The History of Alpenglow Sprinkler

Alpenglow Sprinkler and Landscaping Inc. was started in June of 1985 when Brad and his wife Michelle moved to Fort Collins after a four-and-a-half-year stint in the Roaring Fork Valley. There Brad learned the irrigation trade installing and servicing sprinkler systems from Glenwood Springs to Aspen, CO. During the off season, he pursued his true passion of skiing while working as a lift operator and bus driver for the Aspen Highlands Skiing Corporation. Although the young couple moved to Fort Collins in April of 1985, Brad decided to do some research to become better prepared to enter the Fort Collins irrigation market. He met with several sprinkler designers and installers that helped guide him to the proper resources to get better acquainted with water hydraulics. He also attended whatever seminars the local distributors were offering to become familiar with friction loss charts, sprinkler performance charts and to learn what products worked best in which situations.

After becoming incorporated in June of 1985, Brad set out to find customers. He had flyers printed up at Kinko's (years before they were bought out by FedEx), and went door to door passing them out. The first customers to "bite" were Mr. And Mrs. William Fry of 421 W. Mountain Avenue. Brad hand trenched the entire yard and hand bored under the numerous walkways to install the Fry's three-zone system for approximately $500. During the installation, Brad had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Fry's stories of working on the railroad from New Mexico to Wyoming as the 90-year-old supervised the installation from the front steps of his small brick home. The turnoff valve the plumber had installed in the cellar was a restrictive globe valve that kept the system from performing optimally until it was changed out to a full port valve at Brad's request. After the turnoff valve was replaced, the manual system watered the postage size front and side yards as it was meant to. That was the last sprinkler Brad installed without the help of a motorized trencher, for obvious reasons!

A year or two later Brad hired a crew member and soon began to install approximately ten systems per year, providing limited landscaping services to help fill in during the slow times. By the early 1990's Brad was running a crew of 4 to 6 crew members and was installing sprinkler installations (and many times full landscape installations) in unestablished yards, as well as performing any associated sprinkler service work. In 1994 Alpenglow became one of the first recipients of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) "Excellence in Landscape" award in Irrigation. This was awarded for the sprinkler system Alpenglow installed at the residence of the current Mayor of Fort Collins, Bob Winokur, replacing the existing antiquated system with one that improved the overall health of the overly large lawn while reducing water usage by 33%. It was around the same time that Brad became one of the first Certified Landscape Technicians (CLT) in Irrigation, the test being administered by the ALCC at the time.

About five years later Matt Whitehead came to Alpenglow looking for a job in the green industry hoping to expand his knowledge in the sprinkler and landscape field. With a limited amount of experience, Brad took Matt under his wing and together they increased the number of landscape and sprinkler installations while still maintaining the highest degree of quality workmanship.

Four or five years later, Brad and Matt decided to concentrate on providing cutting edge sprinkler service with attention to detail and water conservation and elected to forgo the landscaping aspect of the business. This way, together with the quality employees they elected to hire, they could strive to become the premier sprinkler company they had envisioned.

In the Spring of 2010 Kris Huber came to work for Alpenglow after working for several years at one of the local landscape and sprinkler contractors in town. Since then, Kris became a CLT in Irrigation along with Conaire Cullen several years later. Together, with the help of several other competent sprinkler technicians, they have been instrumental in assisting Brad with maintaining a high level of service for their customers. Alpenglow Sprinkler is very supportive of its technicians becoming certified in order to maintain a higher level of competence and professionalism, allowing Alpenglow to maintain its association in the City's Certified Landscape Professionals program.

Alpenglow has also been the leading irrigation company in the city promoting the City's rebate program while helping its customers save water. Alpenglow's continually strives to improve its level of service and quality of workmanship in its commitment to all of its clients.