Hi everyone
As you all may have guessed there in not much going on in our business with all the snow on the ground and temperatures still around the zero mark. We cannot find the floor, the concrete won’t set properly, and trying to clean up tree works just leaves clients’ gardens in a state for when the snow thaws. Muddy paths and missed twigs, sawdust and other debris are all common items left behind in the snow.
We did try to get some paving done for a client just before Christmas but even though the work was covered, frost proofer used, and all the other precautions taken, we still had a problem with blown pointing. This will of course all be done again at our cost in order to maintain the standards that all Arbworx clients enjoy but it is disheartening to see all the hard work done in the cold rewarded with the need for a repeat performance! Such is life….
On another note….
We are currently looking to replace our first, and my personal favourite truck of the business.
” Chugga” the crew cab transit as it has been affectionately known is being traded in for a much newer model. Our friends at Maxmatt are currently looking for a reliable replacement for it.
It is funny but when I think back to the early days of Arbworx I guess that Chugga has moved approximately half a million pounds worth of materials and waste for Arbworx in its history with us. And it still runs like a dream even if it looks like Captain Jack Sparrow’s favourite frigate! I will be sad to see it go.
We will soon be launching the new livery for our trucks and the re-brand for Arbworx will be complete. It has taken a while to get all the elements together including the website, cards, liveries and staff uniforms and still managing to stave off the recession but we have weathered the storm and I am personally looking forward to the new season and the challenges that it will bring. Ben and Richard are keen to start on expanding their portfolios for design work and building on the good relationships that were forged in the hard times last year with budgets the size of matchboxes and gardens the size of football pitches.
They did well to make the pennies go as far as they did, and we had many happy customers to back up their works and instill confidence in their design & build to drive them on to achieving even better things. They will be hard to keep up with this year and as long as budgets allow they will be at the forefront of D.& B. garden landscaping in Sussex this year. Ben is already looking at applying for design competitions and Chelsea is in his sights for the not too distant future.
On the arboreal side of things I have been hearing tales of Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora ramorum) coming to our part of the country. This is a particularly nasty pathogen that effectively ‘clogs’ the veins of the tree it has infected. There is quite a lot of info on the net relating to this and I would urge all readers, especially tree surgeons and other related industry workers, to familiarise themselves with the pathogen in order that its spread can be minimised by our industry practices and actions. If we all are equipped to identify and if possible help check its spread then some the problems of the 1970’s Dutch Elm disease breakout may be avoided.
If you want to know whats happening with the day to day side of our landscaping business you can follow us on Twitter. I do regular updates and take pictures through the day so our clients can watch the progress of their works without having to take time off work. Handy eh!
I think that this is the way all things are going and so am looking to do my part in keeping abreast of all the media and marketing side of the business to compliment my teams skills and flare in the garden.
Enjoy the rest of the snow and I look forward to seeing you in the garden getting busy with the aftermath. Hopefully not too much to clear up….and if so ……….Give us a call, we are glad to help!
Jon Lee ND arb
General Manager
Arbworx Ltd