Springfield-Branson National Airport Director of Operations Steve Eggers considers NewDeal brand deicer his first line of defense each winter. The airport keeps 10 tons in stock.
The moment the first sign of winter precipitation hits the Springfield-Branson National Airport runway, Director of Operations Steve Eggers rallies the deicing troops.
Armed with the neon blue environmentally friendly product of Hollister-based New Deal Trading LLC, Eggers says the combination sodium format and sodium acetate deicer is his first line of defense.
“It works extremely well in front of storms,” he says, noting the product’s granules shaped like jacks don’t blow off of runways as quickly as ball-shaped deicer. “Throw it on the runway and it prevents build up, or throw it on after and the melt is on. I couldn’t keep the runway clean without it.”
Founded by husband and wife Jeremy Berven and Laura Miao in 2007, New Deal Deicing was born out of a work-related scouting mission. Berven, who then worked for Branson Airport as director of operations, asked Miao to look for lower cost, environmentally-friendly deicers to comply with new Federal Aviation Administration standards. Miao says the company’s NewDeal brand formula – manufactured in China – meets all FAA standards and a business was born.
“There are only four supply companies in North America, only three in the United States, so it’s a very competitive market,” she says. “We knew we could do it.”
The melting business Naturally, New Deal’s first client was Branson Airport.
“We started using New Deal in 2009 and have used it for four winters now,” says Jesse Fosnaugh, Branson airport deputy director of operations and maintenance. “It’s not a bias on our part; New Deal is always the best bidder.”
Utilizing about 10 to 14 metric tons during the course of one snow season, typically October to April, Fosnaugh says the airport buys in bulk, paying $1,600 to $2,200 per ton depending on the delivery size.
Sold in 2,205-pound Super Sacks unloaded via forklift or 55-pound hand-dispersed bags, Miao says New Deal distributed about 550 tons of the carbon-based organic salt NewDeal brand deicer last winter season, depending on weather severity, taking in 2012 revenues of about $1 million.
Distributed through four third-party logistics warehouses, Miao says New Deal deicer was applied at 40 North American airports in 2012, including Des Moines, Iowa, Indanapolis and Salt Lake City.
“We sell across the snow belt – from Portland Ore., to Portland, Maine,” she says, declining to disclose specific distribution locations, citing the competitive market. “How quickly you can get the product to the airport is a competitive edge. We try to have product delivered within 24 to 48 hours of the order.”
Eggers says the Springfield airport is currently in its first contract year with New Deal, but says because of prompt service, the airport plans to sign the company for another.
“We have 10 tons on site at all times,” he says, of the maximum $34,980 current contract. “When we get down to six, we reorder and it never takes more than two days to arrive.”
Mother Nature approved According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the toxicity of deicing and anti-icing chemicals and the biodegradation of propylene or ethylene glycol in surface waters can greatly impact water quality, including significant reduction in dissolved oxygen levels. Reduced DO levels can ultimately kill fish.
“An airport such as Salt Lake was using 600 to 1,000 tons of deicer a year. That can cause a lot of unwanted runoff and unintended environmental effects,” Miao said.
The EPA recommends airports that receive a minimum of one inch, on average, of snowfall annually and conduct at least 10,000 flights annually, use environmentally friendly deicer. The agency estimates that prior to the implementation of the Phase I Storm Water Discharge Permit regulations in 1990, the industry discharged approximately 28 million gallons of deicer annually to surface waters. Because of the best management practices put into place, current discharges have dropped to 21 million gallons per year.
Eggers says finding an environmentally friendly runway deicer was a priority for Springfield during the bidding process.
“We are so close to water supplies that drain into Fantastic Caverns, we have to be careful what we use,” he says. “Everything we put on the ground here ends up in the water somewhere else.”
Miao says the deicer is less corrosive and safer than sodium chloride salt and can be used on sidewalks and streets. New Deal provided deicer for sidewalk use to the city of Eugene, Ore., but Miao said most cities can’t afford the product on a regular basis.
“I would use it at my house if I could,” Eggers says.[[In-content Ad]]
