By: Joanne Bednar, Lab and Quality Manager

Mixing pigments together to develop a particular color is as much an art as it is science. Formulating a color for a particular application and desired performance on a specific substrate dramatically increases the challenge in creating the desired product. A company’s technical engineering capabilities will define the quality of color dispersions and performance it can provide each of those markets.

By: Michael Chase, Corporate Counsel, ChromaScape, Inc.

By: Scott Thompson, Vice President Sales and Marketing

Being in business challenges us in many ways. Issues like raw material sourcing, hiring and training good employees, competitor’s actions, etc. are issues we face year after year. The tough economic times we had over the past few years have added even more complexity to successfully running our businesses.

Most of us know what would happen if we sat on a freshly painted park bench or leaned on a freshly painted wall. Coatings, like paints - and also like mulch colorants - need time to dry to “lock onto” the surfaces they are coating. The coatings will adhere to any surface that makes contact with them when they are wet – including the surfaces of droplets of rainwater! Once dry, even if water is later poured on them, the chemical bonds that secure them to a surface remain intact unless chemically broken or physically rubbed off.

By:  George Chase, Chief Executive Officer

In mid-December, Larry Summers, Senior Economic Advisor to President Obama, announced that the most severe recession since the Great Depression is finally over. His proclamation was based on improving job loss numbers and gross domestic product
numbers.

In spite of a 10% unemployment rate, a penchant for insane spending by Congress, and the uncertainty about the Obama political agenda, i.e. Health Care Reform, Cap and Trade, Card Check (the express lane for unionization) etc., the economy is improving.

Click here to download PDF version of George Chase's letter.

By: Michael Chase, Corporate Counsel

By: George Midlik, Midwest Regional Sales Manager

Recently, at a Mulch and Soil Council (MSC) Meeting I attended, there were some interesting topics that could affect your mulch business and the industry as a whole. It seems we have the attention of a few government agencies, both at the state and federal levels.

By: Scott Thompson, Vice President Sales&Marketing

By: Bill Flynn, Equipment Project Coordinator

The safety and well-being of workers is crucial for the productive operation of any business. The safety labels which protect those workers are essential because they are the first alert that there may be a potentially hazardous situation. They are a reminder that can prevent an accident. Understanding them will help the operator when operating and maintaining the equipment.