CASE Ships 300,000th Skid Steer to Ohio Firm: This Week’s Industry News

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Northeast Horticultural Services earns prestigious TCIA Accreditation
Northeast Horticultural Services, based in Stratford, Connecticut, recently earned the Tree Care Industry Association 3-year Residential/Commercial Accreditation, making it one of the 10 companies in the state to do so. The TCIA Accreditation took a year to complete and was extremely comprehensive with an auditor examining every part of the business.

Timothy Berning Named 2017 Ohio CCA of the Year
The Ohio Certified Crop Adviser Program is honored to announce Timothy Berning of Minster, Ohio as the 2017 CCA of the Year. Berning is an agronomist and crop consultant at Precision Agri Services, Inc. with more than 32 years of crop advising experience. He is a past member and chairman of the Ohio CCA board. Berning was recognized at the 2017 Conservation Tillage Conference on March 7 in Ada, Ohio.

CASE Ships 300,000th Skid Steer to Ohio Firm
CASE Construction Equipment announces that its manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kansas has produced its 300,000th CASE skid steer/compact track loader. The commemorative edition TR270 compact track loader rolled off the production line on March 13th, 2017 and will be shipped to Southeastern Equipment Co. in Brunswick, Ohio. Established in 1974, the 11-acre Wichita facility houses both skid steer loader and compact track loader product manufacturing, as well as dedicated research and development. The site employs over 400 people and exports to national and international markets.

View STIHL Extreme Sports Block April 2 on NBC Sports Network
Extreme sports fans nationwide get front row seats to see Team STIHL lead a field of competitors vying for championship titles this spring. On April 2, shows featuring STIHL Air Racing, STIHL TIMBERSPORTS and STIHL Super Boat take over the NBC Sports Network with a three-hour extreme sports block filled with power, precision and performance. Team STIHL will go head-to-head with competitors in planes flying at nearly 400 miles per hour 50 feet above the Nevada desert, sawing and chopping timber in record time, and powering through waves in boats reaching speeds of 130 miles per hour. This is how the extreme sports block stacks up:
Sunday, April 2:
• 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST — STIHL National Championship Air Race presented by Reno-Tahoe USA
• 4:30-5:30 p.m. EST — STIHL TIMBERSPORTS World Championships
• 5:30-6:30 p.m. EST — Super Boat World Championships presented by STIHL

Porous Pave, Inc. Selected by The Association to Preserve Cape Cod
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod chose Porous Pave XL as the permeable paving material for the handicap parking pad and accessible walkway at their new facility in Dennis, Massachusettes. The permeable pavement is part of the Living Landscape Laboratory, APCC’s outdoor showcase of green building and sustainable landscape solutions. Land Escapes Design Studio, the project’s landscape contractor, poured two inches of Porous Pave XL atop an 8-10-inch base of clean angular drain rock. At only two inches thick, the permeable pavement can handle low speed car and truck traffic.

Winners Announces for the Toro Urban Park Innovation Award
The Toro Urban Park Innovation Award is presented in conjunction with City Parks Alliance and the Greater & Greener 2017 international urban parks conference. Parque Castillo in St. Paul, and Bossen Field Park in Minneapolis were chosen. The funds from the Toro Urban Park Innovation Award will support specific projects that will enhance larger park renovations already underway.

Ariens Shines Light on Family Roots in New Commercial
Ariens recently completed and unveiled a new commercial, which showcases the brand’s residential zero-turn mowers and other equipment that are manufactured here. The commercial, titled “Our Name is Riding on It,” will be placed on a variety of digital spaces, including sites like The Weather Channel, Time, CNN, Fox Sports, HGTV, AccuWeather, USA Today and more. his commercial will be used as part of the brand’s national advertising campaign for spring 2017.

PERC Launches E-Newsletter for Landscape and Lawn Care Pros
The Propane Education & Research Council is launching a new e-newsletter for landscape contractors and lawn care professionals interested in propane commercial mowers. The Cut is a quarterly digest providing the latest news, information and tips designed to help readers maximize their experience with propane, whether they are a private contractor, public agency or outdoor power equipment dealer. Sign up at propane.com/thecut to have The Cut delivered to your inbox.

New England GROWS Makes Top 250 Trade Show List
New England GROWS, the horticulture industry’s premier educational conference and trade exposition in the Northeast, was recently recognized by Trade Show Network News as one of the Top 250 Trade Shows in the United States. The TSNN’s annual list celebrates the fastest-growing shows — both association-led and for-profit events — using net square footage, number of exhibitors and attendees as their metric. The next New England GROWS conference will be held Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2017 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Weed Man Predicts 12 Percent Sales Growth for 2017
Weed Man USA expanded with 44 new territories added in 2016, bringing its total count to 503 territories served. The company expects to reach 544 territories by the end of 2017 and increase system-wide sales by more than 12 percent. Driving the franchise growth were existing franchisees who accounted for 28 of the new territories last year. Franchisees nationwide are experiencing increased consumer demand and are expanding their territories to meet the need. Jennifer Lemcke, COO of Turf Holdings, Inc., noted that 2016 revenues surpassed $91 million, a 9.74 percent increase over 2015. “Our existing franchisees account for nearly 75 percent of the new territories we added in 2016,” said Lemcke.

Oregon Announces Gator SpeedLoad Trimmer Head Promotion
Oregon is offering lawn care professionals another reason to try its revolutionary Gator SpeedLoad cutting system. As part of its spring promotion, which starts on April 3 and runs through August 31, customers will receive a free 24-250 or 24-500 Gator SpeedLoad trimmer head with any qualifying purchase of .095-inch replacement line disks. Qualifying purchases include either one 25-pack, two 10-packs or six 3-packs. The Oregon Gator SpeedLoad cutting system fits more than 95 percent of gas-powered trimmers on the market.

Survey Shows Consumers Remain Confused over Fuel Choices
A new nationwide research study of over 2,000 adults 18+ conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute has found that Americans seem to remain confused about new fuel choices at the pump and their appropriate usage. Even more concerning are reports of consumers mis-fueling their engine products. This year’s poll shows more consumers have incorrectly used an E15 or higher ethanol fuel in an engine not designed for it this year compared to 2015 (five percent this year vs. three percent in 2015).

Dyna-Green Expands Service Area with Turf Magic Acquisition
Dyna-Green, based here, recently acquired the Turf Magic Company. The combined company will provide service to nearly 4,000 residential and commercial customers in 13 Northeast Ohio counties and the border counties of western Pennsylvania from Erie to Pittsburgh with organic based lawn care services, and tree and shrub protection programs.

KIOTI Tractor Promotion Raises More than $32K for Wounded Warrior Project
KIOTI Tractor, a division of Daedong-USA, Inc., recently wrapped it’s year-long promotion, the Power Through Tour presented by Trace Adkins, raising $32,220 for Wounded Warrior Project In October 2015, KIOTI Tractor hit the road, raffling off Adkins’ personal KIOTI DK65 with attached front end loader and backhoe to benefit the organization. KIOTI delivered the tractor to the winner, Doyle Myers of Shepherd, Texas, in early March.

San Diego Chapter of CLCA Elects Members to Board of Directors
The San Diego Chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association recently elected its board of directors. The board members are:

  • Mike Salceanu, Landscapes USA – chairman of the board
  • Stacey Sturnot, Terra Pacific – president
  • Rick Mandel, Ewing Irrigation – president-elect
  • Rosalee Clanton, Terracare Associates- treasurer
  • Bronwyn Miller, Eyescapes- secretary
  • Rajan Brown, Heaviland Landscape Management- vice president, resource management/legislation
  • Janet Pozzuoli-Vallin, Belle Terre Landscapes- vice president, events
  • Willie Valdez, Free Flow Products – vice president, membership
  • Larry Hall, Horizon Distributors – education chair
  • Amy Conrad, Conrad Public Relations – public relations
  • Mark Niznik, Toro Co.- associate member vice chairman

New to the board are:

  • Bronwyn Miller, Eyescapes
  • Mark Niznik, Toro Co.
  • Rosalee Clanton, Terracare Associates
  • Rajan Brown, Heaviland Landscape Management

Ditch Witch has Recognized 2016 Salesperson of the Year
Ditch Witch honored Robbie Royster of Ditch Witch of Virginia with the prestigious 2016 Lowell Highfill Award – the annual award given to the organization’s salesperson of the year for their outstanding performance in promoting and marketing Ditch Witch products. Royster began working for the Ditch Witch organization in 1986 as a parts manager at a local dealership branch. He is the only Ditch Witch employee to ever receive both the Harold Chesnutt and Lowell Highfill Awards.

Read last week’s industry news: John Deere Florida Dealer Hits 1,000 Machine Mark For 2nd Year