A Year in Review
By Russ Davis, Arborjet President and COO
2016 was another strong growth year for Arborjet as we continued to help our customers protect our urban and natural forests. New invasive insects are finding their way here and our expanded customer base puts cities in a position to fight back from Maine to Hawaii. Our continued growth has led to the expansion of our technical management and marketing teams, allowing for even greater coverage and support.
In 2016 we introduced Shortstop® to our customers to help manage unwanted plant growth and to reduce the impact of drought on trees. This has been a great product for us as drought hit most of the country last year. These conditions also led to increased use of NutriRoot™ to reduce watering and provide necessary nutrients. NutriRoot and AzaSol™ also led significant growth in our Horticulture line. Organic insect and disease control along with soil amendments such as biochar have changed customers’ minds about the effectiveness of organic solutions. These sales also fueled our new community website; The Dirt on Dirt. Check it out for tips, great photography and to share with other gardeners, landscapers and homeowners.
I am also proud of our ability to continue supporting our industry associations, research community and future stars in our field. We support graduate students, professors and government officials doing research all across the country. In 2016 we continued those efforts as a Diamond sponsor for the Tree Fund and a Roots sponsor for TCIA. Our own Taking Roots scholarship for young people entering the fields of arboriculture, urban horticulture or urban agriculture, has now passed $30,000 in scholarships paid. The owners of Arborjet continue to be very gracious in their re-investments into research, people and our partner organizations.
None of our efforts would be as effective without our great supplier partners and our national distribution network. They provide a great service to help assure we get product where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. As these invasive pests continue to build we continue to lean on them for local support, and in 2016 they delivered.
As we return from the buzz of the holidays, we look back on a year full of positive change and growth for Arborjet, and we look forward to a new year that will hold even more.
