For those paying attention to the price of ice melt, you may be getting a touch of sticker shock.

 

Why the higher prices, as compared to last year? Well, that's a two part answer.

 

No one in the northeast will forget the winter we had last year.  The snow fell on so many occasions, the country ran out of ways to melt the ice.

 

Because of last year, the calcium industry was never able to replenish the pipeline with new product.  It also didn't help that most of the calcium used in ice melt is mined in North Michigan and last year's winter enjoyed a polar vortex, slowing the mining operation to a crawl.

 

Lastly, calcium is used in natural gas fracking and selling to that industry is bringing in much stronger profits.

 

Meanwhile, magnesium, which is mined in Israel, is also having trouble keeping up with demand. 

 

For those of you who prefer using rock salt, you're finding it even harder to keep the budget in check due to Morton and International Salt merging their operations.  

 

To add salt to the wound, Cargill, another salt producer, closed one of its facilities due to a problem, thus reducing production even more.

 

Our advice, stock up.  Calcium mix and rock salt have very long shelf lives and it's better to have too much than slippery sidewalks and parking lots.

His product knowledge and ability to understand his customers' needs make Richard a perfect fit for our growing business.

We welcome Richard and his plethora of knowledge.

The Instapak family includes just about every product for every budget. Unfortunately, there are companies who ship too many products for InstaPak Quick, but not enough for a full blown bagging system.

To fill that void, Sealed Air recently launched Instapak Simple, a low cost machine with just enough foam to fill the needs of those who need a bit more