimming pool with 50-metre (164 ft) lanes, corresponding with Olympic standards, in the entire country until 1967. The need for refurbishment was so obvious by 2012 that a fundamental overhaul was initiated. The swimming pool was to be open to the public as well as to serve Kazakh athletes. The construction and building work for Olympic swimming pools is technically complicated. Compliance with strict specifications, which apply to such pools everywhere including Kazakhstan, was necessary for this, the largest pool in the country. 

Top machinery from Switzerland

To meet the high quality standards, 1.6 mm PVC waterproofing membrane was used to seal the swimming basin – in a suitable, light blue color for swimming, of course. To ensure that the welding ​seams were completely hermetically sealed, Leister welders were used. The VARIMAT V2 hot air welder as well as numerous TRIAC S and TRIAC AT hot air tools from the Swiss manufacturer were employed. Historically, the VARIMAT V2 is primarily used for welding over-lapping plastic waterproofing membranes on roofs, but it is also suitable for connecting the sealing sheeting for swimming pools. With the VARIMAT’s understandable and easy to use «e-drive» control unit, relevant welding parameters for speed, temperature and air volume can be simply regulated and controlled. It is also very cost-effective with speeds of up to 12 m/min (39 ft/min). Leister’s well-known reliability also applies to the manual welders in the TRIAC series. Here, the welders were used for detail work on closures and details such as stairs and drains. The TRIAC AT has a display that allows both the temperature and the air volume to be digitally-monitored. 

Award-winning refurbishment

The company, Aqua Trade Ltd. which was responsible for the installation, is well-versed in projects of this type. The award-winning status of the most prominent swimming pool in the country, however, was a bit extraordinary even for experienced professionals. Besides the quality of the workmanship, particularly attention was given to the welders employed. Aqua Trade Ltd. is a well-known firm that has been on the market for over ten years. It has completed over 200 different projects so far. Since its founding, it has only used Leister machines for its welding work. Director Dmitry Lossifovitsch Skoba knows he can rely on their productivity and reliability. “I can’t imagine using any other welder that could meet these high quality specifications!” he says enthusiastically. He is also more than satisfied with the local support he received from Leister. This was guaranteed through the on-site distribution partner, RIKAZ Ltd.  

Successful refurbishment

​The refurbishment work was successfully completed in 2013 and the swimming pool reopened for business in December of the same year. The young athletes and many other pool guests have been enjoying the newly added quality at the 4,000 m3 and up to 5.5 metre deep basin.

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Contractor: Aqua Trade Ltd., www.aqua-trade.kz
​Distribution partner: Rikaz Ltd., www.leister.com.kz