Focus on the Customer

By Kris Polly

Fratco has been in the pipe business for well over 100 years, but it has done an excellent job of keeping current with the times. With its earliest roots in clay pipe, the company rapidly transitioned to plastic in the 1960s, and today, it offers corrugated polyolefin pipe products that are perfect for gravity applications. Most recently, the company has expanded into the western irrigation market and concurrently introduced new products, such as watertight stainless-steel flow control structures that can be used with enclosed pipe. But as President Chris Overmyer explains, Fratco is far from expanding just for the sake of expansion. He’s focused on maintaining excellent quality and customer service, convinced that “if we’re the best at what we do today, the right growth opportunities will show up tomorrow.”

Aperture is a company that uses satellite-based radar to provide detailed soil moisture maps of every part of a farmer’s field. With daily maps and data that can be plugged straight into farmers’ existing management software, it aims to provide all the information necessary to make full use of advanced irrigation systems’ capabilities. We speak both with Aperture Founder and CEO Zach Kabelac and with Steve Hansen, a North Dakota farmer who is taking part in Aperture’s beta testing and is impressed with what he sees.

Israel-based Netafim is known worldwide for the drip irrigation technology it helped pioneer. In the United States, it’s helping farmers make the switchover to more efficient irrigation systems through a novel program: an Ag Modernization Fund that pools capital from the private sector to finance modernization projects. By reducing agricultural water use, these private companies improve their corporate water footprints. Mike Hemman, the president of Netafim North America, tells us more.

Watertronics is one of the largest pumping system suppliers in the world and provides systems for irrigation and municipal use. In September 2025, the company hosted a 1‑day training and factory tour fly-in to give partners and prospective clients a closer view of its capabilities. In our conversation with Robby Milton, the company’s technical sales, product, and market development manager, and three of the tour participants, we learn more about the benefits of the event and highlight reasons why readers may want to attend Watertronics’ next fly-in, which will be on April 1.

Finally, we speak with Mark Miller, the director of the environment and natural resources practice group at the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a nonprofit law firm that represents individuals in disputes with local, state, and federal governments and has had considerable success at the level of the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Miller explains the establishment of the new practice group he heads and tells us about its relevance to irrigators.

The companies we feature this month share a focus on the customer and end user. Fratco, known for customer service, wants to ensure that its expansion serves its solid, relationship-based business model; Aperture is working closely with farmers as it brings its product to maturity; Netafim is working to enable customers to upgrade their systems; Watertronics brings potential customers to its facilities to witness the creation of custom-built systems; and PLF is focused on fighting for the rights of the “little guy.” A focus of this type is a key to success, and as long as it is maintained, irrigated agriculture will go from strength to strength

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and the president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.