INSTALLATION: Shoring Up Profits

Marty Garcia picked an opportune time to offer erosion control services. It was the mid-1980s and the Savings & Loan scandal was in full swing. An erosion control contractor had fallen into bankruptcy and Garcia and his company, Pueblo, Colo.-based Total Terrain, could get all the necessary equipment at a fraction of the cost. But like many new service offerings, buying equipment was just the first step in the process.
 
It took at least 10 years of trial and error before Garcia and his crews had a handle on providing erosion control services. “The learning curve was huge,” he says. “When we first got the equipment, we dabbled in it and it took 10 years before we actually considered ourselves somewhat competent.
 
“The learning curve was long, equipment expensive and it took time to have the workload to support the infrastructure of this service,” he says. “At our level we have to completely commit to this service. Only continuous performance keeps and gains new customers.”

ADDING EXPERTISE. Erosion control can precede or follow costly construction or repair operations. Total Terrain’s target customers are contractors, commercial developers, and government agencies. Becoming an expert in offering erosion services is essential in Colorado, a state with varied terrain where he can be in the mountains in one direction and in the desert in the other. This gives his crews on-the-job training on a host of different grades, soils and conditions.
 
“Many of our processes have been learned and perfected through extensive trial and error. We have found that in Colorado conditions range from tundra to desert plains,” Garcia says. “Many of our projects have no irrigation, so we have to be extremely accurate in our implementation.”
 
According to recent Lawn & Landscape research, 75 percent of contractors offer general landscape construction services, which includes erosion control. Government regulations that mandate a storm water plan are a boost to Garcia’s business. Phase II storm water requirements, enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, stipulate how a construction project must proceed in order to keep things like grease, oil and other contaminants from flowing into storm water drains.
 
“A lot of new customers may not be aware of those regulations until they’re on top of them, until they go before review and are asked what their storm water management plan is,” he says. “A lot of it is education. It may be something where they try to do it themselves and might use someone who’s not completely what’s aware of what’s needed.”
 
Landscaping and erosion control are mandated and are components of every project. Total Terrain derives about 50 percent of its base revenue from erosion control services.
 
“Our gross profit margin is a bit higher, 2-3 percent, than our straight landscape construction work,” he says. Over recent years, the firm has grown at a steady 10 percent.
 
There’s ample evidence supporting the need for erosion control services. Nearly 3 million acres of topsoil are lost yearly due to erosion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as more and more of the country is developed, opportunities for erosion abound.

WHAT’S NEEDED. A vast array of equipment can be used in erosion control services, depending on the application. They include hydroseeders, straw blowers, crimpers and land imprinters. Materials include silt fences, tackifiers, hydraulic mulches, soil amendments and erosion control blankets, both natural and synthetic. Hydroseeders can perform seeding, fiber mulching, fertilizing and straw tacking. Crimpers literally “crimp” the ground by placing punching holes in the mulch and placing it in slots that make it difficult to be blown away by the wind or carried by water.
 
Soil amendments are additives which increase the likelihood that grasses or other vegetation will grow, hopefully reducing erosion. Erosion control blankets, whether organic or synthetic, absorb and retain water, while at the same time, allow for vegetation to germinate. Organic blankets decompose and bond with the natural soil.
 
A complete set of equipment often separates the pros from the novices, Garcia says. “We see guys who may have one piece – the piece they see, but not the preparatory or finishing pieces. We have competitors who tell developers they can do the work if the equipment is provided for them. It turns out the equipment is one of the smallest pieces of the puzzle. There’s much more to it than that.”
 
Garcia estimates his company owns 75 different pieces of equipment for erosion control services. “Every piece is going to be used at different times,” he says. “Do we get full utilization out of every piece of equipment? On our larger equipment, we do. On our smaller pieces, we might use something twice a year.”
 
PRICING. Garcia prices every project differently based on size, location, soil test results, products used, monitoring required and adds a fair profit margin. “We are many times the second or third contractor called in to get a site closed out,” he says. “This is based on our performance.”
 
An early challenge was matching his competitors’ pricing. “This is a zero-sum game,” he says. “It is much more effective to outperform your competition and focus on your customers. Get as much brain power involved in your company. We have some of the best science actively working to deliver better results. Top notch equipment is also important.  We strive to be a solution that can be counted on.”