Irrigation

Venturing into irrigation as a service offering is something you might not want to rush into. For example, Middleton, Wis.-based The Bruce Co. started out with an irrigation service technician when it added irrigation to its service mix 16 years ago, says Carl Dowse, manager of the irrigation department at The Bruce Co. This is a way to get into the business while building a client base.

Finding those customers begins by looking no further than your current lawn care or maintenance client base.

“There’s a built in clientele there – all you have to do is market it,” Dowse says. “Let them know they can come to one source for all their landscape needs.”
With many cities starting to have stiffer regulations on water conversation, irrigation contractors can also inform customers about those changes, if they aren’t already aware.

“Conservation is the way to go from here and way into the future,” says Keith Whitmore, vice-president of Whitmore & Sons in Forth Worth, Texas. “We have very few facilities that can process or even hold the water. Using it and being frugal with it. That’s exactly what we’re doing.

“Doing retrofits – taking out big rotor heads and older-model spray heads that use an ungodly amount of water and going in with micro and drip. In some cases we’re getting landscaping out of it as well.”

Once you get the ball rolling and build up irrigation clients, you can dig into the installation side of the business. It takes some investment to get started, Dowse says. Equipment needs include trenchers, extra trucks in which you can haul pipe and, of course, other irrigation parts such as spray heads and rotors. Find a trustworthy supplier that offers good service. This is good to have in a pinch when technical problems or questions arise.

When it’s time to add irrigation personnel, keep in mind it requires a different skill set than lawn care and turf maintenance. Look for someone who knows irrigation or the general premise, Dowse says, adding that one of his best irrigation technicians had a background in plumbing.

“He had the mechanical skills and I just had to teach him the rest,” Dowse says. “He caught on quickly.”

Hiring someone with the know-how can improve the quality of service, and, in turn, satisfaction and profits. The profit margin can vary, Dowse says, adding that it’s been about 30 percent recently for his company. Whether you’re new to the irrigation arena or have been offering the service for years, be sure you’re doing everything you can to bump to the bottom line.

This can include brushing up on the industry by joining the Irrigation Association and attending their events, Dowse says.

Also, he adds, keep in mind that all employees – especially the technicians – have significant roles in determining the bottom line. They have the most interaction with customers and can open the door to upsells and the company’s other services. These days, upgrades to soil moisture sensors and weather stations are becoming sure paths to profits because of the clients’ increasing desire for their money-saving and environmental features, Dowse says.

It’s important to find employees who can not only install them, but sell the customers on the idea, he adds.

“Not only does the service person have to be able to service an irrigation system but he has to be your salesperson also,” Dowse says.