Reel Neet Erosion Control

Erosion control offers a range of benefits, including environmental advantages, the protection of site assets, reduced maintenance costs, downtime, construction delays and water treatment costs, as well as basic aesthetical value. Based in the southeastern U.S., Reel Neet Erosion Control (Reel Neet) has been delivering all of these benefits and more since the early 1990s. The family-owned and -operated company offers sediment basin water treatment, erosion and sediment control, hydro seeding, sod, seeding and strawing, pipeline services and environmentally friendly land-clearing.

From a Long Shot to the Real Deal

Reel Neet was one of the first companies in northern Mississippi to establish erosion control services and land remediation, but the company didn’t start off on a serious note. “The idea for their own business started out as a joke between my father, Bobby Thomas, and his partner, Bobby Pugh,” reveals Blake Thomas, project manager and senior estimator for Reel Neet. “The two began cutting grass for a friend and they started to realize they actually had something real going for them.”

The pair set out with a lawn mower, edger and a weed eater to start a new and improved lawn care business in 1992. “Things started picking up,” recounts Blake. “They began doing commercial mowing, bush hogging and minor sodding and landscaping at first. Eventually, they started the erosion control portion of the company, because there was nobody in this area doing it.”

Expansion and New Markets

As the business began to take off, the two Bobby’s started installing silt fencing and learned to get more involved in the industry. “They started going to International Erosion Control Association [IECA] conventions where they learned different tactics,” shares Blake. “Our name began to grow and at one point, we were the No. 1 erosion control contractor in northern Mississippi.”

Today, Reel Neet maintains its relationship with IECA. The nonprofit, member-only organization offers education, resource information and business opportunities for professionals in the erosion and sediment control industry. With more than 2,500 members in over 30 countries and 22 fields of professional practice, IECA’s diverse membership supplies a network of specialists capable of solving a range of problems brought on by soil erosion and sediment by products.

Through industry relationships, Reel Neet continued to grow through the early 2000s, venturing into silt fencing and various inlet protection products. In 2009, the company moved toward the energy corridor not far from its Southaven, Miss., facility.

Reel Neet worked on the Kinder Morgan MEP pipeline spanning from Oklahoma to Alabama. “This marked a new era for the company,” notes Blake. “Reel Neet did a 12-mile reclamation of the Kinder Morgan MEP pipeline in Mississippi and we now offer earth work and environmental restoration for the pipeline industry.”

The team at Reel Neet now serves the commercial, industrial and residential markets, providing experienced service. “Everyone with a small tractor thinks they can plow in a silt fence, but it’s much more complicated than that,” explains Blake. “Our bread and butter is still erosion control, but we’ve expanded our services to include: hydro seeding, sodding, landscaping, irrigation, land clearing, dirt work and drainage and sewer piping. Now, we’ll do anything to keep the doors open.”

Digging Deep and Pulling Through

Blake admits times have been tough for Reel Neet. “We’ve moved more into the residential market, because the commercial sector has been slow,” he reveals. “At times, we’ve cut back hours and had to park certain equipment. As far as materials go, we only keep what we need and order more when we know we’re going to use it.”

Despite the impact from the sluggish economy, Reel Neet has managed to land numerous significant projects over the last few years. “We were the main erosion control contractor on the I-240 expansion project in Memphis,” notes Blake.

In 2009, just as the recession hit home the hardest, Blake says Reel Neet landed an especially important job. “The pipeline work in central Mississippi really helped us,” he reveals. “We hauled in a bunch of equipment and packed dirt back into place. We also performed some hydro seeding with flex terra.”

Blake, who worked his way up through Reel Neet from a shovel to a weed eater and a push mower, says the fact that the company has pulled through brings him great pride. “I’ve helped build this company,” he imparts. “I’ve seen good times and bad times but we have set the bar for erosion control in this region and I feel proud to be able to look back and say we did that and we did it right.”

As the second-generation owner, Blake is preparing to fill his father’s shoes and keep Reel Neet pushing forward. Since 1992, family-owned and -operated Reel Neet Erosion Control has reclaimed, remediated, cleared and built its way up to a well-established position in the industry.