One of the benefits of working for a company like GMCO is the multitude of magnesium chloride liquid deicers and granular ice melt products that we sell, offering a product to fit every customer needs. It also has given me the opportunity to work closely once again with the customers; helping solve problems, provide product training, and hear firsthand the challenges that face today’s winter maintenance professionals. After many years of working mostly on the development, manufacturing and distribution of performance enhancers and corrosion inhibitors for liquid deicers, it has been fulfilling work to be able to offer so many options to melt snow and ice to keep the roads safe.
In todays fast paced world where people are constantly on the go, the expectation of the driving public is that regardless of the weather conditions, the roads should always be open. Yet, most of the same people would tell you “salt is salt”. That statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. In order to keep up with expectations of the driving public, many advancements have been made in not only the snow and ice melting products, but also in the equipment used to apply them, and the techniques used by today’s winter maintenance professionals to keep the roads open. Long gone are the days of loading a dump truck with granular salt and raising the dump bed to let the salt slide out the back gate. Todays plow trucks use advanced GPS guided equipment with speed control ice melt delivery systems in conjunction with sophisticated Road Weather Information Stations (RWIS) to dial in the right amount of product at the right time. Products like Torch LT, an enhanced magnesium chloride liquid deicer, engineered to work at lower temperatures than traditional rock salt as well as reduce the corrosion rate of traditional chlorides, can help speed up the melting process by penetrating the snowpack and removing the bond it has formed with the road surface. It also gives the plow truck driver the ability to treat the road ahead of a storm and be proactive instead of only reactive. These advancements in liquid snow melt technology have changed the game on how winter maintenance professionals can treat a storm.
GMCO offers many granular ice melt options to fit the specific need of the customer that work at lower temperatures than traditional sodium chloride rock salt. From mined complex chlorides to kiln dried salt designed to quickly attack the snow and ice, to products designed to make brining salt easier on your brine making equipment, GMCO offers a wide spectrum of granular ice melt products. GMCO also provides corrosion inhibited granular salt for those looking for high performance and corrosion reduction. With today's sophisticated salt brining and application equipment, it helps to offer a wide variety of ice melt products to fit our customer’s needs.
As we continue to move forward, the demands placed on today’s winter maintenance professionals are only going to continue to grow, and GMCO Corporation proudly accepts the challenge to provide them with the products needed to meet and exceed those demands. By offering high performance, environmentally friendly liquid and granular snow and ice melting products, GMCO can help improve the level of service the public demands, while reducing the amount of chlorides needed to achieve those results. GMCO Corporation is celebrating its 60th year in business in 2024. With now over 100 hardworking and dedicated employees, it will be exciting to see what the next 60 years can bring!
Rob Greene - Director of Sales