DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2026--
Weathermatic has named Lex Mason Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, succeeding Mike Mason, who transitions to Chairman of the Board. Lex Mason previously served as President, where he played a central role in reshaping the company from an irrigation equipment manufacturer into a technology partner for the commercial landscape and property management industries.
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Weathermatic, a Telsco Industries company, has operated for more than 80 years as a provider of water management solutions for the commercial landscaping and property management industries. The transition reflects the company's confidence in the direction Lex Mason has helped set and its commitment to the contractor partnerships and technology investments that define its next chapter.
Among Lex Mason's most significant contributions as President was his role in building Weathermatic's Landscaper Partner Program from the ground up. The program now supports hundreds of landscape contractors across the country, giving irrigation departments the technology, training, and support infrastructure to run more profitable, efficient operations. For contractors, that has meant measurable improvements in how they sell, manage, and grow their irrigation services. For Weathermatic, it redefined what the company is. Weathermatic is no longer just a manufacturer selling product through the channel, it’s a technology partner focused on long-term relationships with the contractors who install and service its systems.
"I’ve grown up in this business. The decisions landscape contractors and real estate professionals make today about irrigation and labor automation technology will define what their businesses look like for the next decade. Weathermatic exists to make sure our partners are on the right side of this radical market correction," said Lex Mason.
"What Lex has built during his time as EVP of Sales and President is unprecedented in Weathermatic's 80-year history. He has transformed how this company operates, how it scales, and how it serves its partners. As his father, watching him earn this role through integrity, hard work, and a level of drive that most people never find, there are no words adequate to express how proud I am," said Mike Mason, Chairman of the Board.
"Lex is stepping into the CEO role at a critical juncture in our company’s history with our recent infusion of growth capital from new minority equity partners. Lex’s proven visionary leadership in guiding the evolution of Weathermatic into a technology company combined with the addition of growth capital has enabled a step-up in the acceleration of our growth. Additionally, his ability to attract and inspire an executive team of experienced executives has been critical to elevating our people and processes to support our customers and company vision,” said Darryl Halbert, Chief Financial Officer.
The SmartLink platform sits at the center of that evolution. Designed for commercial-scale irrigation management, SmartLink gives contractors and property managers remote monitoring, real-time water use data, and system control across multiple sites. It is the product foundation of Weathermatic's partner model and a core reason contractors choose to build their irrigation departments around the company's ecosystem rather than simply purchasing equipment.
About Weathermatic Weathermatic is a leading provider of smart irrigation technology for commercial and residential applications, with more than 80 years of experience serving the landscape industry. The company's SmartLink platform delivers remote monitoring, water management, and efficiency solutions for landscape contractors and property managers nationwide. Weathermatic is a Telsco Industries company. Learn more at weathermatic.com.
Weathermatic Names Lex Mason Chief Executive Officer
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday approved a 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years after oil began flowing through a key pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, ending months of political deadlock.
The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and had been set to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move.
Hungary and Slovakia have been locked in a feud with Ukraine since Russian oil deliveries to the two EU countries were halted in January after a pipeline was damaged. Ukrainian officials blamed the damage on Russian drone attacks. Both countries confirmed Thursday that deliveries have resumed.
Ukraine desperately needs the loan package to prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay. Hungary angered its EU partners by reneging on a December deal to provide the funds. The loans are expected to be available in coming weeks and months.
“Promised, delivered, implemented,” European Council President António Costa posted on social media. A few hours later, as he arrived to chair a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, Costa told reporters that the priority now must be to advance Ukraine's quest to join the bloc.
Standing alongside him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his European partners for their support. “We will work to make sure the funds are delivered as soon as possible,” he said. “This will strengthen, of course first of all our army, Ukrainian forces, and allow us to boost production.”
The political greenlight for the loan package came after Russian oil began flowing to Hungary and Slovakia again through the Druzhba pipeline that crosses Ukraine. Populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico welcomed that development as “good news.”
“Let’s hope a serious relation between Ukraine and the European Union has been established,” Fico said.
Hungarian energy group MOL said it had “received crude oil at the Fényeslitke and Budkovce pumping stations earlier Thursday. Crude oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline system have thus resumed to Hungary and Slovakia after a hiatus of nearly three months.”
Ukraine and most of its European backers oppose imports of Russian oil which have helped to fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, now in its fifth year. But unlike the rest of the European Union, Hungary and Slovakia still depend on Russia for their energy needs.
Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was recently defeated in an election, had accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying repairs — an allegation that Zelenskyy denied.
Fico said Thursday he still didn’t believe the pipeline was damaged at all and alleged that the pipeline and oil “were used in the current geopolitical battle.”
The row has raised yet more troubling questions about decision-making in the EU, which can often be held hostage to national interests when unanimous votes are required. Several top officials have in recent months called for more majority voting.
The 27-nation bloc had originally intended to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for the loan. But that option was blocked by Belgium, where the bulk of the frozen assets are held.
In December, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia agreed not to stop their EU partners from borrowing the money on international markets as long as the three countries did not have to take part in the scheme.
But Orbán, who has repeatedly blocked EU aid to Ukraine, angered the other 24 countries by later reneging on that deal over the pipeline dispute and as campaigning heated up ahead of the April 12 election that he lost in a landslide.
The EU has also been trying since February to push through a new raft of sanctions against Russia to undermine its war effort, but Hungary and Slovakia were also blocking those measures over the oil feud.
More than 40 ships believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet illicitly transporting oil were targeted.
Oil revenue is the linchpin of Russia’s economy, allowing Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.
A number of banks were targeted, and a ban was imposed on Europeans using Russian crypto currency.
Asset freezes were slapped on around 60 more “entities” — often companies, government agencies, banks or other organizations — adding to a growing list of more than 2,600 Russian officials and entities already under sanctions, including Putin, his political associates, oligarchs, and dozens of lawmakers.
Spike reported from Budapest. Janicek reported from Prague.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, is welcomed by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes statements as he arrives for the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
European Council President Antonio Costa, background, is welcomed by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides ahead of the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, right, and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron shake hands at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
FILE - A general view of a pumping station at the end of the Druzhba oil pipeline in the east German refinery PCK in Schwedt, Jan. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner, File)
