Snow Manager, issue 1/2020

Page 17

extensive field testing in his fleet. He had already rejected springs on several levels when it came to range of motion and dealing with hardpacked snow or ice. What he soon discovered was that the benefits of polyblocks vastly exceeded his expectations when it came to the way they survived impacts, as well as normal wear and tear, and generally extended the life of the pusher. The polyblocks were designed to operate as shock absorbers or fuses to flex upon major impact (of an object higher than nine inches) and, like fuses, were designed to break under the kinds of conditions that would almost certainly bend or break the major frame components of a conventional pusher, and that would have included springs, regardless of their size and strength. A loss of a $50 polyblock under such conditions is a lot easier to handle than a multi-thousand-dollar loss of a pusher or an injury to an operator. There are many other unique features

Flexible polyurethane pads provide the sectional with its advanced movement, performance and safety characteristics.

of the Arctic Sectional Sno-Pusher™ that might not be obvious to the untrained eye, but there is one in particular that would come to cement its reputation as the attachment that changed the industry and allowed businesses to grow well beyond their initial limitations. The Arctic Sectional Sno-Pusher™ was a modular product designed to live forever with easy maintenance of bolted-on parts. Unless one drove off a cliff, this pusher would never be junked. SNOW MANAGER | www.snowmanager.ca

The Arctic Sectional’s modular design make it easy to swap out components and extend its life.

A revolution in asset management and growth When contemplating growing one’s business, ownership knows that it must be able to either invest its own profits or secure financing. Of course, one cannot borrow beyond a bank’s willingness to take on the risk, and a low margin seasonal service business where the weather, luck, and the owner’s personal health determine its success does generally not fit the banker’s idea of a good bet. What he wants to see is a business that has a high margin, low debt, strong assets and protection from catastrophic loss. According to our survey, there were two primary reasons margins improved with the sectional: 1. Improved operating efficiencies; and, 2. Salt savings. In side-by-side competitions, the Arctic Sectional has outperformed standard pushers four-to-one, particularly when you include sidewalks. Assuming that one was able to take on two-to-three times the work of a standard pusher fleet, that extra money would go straight to the bottom line, which certainly influences future purchasing decisions. The other reason, salt savings, is cited just as often. Documented savings of 50 per cent or more is the norm and easily pays for an Arctic Sectional pusher. Many firms seeking outside financing have been able to document their ROI performance and thus pursue their growth objectives with positive results. Strait’s own snow contracting business provided the first example of the

possibilities for massive growth with his Arctic Sectional pusher. Like anyone else, he must buy his pushers from his sister company, Arctic Snow and Ice Products, Inc. and justify his purchases with his bank. He has grown from a small-to-medium snow contractor barely surviving the low snow years to North America’s largest commercial snow contractor with a fleet of over 450 pieces of construction equipment (that he owns) and a workforce of over 1,200 during the peak season. He has also provided evidence of reduced slip and fall claims due to the effectiveness of the pusher and has reduced his insurance premiums as a result. In the last 10 years, small-to-medium landscapers have been able to grow substantial snow businesses with construction machines and Arctic Sectional snow pushers. We spoke to firms that had grown from just a few to anywhere from 70 to 300 machines (purchased, rented, or a combination of both) using Arctic Sectionals. They are enjoying excellent relationships with their banks and they are seeing their assets paid off at accelerated rates. Furthermore, they were able to eliminate aging as an issue since the Arctic Sectionals can be maintained indefinitely. To this day, nearly every Arctic Sectional pusher ever produced is still operating, and the future for companies who wish to grow their snow business with construction equipment and Arctic Sectional SnoPushers™ is bright. Olivia Roy is a bilingual freelance writer for U.S. and Canadian business clients. ■ 17


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