Monthly Professionals Update
December 2017
In This Issue
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As we wrap up another successful year, we want to send you our sincere thanks for being our customer.     
 
Your loyalty has helped us build a locally-managed company focused on the needs of professionals like you.   We pledge to keep improving with new products, services and ideas that can help you be even more successful.  
 
If you have ideas on how we can better serve you, please share them with our team members or simply "reply" to this email.
 
We are very optimistic about the overall market in 2018.  We look forward to working with you more in the months ahead. 
 
We appreciate your business.
 
Best wishes for a safe and relaxing holiday season. 
 
The Team at CPS Distributors  
 
Invest in your future by thinking forward this snow season. After you've optimized your snow maintenance contracts, trained your staff, carefully selected storm day routes, and prepared fleet vehicles it's time to shift your focus toward building valuable, long-lasting relationships with your customers.
 
 
Schedule some time for a re-cap of 2017 season and to start preparing for a robust sales year in 2018.
    
Here are four actions to take now to be better prepared:
 
1) Review the season.  Determine what went well and what could use improvement.  A good tool to help you understand your current situation is a SWOT analysis.    SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  Gather your team in front of a white board or flip chart and work together on your company's list for each of these categories.   You will quickly see where you excel and where you have opportunities to take your company to a new level.
 
2)  Identify your winter action list.   Use your SWOT lists to determine things you need to work on over the winter months.   Whether it's recruiting better employees, adding new equipment, expanding into new services, or other critical actions, you need to identify those big projects that will make a difference.
 
3)  Set winter project timelines.   Commit to a calendar and due-dates for each of your projects.  The sooner you start working on them, the better chance they can be completed before your busy season resumes.  Faced with "plenty of time", there's a tendency to procrastinate.  Don't fall into that trap!
 
4)  Prepare your 2018 marketing plan.   The winter months are a great time to build your marketing campaigns for the next season.   Get materials ready and "in the can" so you can implement them immediately during the next year.  Most contractors miss out on marketing because they don't get it planned before the deluge of customer calls and requests.   
 
Please Note Our Holiday Schedule

CPS will be closed on Monday December 25th and Monday January 1, 2018 to allow our team members to spend time with family and friends.
 
Enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday season. 
 
 
  

There's still time left to get those holiday jobs installed.  We can help!  
 
CPS offers full lines of LED lights, bulbs and retro-fit LED lamps, greenery and pre-lit greenery, large displays and various accessories, such as clips, wire and plugs.   
 
We invite contractors, municipalities, event venues and other organizations to learn more about our products and the energy savings associated with LED technology.   
 
Contact your CPS territory salesperson or your local branch personnel about pro-grade holiday lighting products from American Lighting.

ORDER NOW FOR BEST SELECTION! 
 

Stop by and say hello to the team from CPS at the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Association Conference at the Crowne Plaza DIA in Denver on December 6th & 7th.
 
This year we will be showcasing Rain Bird Golf, Kifco water Reels and many new items for 2018.   See what's new for the coming season!
 


How do you take advantage of downtime during the winter months?  Training is an important goal.  CPS makes it easy with both in-person and on-line training.  
  
Save the time and effort of creating your own curriculum by taking advantage of our online training portal. With over 75 courses from the industry's leading experts, we have knowledge for both beginning and seasoned employees.
  
Our portal is FREE through the end of the year.
(a $35.00 per person value!)   
  
 
Shown_Traditional Path15478CBR
Shown: Traditional Path 15478CBR
Kichler offers more landscape products in our Centennial Brass finish on our 12V fixtures. The centennial brass finish offers a natural vintage look with brown and gold undertones that beautifully patina over time. The finish is offered on many of our Kichler landscape lighting products -- so you can create your ideal lighting layout using accent, path, deck, wall-wash and in-ground fixtures.
 
Benefits for you ...
  • Available in 2700K or 3000K for design flexibility
  • High lumens per watt and total lumen output for beautiful end effect
  • Optional accessories allow you to customize your installation
  • Makes a perfect pairing with the Kichler 12V LED lamps
  • 10-year warranty
And your customers.
  • On-trend finish features a brushed look that naturally patinas over time
  • The ideal finish to complement homes with traditional and transitional architecture
  • Solid, thick-walled cast brass construction withstands outdoor abuse
 
 
Atlantic is Changing the Game with Their New WaterWall Spillways        
 
Create water walls and curtains easier than ever before with the newest Atlantic hardscape product, the WaterWall Spillway.  
 
Water walls are trending for their strong aesthetic impact, but until now contractors needed to fabricate troughs, make manifolds, balance flow, then hide the plumbing while still providing access for air circulation and maintenance. Atlantic has eliminated all the complexity with its new WaterWall Spillway.  
 
With a single female threaded inlet at center bottom that accepts 1½" Sch40 PVC, the closed, internally baffled Spillway is designed to seal to the top of a wood-framed wall, typically 2x4, avoiding trapped humidity, mold and mildew. A waterproof liner, typically EPDM, covers the framing and hangs down into the reservoir, then backer board is attached over the liner, leaving up to 2" of space for decorative fascia treatment, usually tile or stone. The attractive brushed steel or copper finish of the Spillway remains visible at the top of the wall, no ugly plumbing to hide. 24" in width, Spillways are made of tough 316 stainless steel to handle even chlorinated and salt water, and can be placed side by side to create water walls and curtains of any width in 2-foot increments.
3 Steps to Calculating Landscape Drainage Needs
 
By following the steps outlined in this article, you will be able to determine the amount of water draining from your customer's property and ways that this water can be efficiently stored.
 
Step 1: Calculate Stormwater Runoff using the Rational Method: Q = C x I x A where
  • Q = Storm Water Runoff (in cubic feet per second)
  • C = Coefficient of Runoff
  • I = Rainfall Intensity (in inches per hour)
  • A = Area of Drainage Zone (in acres)
Draw a sketch of the customer's yard to gather the area measurements. Examine the property to determine where and how much water is draining.

Step 2:  Calculate the volume of water being stored
Each municipality has their specific rules when it comes to determining how much water can be drained off of a property. A method that is commonly used is called the First Flush rule  (check your local codes).

The First Flush rule states that the first 15 minutes (or other duration determined by your municipality) of water from a storm must be stored on your property. Any water after that first 15 minutes can be discharged off your property.

Step 3: Determine how to store runoff
There are two ways that this water can be stored: 1) above ground in retention and detention ponds and 2) Below ground in dry wells, french drains, etc.

The NDS Flo-Well and Ezflow are two products that can help you efficiently store your runoff.
Click here for a complete step by step guide on How to Calculate Drainage.
 
In a six part video series, NDS' resident civil engineer, Dr. Drainage, walks you through how to calculate runoff, store runoff, size a catch basin and determine what drain pipe to use. Click here to view the entire series.  
 
In addition to these videos, NDS has created a series of online calculators that make it easy for contractors to plug in information from their job site and it helps you calculate drainage for your customer's dry well, French drain, and drain pipe.
 
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