From Salt Shortage to Spray Tank: Rembrandt Landscaping's Liquid De-Icing Story
Episode notes
On this episode of the Liquid Network Podcast, Antonio sits down with Jay Price, co-owner of Rembrandt Landscaping in Milton, Ontario. Rembrandt has been a family run maintenance business since 1985, and Jay and his mother have run it together for the past twenty years.
Jay walks through how a salt shortage six or seven years ago pushed him to start researching liquid de-icing, what it looked like to jump in with both feet and run into early setbacks, and how Rembrandt is now building a real hybrid program that pre-sprays before storms and finishes with rock salt.
He also breaks down the real cost comparison between salt and liquid equipment, what he wishes he'd believed sooner, and where Rembrandt is headed this winter.
What You'll Learn
- How a salt shortage six or seven years ago sent Jay to a SIMA trade show in Cleveland to start researching liquid de-icing
- Why Rembrandt's first attempt at going all in on liquid didn't stick, and what changed the second time around
- How client reactions shift from confusion (why is there brown liquid on my parking lot) to full buy-in once they see it work
- The real cost comparison between loading a salt truck and running a liquid sprayer, including what corrosion and repairs actually cost each side
- Why Jay calls patience the biggest lesson of the whole process
- What a realistic hybrid program (pre-spray plus post-treatment salt) looks like day to day
- How this year's salt price swing (roughly $85 a ton to $125 to $150 a ton) is shaping Rembrandt's planning for winter
00:00 Intro and welcome to Jay Price, Rembrandt Landscaping 00:52 About Rembrandt: family owned since 1985, maintenance focused
01:37 What sparked Rembrandt's move into liquids: the salt shortage
02:45 Rembrandt's liquids journey from day one to today
04:05 Are clients asking about environmental impact yet
04:48 How client buy-in has grown over time
06:25 Pre-spray versus post-treatment: building a hybrid program
08:12 The real cost comparison: loading salt versus running a sprayer
09:38 Jay's advice to a contractor just getting into liquids: be patient
11:12 Addressing the "snake oil" skeptics 12:12 What's next for Rembrandt's winter program
13:50 Salt shortages, pricing, and whether this is the new normal
15:53 Final thoughts: liquids as an industry wide responsibility
16:25 The Liquid Network and Eco Solutions' fill stations
Jay Price is co-owner of Rembrandt Landscaping, a family run commercial and industrial maintenance company based in Milton, Ontario, in business since 1985. Jay and his mother have run the business together for the past twenty years. Rembrandt handles summer and winter maintenance for commercial and industrial clients, with some summer construction work as well.
Links The Liquid Network: theliquidnetwork.ca
Rembrandt Landscaping: rembrandtlandscaping.ca