AED Foundation & SkillsUSA Illinois Support Skilled Trades
Jessica Schwartz
Cat Trial 12: The Ultimate Assist
“Cat Trial 12: No Hands” highlights the teamwork, agility and precision that goes into success for teams and job sites. Cat Trial 12 shows how autonomy is coming to other industries. The latest video features a semi-autonomous version of the Cat® 299D3 Compact Track Loader(CTL). With its vertical lift design, this CTL delivers extended reach and lift height for quick and easy truck loading. Its standard, suspended undercarriage system provides superior traction, flotation, stability, and speed. These features work in a wide range of applications and underfoot conditions. A semi-autonomous version of the machine was also available for preview to the public and press at Cat Trial 12. Caterpillar has decades of experience with autonomy – specifically in the mining sector. A 2020 acquisition helped advance the experience in large mining equipment and start on a path that features new, nimble, miniaturized technology. So, while not commercially available yet, the semi-autonomous 299D3 points to the potential Cat Command for Construction has to enhance job sites in the future. Also featured in Cat Trial 12: No Hands is former Major League Soccer player DaMarcus Beasley. Beasley played for the Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo in addition to teams in The Netherlands, England, Scotland, Germany, and Mexico. He is the only American man to play in four FIFA World Cups. He made 126 appearances during his 16-year international career before retiring in 2019. And he wasn’t just a fantastic player, Beasley is an ambassador for the “beautiful game.” The course featured obstacles made ...
Ken Catalano Named VP of Landscape & Nursery Sales at Florida Coast Equipment
Florida Coast Equipment announces the addition of Ken Catalano, Vice President of Commercial Landscape and Nursery. Ken will work closely with Florida Coast Equipment’s existing and new customers across the nursery and landscape industries. Florida Coast Equipment and BIG ORANGE RENTAL is a family-owned & operated full-service Kubota Dealership that now serves 10 locations across the state. “Florida’s environmental horticulture industry annually generates over $30 billion in total sales annually,” said Todd Bachman, President and CEO of Florida Coast Equipment and BigOrange Rental. “Ken Catalano brings the right experience, relationships, focus, commitment and energy required to ensure we, Florida Coast Equipment and Kubota, are positioned to serve the commercial landscape and nursery industries for years to come.” Ken brings nearly 20 years of landscape experience to Florida Coast Equipment, having previously served as director of operations for the last 10 years at BrightView Landscape Services in South Florida. Founded in 1985, Florida Coast Equipment has grown from a single dealership with two employees to Florida’s largest Kubota dealer and one of the top dealerships in the country. For more than 30 years, they have served large agricultural growers, builders and contractors of all sizes, nurseries, commercial landscapers, local and state governments, golf courses, HOAs, equestrian facilities, and estate homeowners in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee, Brevard, Seminole, Lee, Collier, Hillsborough and Pasco Counties. Florida Coast Equipment rents, leases, sells, repairs, services and provides parts for Kubota utility vehicles, zero-turn, walk-behind, and stand-on mowers, tractors, ...
SiteOne Launches Marketing Toolkit For Landscape Business Owners
Landscape business owners have a new time-saving benefit from SiteOne® Landscape Supply with SiteOne’s Marketing Toolkit. The turnkey online program gives customers the ability to quickly create, customize, and print marketing assets to promote their businesses in their communities. The Marketing Toolkit is exclusively for Partners Program members. “We know our customers are busy running their businesses and it can be challenging to find time to spread the word about their services,” said Allison Flynn, senior director of Integrated Marketing at SiteOne. The online portal is stocked with pre-designed professional templates. These templates include: business cards; door hangers; flyers; truck magnets; and yard signs. Each can be customized with a unique logo, business name, and contact information. Users simply edit the template of their choice and make any desired changes. Materials can be professionally printed and shipped directly, or downloaded for free to be printed in-house. Members can get started by logging into the online portal and creating a username and password. Contact a local SiteOne branch to become a Partners Program member and gain access to the Marketing Toolkit. As a Partners Program member, users earn points with every qualified purchase. To learn more about a recent software integration by SiteOne click here.
STIHL Launches “Made In America” Campaign
STIHL Leads New Campaign With The Message “Made in America. Three Words Not Everyone Can Say.” STIHL Inc., is tapping into American’s sense of patriotism and unity in a new national multi-media advertising campaign to inspire consumers to purchase products Made in America. The campaign reinforces the company’s continued support of and investment in American manufacturing. It also reinforces an often-overlooked fact that a majority of STIHL products sold in the U.S. are actually made in America from U.S. and foreign materials. More than 75 models of STIHL equipment are currently made in America of U.S. and foreign materials at the Virginia Beach, VA facility with plans in place for additional category expansion. Products made at the facility include chain saws, trimmers, edgers, brush cutters, pole pruners, backpack and handheld blowers, sprayers, shredder/vacuums, and more. The STIHL Inc. facility also produces battery equipment. “Many of our customers may not be aware that several models from our ever-growing battery-powered line are manufactured in our U.S. facility,” said Ken Waldron, STIHL Inc. national marketing manager. And there are plans to expand “Battery Power. Made by STIHL.” manufacturing later this year. Since its inception in 1974, the STIHL Inc. Virginia Beach campus has grown from a single 20,000-square-foot rented warehouse to over one million square feet, spanning more than 150 acres. The Virginia Beach plant also manufactures many of the components and accessories used by other STIHL facilities around the world. In addition to supporting the U.S. market, STIHL Inc. exports its products ...
Experts Predict Bad Year For Browntail Moth Infestations
The browntail moth has recently made a strong resurgence across the Northeast, according to sources at Arborjet | Ecologel. Experts predict this will be a bad year for the invasive insect, “possibly the worst it’s been in over 100 years.” The browntail moth was accidentally introduced into Somerville, MA from Europe in the late 1800’s. By the 20th century, the insect had spread to all of the New England states, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The Maine Forestry Department says that browntail moth populations are again building in Maine and in areas along the coastal northeast. The larval stage (caterpillar) of this insect feeds on the foliage of hardwood trees and shrubs including: oak, shadbush, apple, cherry, beach plum, and rugosa rose. This causes reduction of growth and occasional mortality of trees and shrubs. While feeding damage causes concern, the browntail moth’s primary impact on people results from contact with poisonous hairs produced by the caterpillars. Microscopic, toxic hairs break off the caterpillars and can be airborne or settle on surfaces. Sensitive individuals who encounter the hairs may develop a skin rash similar to poison ivy and/or have trouble breathing. “Timely treatment is even more important with the browntail moth than most other leaf-feeding insects because of the risk to humans posed by contact with their hairs,” says Rob Gorden, director of Urban Forestry and Business Development for Arborjet. “Treatments can be done in the spring when caterpillar larvae become active, as leaf expansion occurs, beginning in May into early ...
Hearts of STIHL To Award 6 State Parks $20,000 Each
STIHL, a major manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, is expanding its Hearts of STIHL program, an initiative to care for the environment through the preservation of state parks. The 2022 Hearts of STIHL program will provide a $20,000 grant to a park in each of the nation’s six regions for a total of $120,000 in 2022. The grants will be managed by the America’s State Parks Foundation, and parks can apply for funds to help projects related to sustainability, recovery, conservation, or environmental education programs. “For more than 15 years, STIHL has been privileged to support America’s State Parks and this program allows us to expand our efforts to help in the conservation and care of these national treasures,” said Roger Phelps, STIHL Inc. corporate communications manager. “Hearts of STIHL is a natural extension of the STIHL commitment to caring for our environment and making it easier for people to work in and with nature.” The Hearts of STIHL program expands STIHL’s relationship with America’s State Parks. For more than a decade STIHL has been a sponsor of the National Association of State Park Directors Leadership School, providing scholarships for park personnel to attend. “STIHL Inc. is a longtime supporter of the America’s State Parks, and we are eager to grow our relationship and offer grant funding to the state parks that need it most,” said Lewis Ledford, executive director at National Association of State Parks Directors. “The funding and resources awarded will have a direct impact on the care ...
Renewal & Remembrance Registration Is Now Open
Each July, lawn care and landscape professionals from across the country donate their time and expertise to enhance the grounds at Arlington National Cemetery. For the second year, NALP will have an additional volunteer location on the National Mall, at the Lincoln Memorial. On July 18, 2022 volunteers within the lawn care and landscape communities will again come together and volunteer their skills to enhance the grounds at Arlington National Cemetery and the National Mall, at the Lincoln Memorial. For 25 years, Renewal & Remembrance has been a signature association event. What to Expect This Year at Arlington National Cemetery: Volunteers will complete projects including top dressing turf, renovating irrigation zones, installing lightning protection on designated trees, and installing new plants. Only working volunteers can attend the R&R event at ANC due to capacity restrictions. The number of participants at ANC will be limited and based on the need for each project. Volunteers not assigned to projects at ANC will be reassigned to the Lincoln Memorial project on the National Mall. What to Expect This Year on the National Mall: In partnership with the Trust for the National Mall and the National Park Service, there will be a substantial project taking place at the Lincoln Memorial this year. For the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, a new project will take place. Volunteers will be creating landscape beds around the existing plants that surround the Lincoln Memorial. The Children’s Program Although the Children’s Program was offered at ...
Two New Training Modules Available From PBI Gordon
PBI Gordon introduces the Atrimmec Plant Growth Regulator and Segway Fungicide SC modules to its library of FREE training courses. PBI Gordon Turf Training Program offers product knowledge training modules to simplify the training process through flexible online segments. These segments allow users to select and review specific products. Free upon registration, all modules are self paced and can be viewed in any order the user prefers as long as each module is completed and the user scores at least 80% on the accompanying quiz. The first new addition to the available training modules is the Atrimmec Plant Growth Regulator, which can be used for growth regulation of listed landscape plants and trees. The second new training course is for Segway Fungicide SC which can be used for control of Pythium Diseases on turf areas. Upon completion of both the Atrimmec and Segway Fungicide SC courses, users are rewarded 100 points for each. These points can then be redeemed for rewards through the site. More information on the rewards program can be found here. Founded in 2021, the PBI Gordon Turf Training Program began with eight original modules. These training modules include: Fungicides 101 Training, Kabuto® Fungicide SC, Katana® Turf Herbicide, Pedigree Fungicide SC, Q4® Plus Turf Herbicide for Grassy & Broadleaf Weeds, SpeedZone® EW Broadleaf Herbicide for Turf, Union® Fungicide SC, and Zylam® Liquid Systemic Insecticide. The program has since evolved, and now includes 12 modules. More on this program’s evolution can be found here. PBI Gordon, a 100% ...
Arbor Day: A USDA Forest Nursery Transplanted 3 Million Seedlings For Reforestation
Happy Arbor Day! Here’s a great tree story: At the J. Herbert Stone Nursery in Central Point, OR, one of eight USDA Forest Service nurseries, employees took on a massive task to transplant nearly three million seedling plugs in an effort to further tree reforestation and post-fire recovery. The number of seedlings planted were roughly double the average annual volume the nursery transplants every Fall. (The typical project is 1 million to 1.5 million.) This signifiant accomplishment, which took place in just 11 days last Fall, is part of a recently announced 10-year strategy to confront the wildfire crisis and improve forest resilience. Overgrown forests, a warming climate, and a growing number of homes in the wildland-urban interface—following more than a century of rigorous fire suppression—have all contributed to what is now a full-blown wildfire and forest health crisis. Seedling Story Forest Service nurseries provide locally adapted plants and seeds for reforestation projects. The seeds are replanted in the areas they were collected, assuring a source of desirable species and stock types for restoring native ecosystems. Seedlings are requested based on landscape needs, such as fire-related disturbances, timber harvest, and other specific requirements. Having the seeds be naturally, genetically acclimated to areas where they will be finally planted can help the seedlings succeed once they are planted on the landscape. “Natural resource specialists working on the ground as part of fire recovery efforts were able to determine where and what they would be planting quickly. They submitted orders in the ...
