Four new products designed to meet snow contractors need for efficiency.
Snow fighter and guest author Justin Rollin makes a case for integrating more liquids into your anti-icing strategy.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This guest column was first published on the author's LinkedIn page. It is reprinted with permission in its entirety.
I believe that the use of bulk salt will start to decline soon for both environmental and economic reasons. Instead, snow removal businesses will have to increasingly look to liquid ice melt to help manage snow.
What to Know About Liquid Ice Melt Liquid deicer is more effective at melting snow and ice, plus it grants you increased control. Consider how much easier it is to target an area with a liquid vs. salt granules. This efficiency in distribution means that you use less product and less time. In fact, it is estimated that using liquid deicer reduces material and labor costs by about 64%. With today’s rising concern for the environment, liquid deicer has become much more appealing to environmentally conscious clients. It is less damaging to landscaping, vegetation, lakes, rivers, and groundwater. Consider that you are already using a diluted version of salt when you apply liquid deicer. This means that you are applying the “minimum effective dose” to remove the ice. Any rock salt that remains after a job is product wasted. Further, this rock salt then burns the vegetation or waits for the next snow to get diluted and put into the water supply. A liquid deicer does the job, gets even further diluted, and then joins the groundwater. It is also a lot cleaner, as salt tends to travel with vehicles, which can carry its environmental damage elsewhere. In order to get the best use out of liquid ice melt, your snow removal business must be completely comprehensive on its application. How to Apply Liquid Ice Melt Every liquid ice melt has a different window of time for temperature and application of the product. It is important to know when to apply the product so that it is effective, and your company is not wasting any money. The manufacturer of the liquid deicer should provide you with performance tables to demonstrate when is best to use the product. Measuring the ground temperature of the application site is also important for proper usage. Liquid ice melt cannot be applied to a surface that is too cold, or when the weather is predicted as windy. Before and After Snow Following the steps laid out previously, liquid deicer should be applied in anticipation of a storm. Liquid ice melt will reduce the need for a plow post-storm, as it prevents the snow from bonding to the pavement. It will either cut down on the number of times an area needs to be plowed, or get rid of the need for one at all. As liquid ice melt is the more up and coming deicer, it may take customers time to adjust to the idea of it. However, as a snow removal business, explaining to customers all the benefits of liquid deicer can show them how it appeals to everyone. It is better for the environment, and it will save your business money in the long run. Justin Rollin is president of Green Bay-based Earth Development, a full-service snow maintenance and lawn care company. He's also the president of Ninja De-Icer.
Innovative delivery system optimizes material flow for better use of salt and even unloading of material.
Left Hand Robotics continues to expand into the commercial snow market, and now offers OEMs the brains to their brawn.
Acquisition creates the largest snow-only company in North America.
Aero Snow announced its acquisition of Tovar Snow Professionals, a Chicago-based snow and ice removal company. This acquisition brings together two market leaders, creating North America's largest snow-onlycompany in North America. This highly fragmented market provides the combined company the opportunity to differentiate themselves through exceptional customer service and scale, according to a released statement. Together the companies will serve thousands of customers across the country, including the nation’s largest airports, corporate and commercial properties, railroads, and distribution centers, among others. This acquisition will enable the combined company to offer customers more innovative and customized solutions and services.
Jeff Tovar, CEO of Tovar Snow Professionals, and the existing Tovar Snow Professionals management team will continue to hold leadership roles at the combined company.
"We are very excited for this new chapter and look forward to providing our customers with a more extensive range of best in class services across North America," Jeff Tovar said in a statement. "Aero Snow shares our dedication to building a market leading company that is extremely focused on customer and employee satisfaction and safety." Daryl Hendricks, CEO of Aero Snow, added, "Together, our presence will be much larger with an enhanced infrastructure that provides us with additional resources to uphold our ice and snow management services that we know are mission critical for our customers." Founded nearly 60 years ago, Aero Snow, headquartered in Westbury, NY, is the leading provider of diversified municipal and facility maintenance services. As the national leader in the snow and ice removal market, Aero Snow owns the largest fleet of proprietary snow melters in North America and employs a highly experienced team to support its customers across all phases of snow removal operations. Tovar Snow Professionals was founded in 1990 in Elgin, Illinois by Jeffrey Tovar and operates in IL, IN, WI, IA, MO, among others, as demanded by customers. As a leader in commercial snowplowing services, the company is strongly committed to both the environment and their clients. Tovar specializes in providing services for the office, retail and industrial sectors.
Aero Snow is a portfolio company of Mill Point Capital, a private equity firm targeting control investments in lower-middle market businesses, with a focus on industrials and business services companies in North America. Mill Point’s experienced team of investors and Executive Partners seek to enhance the value of portfolio companies by executing transformative strategic initiatives and operational improvements. Mill Point is based in New York, NY.