Industry Update

Source: www.TurfMagazine.com

New Holland Construction Sponsoring Extreme Dream 2011 Contest

New Holland Construction is sponsoring the Extreme Dream 2011 contest, and the winning entry will be provided with a free L218 skid steer loader. Simply tell us about your biggest, best and/or most challenging landscape project, and three winners will be selected to receive a trip to the GIE+EXPO trade show in Louisville, Ky., where the grand prize winner will be announced in the New Holland Construction booth. Enter your project today at http://www.newholland.com.


The Wilheit-Keys Peace Garden at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Fockele Completes Therapeutic Garden

The Fockele Garden Co. completed the Wilheit-Keys Peace Garden at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. It is the second therapeutic garden designed and installed by Fockele at the medical center. Anne’s Garden was installed in 2009. Landscape architecture firm Hughes, Good, O’Leary and Ryan provided the overall conceptual plan. Mark Fockele and Julie Evans, co-owners, provided the detailed layout and planting design, and their staff provided construction.

Waldrop to Participate in GrowFL

Waldrop Engineering, Bonita Springs, Fla., was selected to receive free technical assistance through the state-funded GrowFL program. Part of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute, GrowFL was created in 2009 by the Florida Legislature and is based at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The assistance will support Waldrop through a number of services, including access to market research and technology, strategy analysis, CEO roundtables and forums, database research and website optimization.

Green Chamber Opens Regional Office

Representatives of 10 businesses committed to sustainability initiatives gathered at a reception in central Florida to celebrate the launch of the Southeast Regional Office of the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Green Chamber is a national nonprofit organization, empowering businesses to achieve economic, environmental and social sustainability. The Southeast Regional Office will serve businesses based in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and Louisiana.


From left, Richard A. Sperber, ValleyCrest president and CEO; Alejandro Lerma Zea; and Burton S. Sperber, ValleyCrest chairman and founder.

ValleyCrest Rewards Safest Employees with Trucks

ValleyCrest Landscape Companies rewarded five of its safest employees with new Ford Ranger trucks. ValleyCrest’s annual Safety Awareness Day truck giveaway encourages employees to perform throughout the year accident-free. The winners are drawn from a pool of qualified full-time field employees who have completed one year of service with no accidents and are employed by a branch that meets or exceeds the company’s threshold safety standards. The 2011 winners are Manuel Gonzalez, Alejandro Lerma Zea, Agustin Lara Marcos, Jose Luis Yepiz and Ricky Henderson.

Novae Announces New Sales Manager

Novae Corp. announced the promotion of Brandon Lisinicchia to the newly created position of sales manager LG&A. Included in his new responsibilities are the Cardinal Proslide and Gridiron product lines. Lisinicchia has been with the company in engineering and management roles for the past year.

LiveRoof is FM-Approved

LiveRoof, LLC announced that its LiveRoof hybrid green roof system was the first to be FM-approved according to FM Standard 4477. Developed by FM Approvals, LLC, 4477 is the approval standard for vegetative roof systems. It evaluates green roof performance related to fire, foot traffic resistance and water leakage. FM Approvals also examined LiveRoof’s manufacturing facilities and audited its quality control procedures to verify that the company produces a consistently uniform and reliable product.

Grigg Announces New International Distributors

Grigg Brothers continued its international expansion, announcing an array of new distributors for its golf and sports turf products. Grigg will now have distribution in Austria, China, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. The environmentally sensitive company was founded in 1995 and is based in Albion, Idaho.

TCLF to Host MoMA Event

The Cultural Landscape Foundation, in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art in New York, will host Second Wave of Modernism II: Landscape Complexity & Transformation on November 18 at MoMA. This will be followed November 19 with three separate tours of major New York City projects. Second Wave II features thematic presentations by leading landscape architects and other experts that will collectively explore landscape transformations at residential, urban and metropolitan scales through a design lens that seeks to balance natural and cultural systems.

Case Honors Contractor, Donates Equipment

Case Construction Equipment announced that Reames Concrete Co., Valdosta, Ga., is the April winner of the Case Community Challenge. Reames was awarded for its commitment to participate in the second annual weeklong Freedom Build, organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Habitat for Humanity. Learn more at www.casece.com/communitychallenge.

Case donated a diesel engine, transmission and hydraulic pump display from a Case loader/backhoe to the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s diesel and heavy equipment technician program. Case had been using the equipment at its Tomahawk Customer Center in Tomahawk, Wis., but donated it to the Sturgeon Bay college after NWTC students visited Tomahawk.

Propane Solutions Showcased at Fleet Event

Federal fleet managers were offered a clear vision of how propane autogas can reduce operating and maintenance costs and their carbon footprint without sacrificing performance or reliability at the 11th annual National Motor Vehicle & Aviation Workshops & Exposition (FedFleet). A Roush CleanTech Ford E-250 cargo van fueled by propane autogas and a propane-fueled lawn mower from Heritage Propane were on display inside the Propane Pavilion. Managers had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a 2010 Ford F-250 pickup courtesy of Ferrellgas, a bi-fuel 2009 Dodge Charger R/T police car courtesy of AmeriGas, and a 2010 Ford E-350 XLT Super Duty 15-passenger van courtesy of Heritage Propane.

MBI Celebrates Fifth Year of Success

Marrone Bio Innovations is celebrating its five-year anniversary. Since incorporating in 2006, MBI has experienced rapid growth as it delivers on its mission to fill unmet pest management needs. Over the past five years, the company has developed a diverse and growing customer base around the world and achieved other key milestones, including the launch of two biopesticides, submitting four new products to the EPA for registration, inking international distribution agreements and winning numerous awards.

John Deere Landscapes Helps Provide Hope Through Gardens

John Deere Landscapes’ Mashpee, Mass., location assisted Hope in Bloom in planting a garden at a breast cancer patient’s home. Hope in Bloom is a nonprofit organization that plants gardens free of charge at the homes of Massachusetts residents undergoing treatment for breast cancer. John Maher, branch manager, donated rail fencing to enclose a vegetable garden, and also recruited and organized volunteers from other John Deere Landscapes locations and local contractors to donate materials and labor. The group renovated the lawn and planted a vegetable garden at the home of Alison McCutchen.

AGMG Receives SIMA Award

The Snow & Ice Management Association recognized Affiliated Grounds Maintenance Group, Inc. for its outstanding safety record during the winter season of 2010 through 2011. Crystal Arlington, AGMG president and CEO, accepted the Excellence in Safety Award at the annual awards ceremony. This is the second safety award given to the company by SIMA.

News from Terex

Ryden Equipment now distributes the full line of Terex compact construction equipment at its branches in Sanborn and Des Moines, Iowa. The line includes more than 45 unique product models from skid steer loaders and compact track loaders to compact excavators, wheel loaders and backhoe loaders.

Terex Aerial Work Platforms announced that Paul Waller was appointed to the position of vice president of sales for the central region. Waller has been with Terex AWP for three years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from William Paterson University.

BMG Announces New Vice President

BMG named Ken Snover as vice president. Snover has 25 years of experience working at Ingersoll-Rand. He has also worked for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and High Velocity Communications.

Pro-Tech Makes Documentary Available

Pro-Tech Mfg. & Distribution is making its “Project Sno Fighter” documentary available to the public. The film premiered at the Snow & Ice Management Association’s Symposium, and now the company is sharing the video on its website, www.protechcorp.com/snofighter1, as well as giving away a limited number of DVDs. The documentary was produced by Joshua C. Pies of C47 Films and pays tribute to snow and ice professionals by highlighting the lives of five contractors throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Excel Announces Australian Distributor

Excel Industries, Inc. announced APW Imports of Melbourne, Victoria, as its Australian distributor for BigDog Mowers. APW Imports has been an independent distributor for over 15 years and represents more than 70 dealers. Allan Wilkinson, director of APW, has been involved in the Australian power equipment industry for more than 35 years.