As more farmers are using drones to have crop protection treatments applied on their farm fields, one company is looking to grow their business by seeking new owner-operator partners to expand their services throughout Indiana and much of the Midwest.
“We sell chemicals, sell fertilizers, and we do all the custom applications, and as our company grew, we wanted to figure out how to diversify ourselves away from the competition,” said Chase Gripp with Sweetwater Technologies Powered by Gripp.
They are looking for business partners who want to start their own company and help bring Sweetwater Technologies’ drone application service to more farmers.
“We had the idea to start this partnership process and help people who want to come back to the family farm, but there’s not really a place for them. We want to help our owner-operators grow their business to where they have an income-producing side business where they can work during the times where they’re not needed for planting and harvesting and be able to help contribute back to the farm. This business opportunity gives them that pathway back,” says Gripp.
“The whole idea of the need for young ag professional to diversity their ag professionals to diversity their ag incomes came from my personal experience,” said Gripp. “While it was a very rewarding challenge, I want to use Sweetwater Powered by Gripp platform to provide an affordable and strategic path for the young people who want to call agriculture their full-time profession.”
David Taylor, the VP of Operations with Sweetwater Technologies, says that partners will be given the tools to help them succeed and grow their own business.
“We’ll have training on the drones, as well as our proprietary chemical products and any other product you’d want to spray,” says Taylor. “We’ve got access to every fungicide on the market. We also have a really unique setup for these drones. The starting package includes what we call a brush truck. It has an all-inclusive tank generator and a single drone. You operate that with two guys—including one pilot and then one visual observer. It’s just a super-efficient option out there for those wanting to get into the drone application business.
Hannah Harrell, Strategic Partnership Director with Sweetwater Technologies, says in addition to the training and equipment, their company also provides a great deal of support for their network of partners.
“We also provide the billing, the receiving, the legal help, the sales support, and service support,” says Harrell. “If you have a drone that goes down, we’ll make sure you have another one within the next 24 hours to make sure you’re up and running. We also supply marketing brochures to be able to let each partner start a new income-producing business that allows them to grow from there.”
For more information on becoming an owner-operator partner with Sweetwater Technologies Powered by Gripp, visit SweetwaterTechnologies.com.
Click below to hear C.J. Miller’s full conversation with Chase Gripp, Hannah Harrell, and David Taylor with Sweetwater Technologies at their booth at Commodity Classic in Houston.
Click below to watch an introduction video on Sweetwater Technologies Powered by Gripp hosted by Hannah Harrell.
