Ice River Springs
A clear Approach To Pest Control Achieves Award-Winning Results
Water: clean, clear, thirst-quenching – and bottled. Globally, the bottled water market is a more than $85 million enterprise. Canadian-based Ice River Springs is a significant player in that market with eight North American locations – including the company’s Kentland, Ind. facility.
As part of Ice River Springs’ award-winning quality assurance program, it employs Orkin’s Gold Medal™ Protection at all four of its U.S. plants. Due to a deeply developed partnership, frequent communication and an overall commitment to excellence, the Ice River Springs’ Kentland facility and their local Orkin Commercial Services team won a Gold Medal™ IPM Partner Award, presented by Orkin, LLC, The IPM Institute of North America and NSF.
To learn more about the award-winning partnership, we spoke with Tommy DeFoor, plant manager, and Brenda Thompson, quality assurance lead, at Ice River Springs Kentland. Here is an edited transcription of that interview.
Why is Ice River Springs deserving of the Gold Medal IPM Partner Award?
“The foundation of our Gold Medal™ program is our relationship with our Orkin pest specialist,” says DeFoor. “The communication and the way we work together to keep the program solid and improving is the key to our partnership. What we appreciate about our pest specialist is that he’s invested in the success of our business. It’s not about status quo; he wants to help us improve, and that means a lot to us.”
Why is IPM so critical to Ice River Springs’s business?
“We’re committed to being the best. IPM is a part of our sanitation program and our goals to keep the plant clean and pest free,” says DeFoor.
“Ice River Springs is incredibly eco-minded,” added Thompson. “Gold Medal™ and its preventive approach is key to meeting our corporate standards.”
How does each partner contribute to the pest management efforts at the facility?
“Everyone from our quality team participates in the Gold Medal™ IPM program,” notes Thompson. “If anything out of the ordinary is spotted, they fill out a pest sighting memo and put it in the Gold Medal™ workstation where our Pros checks in when he arrives. For repairs, we put in work orders with our maintenance group.”
Thompson continues, “Our pest specialist is here every two weeks for a comprehensive service, and we meet every time he’s here. He thoroughly covers the facility and provides a detailed report and any recommendations for improvement. In between visits, I have access to him via e-mail and cell phone if emergency issues arise.”
What results has your award-winning partnership achieved?
“Our results speak for themselves. Most importantly, we don’t have any issues with pests in our plant!” says DeFoor. “That really says a lot about our program. We’re located in the middle of corn fields and bean fields, so there’s a lot of external pest pressure. Our pest specialist is very candid with us, and he never hesitates to point out cracks that need caulking or leaks that we’ve missed.”
Thompson adds, “Orkin tailors our IPM program to limit access for pests that might be attracted to the facility. At their suggestion, we installed door sweeps and window screens. When we installed fly lights as a preventive measure, our Orkin team helped us with the number of units needed and the most effective placement.”