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| Platinum TE paspalum was installedat Minute Maid Park. |
Minute Maid Park Upgrades Field Sod
Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas, home of the Houston Astros, became the first facility to install Turf Ecosystems, LLC’s Platinum TE paspalum. Astros groundskeepers, led by Dan Bergstrom, director of Major League field operations, rolled out 2.3 acres of the new sod.
PacLease Adds 14 New Locations
PACCAR Leasing Co. has added 14 new independently owned locations in the United States. They are Southland PacLease, Lafayette, La.; Rush Truck Leasing PacLease, Austin, Texas; CIT PacLease, Bensenville, Champaign, Morton, Normal, Peru and Springfield, Ill.; NorCal PacLease, Gilroy and Redding, Calif.; Arscott PacLease, Raphine, Va.; PacLease of Southern New England, North Haven, Conn.; and Papé Kenworth PacLease, Medford, Ore.
Turfgrass Developer Riley Passes Away
Rod Riley, an Australian turfgrass developer, has passed away. He is best known in the United States as the developer of Celebration Bermudagrass. Riley worked to develop varieties with consistent texture, darker color, better fall color retention and shade and drought tolerance. Celebration was originally released in Australia as Riley’s Super Sport.
Cooper Kenworth Adds Three Facilities
Cooper Kenworth opened three new locations in North Carolina, enabling Kenworth Truck Co. to reach the milestone 300-dealer location mark in the United States and Canada. The new facilities are in Charlotte, Hickory and Wilmington. Cooper also operates locations in Battleboro, Clinton, Concord, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh and South Charlotte.
Spectrum Announces New Catalog
Spectrum Technologies, Inc. announced the release of its new 2009 product catalog. It includes several new products, including the SoilStick pH meter, Cardy hand-held nitrate meter, SpectrumWeather.com for WatchDog weather stations and the new WaterScout soil moisture sensor.
Horizon Becomes Authorized Pavestone Distributor
Horizon partnered with Pavestone Co. to offer the Pavestone product line to customers in the 11 states Horizon serves. Horizon will also work with Pavestone to offer contractors the opportunity to attend training classes. Pavestone manufactures segmental concrete products, including concrete pavestones, retaining wall units, edgers and stepping-stones.
Custom Truck Sales Opens New Headquarters
Longtime Kenworth dealer Custom Truck Sales—Regina has moved its headquarters into a new full-service facility in Regina, Saskatchewan. The new 30,000-square-foot facility is located on a nearly 6-acre site and features 15 service bays, 2,500-square-foot parts department, large parts warehouse, overhead crane and indoor showroom.
Wright Names Administrator, Award Recipient
Wright Commercial Products named Jillian Jensen as sales and marketing administrator. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from George Mason University and has 15 years of management experience, primarily in sales and marketing.
Wright presented its 2008 Distributor of the Year Award to PACE, Inc., an outdoor power equipment distributor based in Plymouth, Mich. PACE earned Wright’s Market Expansion and Salesman of the Year awards in 2007 and was Wright’s 2006 Distributor of the Year.
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| Kendra and Barry Nichols with their newNext Lazer Z. |
News from Exmark
Barry Nichols, a part-time landscaper and full-time firefighter from Loveland, Ohio, was the winner of Exmark’s Next Lazer Z giveaway at the 2008 GIE+EXPO. The prize package included a trip to Exmark’s headquarters in Beatrice, Neb., where Nichols watched his mower roll down the production line. Nichols and his wife, Kendra, also toured Exmark’s facilities and spoke with employees.
Exmark announced that it will ship all Next Lazer Z and Next Lazer Z AS mowers to its distributors and dealers in returnable steel crates. The crates, which are manufactured by Wright Metal Products, Simpsonville, S.C., will be collected from dealers and reused.
NaEx Announces New Uses for Soyaplex
NaEx Corp. announced that its all-natural Soyaplex fertilizer is now available and labeled for use on commercial landscapes, sports fields, home lawns, parks and all other turf applications. It also has agricultural labeling for use on food and nonfood crops in conventional and organic production. Soyaplex is made from 100 percent non-GMO, food-grade soybeans.
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| Shindaiwa sponsored a Hand-Held Power University at GIE+EXPO. |
Shindaiwa Sponsors Hand-Held Power University
Shindaiwa, along with Oregon Cutting Systems and the Equipment & Engine Training Council, sponsored a Hand-Held Power University at the 2008 GIE+EXPO. It featured 15-minute presentations that were applicable to all brands of equipment, including “Hand-Held Product Safety” and “Saw Chain Anatomy & Basic Maintenance.” Attendees had the opportunity to enter Shindaiwa’s Power Passport promotion to win new equipment and gas cards.
Paladin Names Ceder as VP & General Manager
Paladin appointed Mats Ceder to the position of vice president and general manager for the demolition and recycling division. He replaces Bruce Bacon, who resigned to pursue other interests. Ceder joined Paladin in 2008 as director of business development in the heavy construction division. During his career, he has held leadership roles in sales, marketing and general management as well as operational assignments.
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Baldwin Joins Jacklin Seed
Christian Baldwin has joined the research team at Jacklin Seed by Simplot as a research scientist. He brings experience in environmental stress physiology and cultivar evaluation to the program. Baldwin received his doctorate from the plant and environmental science department of Clemson University.
Triton Adds Build-A-Trailer Tool to Web Site
Triton Trailers has added a Build-A-Trailer tool to its Web site at www.tritontrailers.com. The tool shows users how a trailer will look with various accessories, offering three views—both exterior sides and the interior. A detailed shopping list changes as accessories are chosen.
Kioti Announces 5-Paw Certified Dealerships
Kioti Tractor unveiled a new 5-Paw Dealer Excellence Certification Program at its annual dealer meeting. The program features five evaluation areas: sales, service and parts, customer satisfaction, issue resolution and facility appearance. The following dealers have earned certification for the program’s first year (October 1, 2008, to September 30, 2009): Atrac Co., LLC; Burr Farm Machine, Inc.; C. Smith & Son Farm Equipment; County Tractor & Equipment; Equipements G. Gagnon, Inc.; Hepson Equipment, Inc.; Holtsclaw Sales & Service; Hoover Tractor, Inc.; Irrigation-Mart, Inc.; Little Tractor & Equipment, Inc.; Lynch Equipment Co., LLC; Michigan Iron & Equipment, LLC; Mountaineer Power Equipment; Off Duty Ranch, Inc.; Paige Tractors, Inc.; Perryville Outdoor Products; R.E. Egger Truck & Machine; Riley Equipment Sales; Rivera’s Machinery, Inc.; S&R Turf & Irrigation Equipment; S and W Feed & Supply, Inc.; Tri-County Supply, Inc.; and Whittemore & Sons.
Sipcam Moves to North Carolina
Sipcam Agro USA has relocated its corporate headquarters to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. The relocation coincides with the company’s plans for growth, based on new technologies as well as traditional plant protection chemistries.
Great American Cleanup Produces Results
Keep America Beautiful announced that the Great American Cleanup, its annual campaign to clean up communities in all 50 states, resulted in a record 48,000-plus gardens, green spaces and xeriscapes created in 2008. This is the first year the organization tracked the number of gardens created. Previously, participating organizations kept track of the number of trees, flowers, bulbs and shrubs planted. The movement to create gardens in 2008 involved public-private partnerships between businesses and governments at the national, state and local levels.
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Friends & Colleagues Mourn Loss of Orrben
Curtis Orrben, national sales manager at DuPont Professional Products, has passed away. His career in the industry spanned 25 years and he was one of the first employees of DuPont. Orrben was active on the membership committee of Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment and a member of the Environmental Institute for Golf, National Pest Management Association and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
UPI Restructures, Hires Managers
United Phosphorus, Inc. has instituted changes designed to improve its ability to serve the marketplace and its customers. It is decentralizing national account management, improving customer service and supply chain management and instituting a new UPI account management model. The national account management team will be led by Wayne Smith, vice president of sales. He will oversee four regional sales directors. Gary Kreckmann, director of business services, will oversee customer service and act as interim northern regional sales director. Greg Hutchison will guide the supply chain management efforts as director.
Brian Cardin was named the Southern regional sales director. He has more than 20 years of sales and sales management experience, having worked for Sipcam Agro USA, Estes, UAP, Novartis Crop Protection and Bayer Corp.
Bob Van Arkel has become the Northern region territory manager for aquatic products. He has almost 10 years’ experience with UPI in the area of crop protection products.
Casey Daniel has joined UPI as an ag account manager responsible for New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. Previously, he worked for EduCorp Training & Consulting. He has more than 15 years of industry experience.
Kevin Gaskins has joined the company as an ag account manager responsible for Tennessee, North and South Carolina and southern Virginia. He has over 30 years of experience, having worked most recently for Drexel Chemical Co.
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