Editor Mike Zawacki illustrates the importance of salt storage with this example:

Paul Tucker’s snow removal company learned its lesson. Burned by salt shortages and escalating material costs in the past, Tucker, the general manager at Snowmen in Stilwell, Kan., says this past off-season his company invested in a gigantic storage facility that could hold 12,000 tons of salt, which he purports is the largest such facility in the Midwest. Needless to say, the snow removal firm was prepared for this past winter.

"Building this facility was strategic for us because now we can go into next winter (2009-10) without having to buy another pound of salt and never run out," he says. Now we don’t have to be at the mercy of the mines or the truckers. Plus, I’m able to negotiate my prices for next winter early, which will cost me less, too."