Ecological Labs Eyes Lake Management Collaborations

Irrigation distributors are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in lake management and other large projects, Ecological Laboratories told its distributors during its annual distributor breakfast at the 28th Annual International Irrigation Association show December in San Diego.

Irrigation distributors are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in lake management and other large projects, Ecological Laboratories told its distributors during its annual distributor breakfast at the 28th Annual International Irrigation Association show December in San Diego.

To demonstrate the possibilities, Don Leyn of Irrico Sales of Englewood, Colo., detailed how two larger projects, including a city park pond outside the mayor’s office in Colorado Springs, Colo., contributed an additional $100,000 in sales. He projected that large pond maintenance projects would contribute an additional $150,000 to $200,000 of Microbe-Lift sales in 2008.

Significantly, getting on-site at these projects can lead to additional sales. For example, Leyn recognized the need for mosquito-control products while applying the water-quality products.

Because of their size, irrigation contractors are better suited for bidding on these large projects than ornamental pond specialists, Ecological said. It also said the companies are better able to identify local and regional opportunities than Ecological itself.

Ecological stands to benefit if its distributors pursue such opportunities, as many of its water treatments would be used in bulk quantities in these projects. The company told distributors that it would support them in their efforts to bid on major projects, which includes dealing with bureaucracies, and by providing treatments in bulk quantities.

To illustrate the spectrum of possibilities, the company presented attendees with a collection of more than 12 project case studies in which its products were used. These projects included cleaning municipal and residential community ponds, restoring polluted rivers and ponds in China and Malaysia, treating slaughterhouse wastewaters in Jordan, and remediating petroleum-contaminated soils in Georgia and Tennessee.

The company expects that its distributors will share additional case studies so it can continue collaborating and sharing data. In these projects, the use of bacterial treatments addressed the problems and provided savings over mechanical alternatives such as dredging, according to the company.

During the breakfast meeting, Ecological also introduced Aqua Forte Professional Pond Product’s BioCompactSieve II, a bio-mechanical pre-filter from Europe. While not particularly interested in developing an equipment line, Ecological is distributing the product in North America as part of its relationship with its European distributor, Sibo of the Netherlands. Ecological ships the product with three of its own products: Microbe-Lift/PL Gel, Microbe-Lift/Biological Pin Balls and Microbe-Lift/Media Bags.

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Ecological Labs Eyes Lake Management Collaborations

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