After 23 years of being a pharmaceutical salesman, U.P. native John Coyne lost his job. But that was okay. Coyne had a plan.
He had already been installing lawn irrigation systems on the side for 17 of those years. Coyne, who has lived in Marquette for 30 years, turned his complete attention to successfully running his own irrigation contracting company,
U.P. Irrigation, full-time. While operating his business, Coyne actively searched for ways to improve the irrigation systems that he installed as a professional.
Four years later, the 51-year-old entrepreneur has created a new product line, called
Auto Rain Lawn Gear. After realizing there was a gap in the market for irrigation systems for the do-it-yourself homeowner, Coyne developed self-draining kits that are designed to be easily installed.
The ARLG kits allow homeowners to save money by using their simple, step-by-step methods of installation. Coyne says the kits can save up to 70 percent over contractors. The website is one way to explore Coyne's invention, providing not only convenient ordering options, but also instructional video showing an actual installation with an actual product.
The kits are designed for homeowners who aren't comfortable with complicated home improvement projects or installations. Even attaching and detaching the system for winter is as easy as connecting it to an outside spigot. "If you can use a shovel and you can turn a screwdriver then you can do this." Coyne says.
The physical requirements to run the kits are pretty low and are easily met in most homes. A homeowner only needs to have a spigot that can produce at least five gallons per minute to use an ARLG kit. You can figure out if there's enough pressure easily at home, by placing a 5-gallon bucket under the spigot and checking to see that the bucket fills in less than a minute when all other water sources are shut off. Or, a simple pressure meter that screws onto the spigot can do the same test, but Coyne says 95 percent of homes have enough pressure to operate an ARLG system.
Auto Rain Lawn Gear also offers other lawn irrigation products that can be added onto their systems like, timers or backflow preventers. The ARLG system comes in six different D.I.Y. kits that range from an inexpensive, small, one-zone kit that covers 800 square feet to large, three-zone kits that cover as much as 25,500 square feet.
As for where you can find the product locally, the number of locations is growing rapidly. Coyne had approached several distributors, and got his first bite when the Marquette Lowe's home improvement store placed the first bulky kits on their shelves in June 2009. Coyne didn't see success right away with zero sales that year. He then attended some irrigation seminars that improved his marketing and packaging. After redesigning the packaging and expanding the line of his product, Coyne started a separate company called Auto Rain Lawn Gear, LLC to manage the D.I.Y. kits in early 2010. Then Coyne invested in ads in Family Handyman magazine and the kits started selling.
Sales in 2010 prompted Lowe's to make plans for expansion. In 2011 the ARLG kits will be carried in all of their Michigan and Wisconsin stores. Coyne's goal is to be placed in all of Lowe's stores nationwide within the next five years. Other home and garden centers across the central U.P. will carry the irrigation kits as well. Coyne has made contact with Home Depot and Tractor Supply as well as other chains like True Value and Ace Hardware, which are part of his target markets for expansion. The kits are made in a production facility in Milwaukee that can produce one hundred kits daily and has the option to be able to increase its output to 300 kits per day if needed.
Advertisements also are being placed on local NBC, ABC, FOX and CBS affiliates to get the product more exposure to viewers in the central U.P.
The possibilities for expansion are there, and Coyne hopes this self-employed, second act of his career will hold many more possibilities. "I'm excited to be at this stage in my business." Coyne says. It's an impressive climb for a man who was facing unemployment only a few years ago.
Azrael D. Morherudaen is a freelance writer who recently returned to Upper Michigan. He is a Texas hold-em enthusiast that enjoys spending time with his wife. You can contact him via email.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.