On the Record - Advice from John Cotton, B&G Expert

This month Qspray.com is pleased to interview John Cotton of B&G Equipment. John is a 40 year industry expert who has forgotten more about B&G Sprayers than any 10 people have ever known. Here is our interview:

Tell us a little about your background and your career?

I was born in the Midwest and began my sales career in 1975 working for Carmel Chemical Corporation, a company owned by Curtis Dyna Products. I Joined B&G Equipment in 1980 as west coast manager. I have continued working with B&G through many stages of my career. My last career move was to rejoin them and represent them on the West Coast.

What is your current role with B&G?

I am currently the Western Regional Technical Advisor and sales representative.

What is the craziest thing you have ever seen done with a B&G sprayer?

I really don’t have a particular incident that I recall. I did have a customer call me wanting to purchase a stainless steel B&G 1 Gallon Sprayer to carry his potable water in while camping. He did not trust plastic and wanted something that would last a long time. Really $325.00 to transport water. Now that’s crazy.

What advice do you have for professionals using a B&G Sprayer?

The most important things I can recommend is rinsing your B&G at the end of each day, including the bleed down of the hose and valve. Change your spray tip 3-4 times a year to ensure correct, economical chemical application.

Is there a product that B&G offers that you feel many PCO’s would benefit from if they were more familiar with it?

The Multi Dose Bait Gun, the AccuSpray, and the PAS Portable Aerosol Unit. All are designed for IPM, are competitively priced, and will benefit the PMP in growing their business and making it more profitable. 

What does B&G’s acquisition of Curtis DynaFog mean for PCOs and for the industry?

This is a marriage of two long time suppliers to the Industry. Both companies will benefit from the expertise each brings to the table. B&G will combine its manufacturing expertise with the many years of Curtis Dyna Products knowledge of fogging applicators to improve and expand the product offering of both companies to existing distribution.

Anything else you would like to add?

B&G prides itself in the loyalty to PMP’s as well as supporting the B&G distributors (like Qspray.com) who sell and represent the products. B&G strongly believes in their distributor network, and the value of having loyal distributors.

I was fortunate to have been hired by both company founders (William Brehm of B&G & Russel Curtis of Curtis Dyna). My being able to continue to sell their products after 40 years in the industry, is something many will never know or experience. I have been very fortunate in my career to be mentored by so many great names of the industry. I would never trade these experiences for any other opportunity.

Editor's note:  John thanks for taking the time for this interview and thanks for your many years of service and support to our industry - Andrew Greess