Building Your Own Brine (and When Not To) | Ryan Quigley

Ryan Quigley wears two hats in Ontario's snow industry. He and his wife started their own landscaping business in 2008, joined The Gardener franchise in 2014, and added liquid de-icing to their operation in 2018, building their own brine maker from scratch. A few years later, after struggling to find good liquid suppliers near Peterborough, he started Storm Solutions Plus, now the exclusive Canadian dealer for VSI by Boss liquid de-icing equipment. In this episode, Antonio and Ryan talk through what it actually takes to build a liquid program from nothing: buying versus making your own brine, why The Gardener now runs 70-75% liquid, the generational shift in why contractors are making the switch, and what Ryan would tell someone starting today.

What You'll Learn

• How a landscaping business that started in 2008 grew into a liquid de-icing operation running 70-75% liquid, with a goal of 80%
• The real tradeoffs between buying brine from a known supplier versus building and running your own brine maker
• What VSI by Boss equipment and Metal Pless plow blades bring to a liquid program
• Why Ryan sees salt shortages and pricing pressure building again heading into this season
• The generational divide Ryan's noticed in why contractors are moving to liquid: financial pressure and shortages for longer-tenured operators, ROI and environmental concerns for the newer generation
• Why building your own DIY sprayer setup can get you started, but has a ceiling
• What Ryan would tell a contractor considering liquid for the first time

Timestamps

• 0:00 — Welcome and guest intro (Ryan's dual role: contractor and supplier)
• 1:09 — Ryan's path: from automotive to snow contracting, joining The Gardener in 2014
• 2:12 — Why he started Storm Solutions Plus
• 4:22 — Buying brine versus making your own
• 5:34 — The real key to a smooth start in liquids
• 6:46 — Inside VSI by Boss and what Storm Solutions Plus supplies
• 7:47 — Salt shortages and rising demand for liquid this season
• 9:28 — The Gardener's liquid mix: 70-75% and climbing
• 10:39 — Anti-icing, de-icing, and where granular still fits
• 11:27 — The hybrid approach: adding liquid without ditching your salt spreader
• 14:54 — What's really driving contractors to liquid
• 17:29 — Liquid vs. granular: application time compared
• 19:10 — Ryan's own DIY brine-making origin story
• 20:40 — What Ryan would tell a contractor starting today
• 21:27 — Why Antonio built the Liquid Network

Guest Bio

Ryan Quigley wears two hats in Ontario's snow and ice industry. He and his wife started their own landscaping business in 2008 (Ryan joined full-time in 2009), and joined The Gardener franchise in March 2014, growing into commercial snow and ice work the same year. The Gardener added liquid de-icing to its arsenal in 2018 and now serves a mix of residential, commercial, and office properties, including a local hospital, out of the Peterborough area. A few years ago, after finding it hard to source good liquid products and support locally, Ryan started Storm Solutions Plus, now the exclusive Canadian dealer for VSI by Boss liquid de-icing equipment and a dealer for Metal Pless plow blades.

Links

• Learn more about the Liquid Network: theliquidnetwork.ca