People on the Move: February 2016

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Dow Appoints James R. Fitterling as President and COO

MIDLAND, Mich. — The Dow Chemical Co. has appointed James R. Fitterling to the position of president and COO.

In his new role, Fitterling will continue to report to Dow chairman and chief executive officer Andrew N. Liveris.

Fitterling has worked with Dow for 32 years and previously held the position of vice chairman and COO. In his new role, he will have executive accountability for all of Dow’s businesses excluding Dow AgroSciences.

Bill Benoit of Chapel Valley Selected for Award

Bill Benoit
Bill Benoit

WOODBINE, MD — Chapel Valley has announced that its COO, Bill Benoit, has been selected as a winner for SmartCEO’s Washington Executive Management Awards.

An industry leader, Benoit joined Chapel Valley in 2000 and has held numerous leadership positions within the company. He has a passion for teaching and leading teams to peak performance. Prior to joining Chapel Valley, Benoit worked in the public sector as a city manager and in the non-profit sector leading a business improvement district. A Maryland native with two grown children, Benoit spends his free time with his family in the garden, traveling and competing in triathlons.

Jim Nerone Named Director of Info Services for Buyers Products

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Buyers Products hired Jim Nerone as its new Director of Information Services & Business Intelligence. Nerone is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy and infrastructure that will help execute Buyers’ strategic objectives.

Prior to joining Buyers, Nerone spent more than a decade developing strategies for the manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and materials management industries. Most recently, Nerone served as Director of Information & Analysis at ERICO.

Spring-GreenSpring-Green Recognizes and Promotes Staff Longevity

PLAINFIELD, Ill. — Spring-Green Lawn Care recently promoted staff members on the company owned franchise and the franchise support side of the business: Marilyn Darin, David Dawson, Rick Helfrich, R.J. Krone and Ryan Winterbaum.

For Spring-Green’s company-owned franchises, which service the greater Chicagoland area and Green Bay, Wisconsin,

Prior to January, Helfrich held the director of operations position for more than nine years. Ryan Winterbaum was named director of operations with Helfrich’s promotion. Previously Winterbaum had worked for more than four years as an assistant branch manager in one of the five company-owned locations. Currently Spring-Green’s company-owned operations represent approximately 20 percent of the system’s revenue.

Promotions within Spring-Green’s franchise support center include Marilyn Darin, David Dawson and R.J. Krone. Marilyn Darin started with the company 20 years ago and in January was named director of accounting and human resources. Dawson began his career with Spring-Green in 2008 as a business consultant supporting franchise owners in the field. R. J. Krone started with Spring-Green in 2006 as a start-up support representative, before moving up to director of franchise operations. He was recently named vice president of operations.

Paul Bryges, Pres. Landscape Ontario
Paul Brydges

Paul Brydges Named President of Landscape Ontario

TORONTO, Ont. — Paul Brydges became the first practicing landscape architect to hold the position of president of Landscape Ontario, officially beginning his two-year mandate at the horticultural association’s annual general meeting January 13.

A graduate of the University of Guelph’s landscape architect program in 1994, Brydges serves as the principal and senior architect at Brydges Landscape Architecture in Guelph.

Netafim USA Adds Customer Support Roles

FRESNO, Calif. — Drip irrigation supplier Netafim USA recently appointed Dino Viale to the position of Northern California Area specification manager. Viale has more than 22 years experience as an irrigation design consultant. It also appointed Kelly Keicher to the position of area specification manager for the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest; and Cari Snyder to the position of distributor relationship manager for the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest.

The company also announced that it has promoted Keith Coulsting to distributor relationship manager for the Northeast territory.

Lowell HighfillDitch Witch Honors Graham Rutterof for Sales

PERRY, Okla. — Ditch Witch, a Charles Machine Works Company, presented Graham Rutterof Ditch Witch Australia with the 2015 Lowell Highfill Award, the organization’s most esteemed award for salespeople worldwide. Presented annually to the top individual salesperson in the global Ditch Witch organization, the Lowell Highfill Award represents professionalism in knowledge, integrity and service to the industry.

Graham began working for the Ditch Witch organization in 1983. Ditch Witch Australia has locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Townsville, Perth and Adelaide.

Takeuchi Promotes Two in Parts Dept.

Utzman_KlitzkeATLANTA, Ga. — Takeuchi-US has announced two promotions in their parts department. Bethany Klitzke has been promoted to the role of national parts manager, while Scott Utzman has taken on the newly created role of customer support manager.

As national parts manager, Klitzke will manage parts and attachment inventory. She is responsible for inventory accuracy, availability and parts sales growth. With an expanding parts department, Takeuchi created the new role of customer support manager, promoting Utzman to the position. He will work closely with Takeuchi dealers to further relationships and gather key information on how the company can improve practices and better support the dealer’s business.
Maira Gutierrez
Maira Gutierrez

Ruppert Beefs Up Texas Construction Branch

LAYTONSVILLE, MD. — Ruppert Landscape recently added Maira Gutierrez and Arpish Jain in our Texas Landscape Construction satellite branch. Gutierrez, a resident of Houston, TX, has been hired as branch administrator. at Houston Community College. She will be responsible for maintaining and organizing all communication in and out of the office, weekly payroll, accounts payable and receivable processing as well as generating/maintaining financial reports and other general office duties.

Arpish Jain
Arpish Jain

Jain, also a resident of Houston, has been hired as estimator. He completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at Rajiv Gandhi Technical University in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. He then spent two years working as an estimator/project engineer for Prakash Asphaltings & Toll Highways (PATH) before moving to the United States to further his education. He attended graduate school at the University of Houston and interned with MAN Diesel & Turbo North America. He graduated in the spring of 2015 with a Master’s degree in Construction Management. As estimator, he will be responsible for verifying material costs, qualifying subcontractor quotes, calculating labor hours, capturing miscellaneous expenses and assigning preliminary margins.

Gaby PreeceGaby Preece Promoted at Ruppert’s Maryland Branch

LAYTONSVILLE, MD. — Ruppert Landscape is pleased to announce the promotion of Gaby Preece to Assistant Production Manager in our Maryland Landscape Construction Branch.

Preece joined the company in February of 2015 as Assistant Branch Administrator for the Laytonsville Landscape Management Branch. In her new role, she will be responsible for assisting the Production Manager with all aspects of landscape project installations, including supervising field personnel, managing subcontractors, communicating to customers and maintaining quality standards.

Preece is also a multi-engine instrument rated pilot, having studied at Ari Ben Aviator flight school. She resides in Frederick, MD with her husband, Preston.

Bailey Nurseries hires Dave Warning

Dave Warning
Dave Warning

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Bailey Nurseries has announced that Dave Warning will be the company’s first grower specialist sales representative for the upper Midwest market. Warning will work specifically with grower customers in Illinois, Wisconsin and western Indiana to manage their unique needs.

He has been a territory sales representative at Bailey Nurseries for almost 14 years in the Chicagoland and western Indiana region. He has a strong track record of customer service, growth and forward-thinking goals that will be of great benefit to his new role. His knowledge in bareroot product and JumpStarts, Bailey Nurseries’ new quart-sized potted liner program, will be particularly useful for growers.

Davey Announces Multiple Promotions

Gordon Matthews
Gordon Matthews

KENT, Ohio — The Davey Tree Expert Company has continued to grow and has announced multiple promotions and staff changes for their multiple location in the U.S. Davey has most recently promoted Gordon Matthews to the position of market manager, east-central operating group, U.S. Residential/Commercial services. Matthews started with Davey in 1982 as a lawn care technician in the North Detroit R/C office. He was promoted to assistant district manager of the North Detroit office in 1985. In 1989, Matthews became assistant district manager of the Akron R/C office. He was promoted to district manager of the Akron office, his most recent position, in 1996.

Todd bartlett Davey
Tedd Bartlett

Davey has also promoted Tedd Bartlett to district manager of the Northeast Cleveland, Ohio, residential/commercial office. Bartlett’s career at Davey began in 2002, shortly after his graduation from Allegheny College. His associate degree in forestry helped him succeed as a plant health care technician. Four years later, Bartlett was promoted to a sales arborist.

Evan Shorr
Evan Shorr

The Davey Tree Expert Company has announced the promotion of Evan Shorr to district manager of the North Chicago Residential/Commercial territory. Shorr started with The Care of Trees (TCOT), a Davey company, in 2004 at the Wheeling, Illinois, office as an apprentice climber. He was promoted to sales arborist in 2005 in the Chicago TCOT office. In 2014, he was promoted to assistant district manager of the Northeast Chicago Davey office.

Terry Bier
Terry Bier

Davey has announced the promotion of Terry Bier to the position of Regional Vice President of The Davey Tree Surgery Company, a subsidiary of Davey Tree. He will oversee the utility operations for Hawaii and the southwestern region of Davey Tree, with locations in Arizona, California and Nevada. Bier started with Davey in 1989 and has held a variety of positions both in the field and administrative offices. Most recently, Bier served as operations manager for the southwestern region.

In support of the Davey Tree Expert Company’s commitment to employee safety, the company is announcing the promotion of the following five employees in the Safety Department:

  • Mike Horneber – Senior regional safety specialist, Midwest
  • Roy Montan – Senior regional safety specialist, Ohio and Northeast
  • Kenny Rowe– Senior regional safety specialist, Southeast
  • Regie Wilson – Senior motor carrier safety specialist
  • Glen Olson – Regional safety specialist, Upper Midwest
Kevin Peters
Kevin Peters

Davey Tree has promoted Kevin Peters to vice president, U.S. Residential/Commercial services, Western operating group. Peters will oversee R/C services in several Western states, including California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. He has more than 27 years of experience in the field of arboriculture, including with The Care of Trees, a Davey company, where he served both as a district manager and regional manager. In 2010, he was promoted to operations manager for Davey’s western operating group R/C services.

Mark Svozil has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Commercial Landscape Services at Davey Tree. In 1992, Svozil began his Davey Tree career as a landscape foreman. He has served as a branch manager and commercial operations manager. Most recently, Svozil was vice president of operations, Commercial Landscape Services.

In support of the strategic, significant growth at Davey Tree, the Commercial Landscape Services is announcing the promotion of three regional managers of government projects. Commercial Landscape Services Promotions:

  • Thomas Currier – Regional manager for government projects, West
  • Daniel Morgan – Regional manager of government projects, East
  • Kevin Sharkey – Regional manager of government projects, Pacific