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38 April 2017 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com INDUSTRY NEWS Continued from page 9 are turning to our franchisees to better their lawns," said Jennifer Lemcke, COO of Turf Holdings, Inc., the company that owns the expansion rights for Weed Man USA. Lemcke noted that 2016 revenues surpassed $91 million, a 9.74 percent increase over 2015, and that the franchise has been recognized year after year by both Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines as one of the nation's top franchise investments. Additionally, they just received the Franchise Times Zor Award for being one of 2017's Best Franchises to Buy. She added, "Our existing franchisees account for nearly 75 percent of the new territories we added in 2016. They take pride in being the No. 1 local source for any lawn care needs, and are expanding their territories to bring these communities the high- level care businesses and home owners are seeking." Outside of consumer demand, existing franchisees are adding more trucks to their fleets to take advantage of Weed Man USA's declining royalty fee stream. Through this royalty fee structure the franchisees pay a reduced amount when they add a truck on the road — with three trucks they pay 75 percent of the royalty fee and after four trucks it is reduced to 50 percent of the royalty fee. Another franchise growth driver for Weed Man USA is expansion with independent operators who have added the franchise to their existing business — most often they are lawn care, landscape, pest control or golf course management companies. Many of them purchase a Weed Man USA franchise to diversify revenue streams and ensure the long-term value of their businesses. There are currently 194 franchise agreements across the U.S., all independently owned and operated. Research shows that removing snow under private contract is a $16.8 billion industry On the heels of the biggest winter storm to hit the East Coast, the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) released a research report that indicates that clearing snow and ice (S&I) under private contract is estimated to be a $16.8 billion industry. Not surprisingly, the two factors driving the S&I industry are weather and the overall economy. "While most people are ready for spring and dread a snowstorm in mid-March, snow and ice contractors rely on providing winter weather services as a business that creates jobs and boosts the economy," said Martin B. Tirado, CAE, executive director of SIMA. It is estimated that 110,000 workers comprise the privatized snow and ice industry and of these, 88,000 are sole practitioners. The average operator has been in business 15.4 years and about one-third have more than 20 years of experience. According to Tirado, that matches with the data on SIMA members. The private S&I industry has been growing 3.8% annually, and is expected to continue growing at 3.2% through 2019, which is slightly faster than growth of U.S. GDP of 2.5% per year. New technology trends such as the use of drones, robots that remove snow as it starts falling, and solar technology that prevents roads from freezing may increase the growth of the privatized S&I industry. According to SIMA's research, the residential market captures the majority of the private snow removal business (34%), followed by retail (27%), and industrial (26%). States with the most snowplowing business include New York, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Pennsylvania. The total snowplowing industry employs more than 260,000 workers. Almost 1.3M workers comprise the ground maintenance workers — a larger group that includes many who remove snow and ice — according to SIMA's research. Irrigation Association hosts legislative fly-in Irrigation Association (IA) members visited Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress. These meetings made up day two of the 2017 Water Resources Congressional Summit hosted by the IA in partnership with the National Ground Water Association and Water Quality Association. IA members met with 25 congressional offices to discuss both agriculture and landscape irrigation issues. By sharing their expertise, IA members looked to foster the adoption of efficient irrigation technologies and practices through the farm bill, the WaterSense program and water infrastructure i n v e s t m e n t s . T h e y a l s o d i s c u s s e d c u r r e n t c h a l l e n g e s faced by irrigation companies as they work to promote water-use efficiency. "The Water Resources Congressional Summit is a productive event for all involved," said IA Government and Public Affairs Director John Farner. "With President Trump's focus on infrastructure investments and a busy legislative year already underway, it is critical that those in the water industry have a seat at the table to provide expertise in the production of sound policies affecting our water resources." The summit began on Tuesday, March 7, with a day of meetings between industry leaders and policy experts. Attendees were briefed on the current outlook for the federal budget and appropriations process, tax reform, an infrastructure bill and water resource issues. It is estimated that 110,000 workers comprise the privatized snow and ice industry and of these, 88,000 are sole practitioners.