Supplier News

Source: www.TurfMagazine.com


Bill Vogel, left, CEO of Spring Valley, and Craig Reinders, president of Reinders.

Reinders & Spring Valley Create Partnership

Reinders, Inc. and Spring Valley announced that Reinders is the exclusive master distributor of Spring Valley-branded fertilizer and ice melt products for Wisconsin. Reinders will assume responsibility for all direct sales efforts and deliveries previously provided by Spring Valley. Additionally, Reinders is now an authorized Spring Valley distributor in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri.

STIHL Offers Limited-Time Rebate on Battery- KombiSystem

STIHL has announced a rebate offer for customers purchasing a STIHL Lithium-ion battery and battery-powered unit. For a limited time, customers can get $100 back when purchasing both items together, or up to $1,000 back when buying 10.

The mail-in rebate is available at participating STIHL dealers with registered purchase of STIHL Li-Ion battery and a STIHL Battery Kombi unit until Sept. 30.

For complete details, go to www.stihlrebate.com.

Hunter Unveils Water Savings Calculator

Hunter Industries introduced a free app designed to help system owners reduce water consumption, save money and promote healthy local environments. The Hunter Water Savings Calculator is available at www.hunterindustries.com. The interactive tool features five individual water use calculators that show the financial and sustainable advantages of MP Rotators, Solar Sync sensors, Check Valves and pressure-regulated spray bodies. The calculator gives a reliable estimate of how much water and money can be saved if the latest and most conservation-conscious Hunter products are installed.

TGIF Crosses 50 Percent Threshold for Full-Text Availability

The Turfgrass Information File, produced at the Turfgrass Information Center of the Michigan State University Libraries, has passed a milestone – 50 percent of all TGIF records link to full text of the item. This is an important achievement for users of TGIF worldwide. Access to full-text turf research and other pertinent turf materials can be a challenge for turf professionals who do not live near a research library, but these are often the individuals who use this literature most. Full-text availability is highly desirable in these instances, saving valuable time and effort dedicated to locating physical copies for personal use. With half of all TGIF records linking to full text, this means thousands and thousands of records link directly to content.

WNA Holds Summer Field Day

The Wisconsin Nursery Association held its summer field day and trade show at Wayside Nurseries in Mequon, Wis. The event included field tours of Wayside, exhibitors, raffle and auction. The funds raised by the winning bids in the auction support WNA scholarships, educational programs and research projects.


First production Brouwer Sod Harvester on a Massey Ferguson tractor in 1972.

Brouwer Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Forty years ago, Gerry Brouwer founded Brouwer Co. Brouwer’s vision changed the industry from cutting sod with a small sod cutter and stacking it onto pallets or trucks by hand to a Brouwer sod harvester that cut sod, transferred it onto a conveyor, rolled it and put the rolls on a pallet – all in one operation. Brouwer’s first sod harvester was manufactured in a shop at Brouwer Sod Farms in 1972. In 1974, Brouwer built a factory in Keswick, Ont., the same location where the equipment is manufactured today. Over the years, Brouwer has developed additional products for the turf industry.

OPEI Announces Officers and Directors

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute announced its 2012-2013 officers and board of directors during its 60th annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo. Officers include Daniel Ariens, chairman; Todd Teske, vice chairman; and Paul Mullet, secretary/treasurer. Continuing their service on the OPEI board are immediate past chairman Jean Hlay, Steven Bly, Ed Cohen, Michael Hoffman, Michael Jones and Fred Whyte. New to the board this year are Marc Dufour, Peter Hampton and Lee Sowell.

Precision Laboratories Celebrates 50 Years

Precision Laboratories continues to celebrate its 50-year anniversary with the launch of its new logo and website. The Precision Laboratories website, www.precisionlab.com, has been completely redesigned to make accessing information easier and to improve the overall user experience. Visitors can easily find and share product information, technical bulletins and research.

The company’s logo has also been updated. While the new logo still showcases a leaf as the prominent feature of the design, the new leaf is integrated into the text and now faces to the right to form a “P” shape. Precision Laboratories’ new logo is a phased implementation across the company. Additionally, the new website will be continuously enhanced to meet user and market needs.

Miller Rejoins Trebro

Trebro Mfg. announced that Terry Miller rejoined the professional service team. The team also includes Cole Buechler, Denny Maddux, Mark Henson, Mark Southcoat and Pete Kissane.

Barenbrug Hires Turf Product Manager

Barenbrug USA has hired John Rector as turf product manager. Rector was most recently with Ewing Irrigation and has worked in the turf and landscape industry for the past 32 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and was an active turf and landscape pest advisor for 20 years in California.

Nissan Sponsors Concert at GIE+EXPO

Through a GIE+EXPO sponsorship, Nissan Commercial Vehicles will treat attendees at the 2012 GIE+EXPO and Hardscape North America to a free concert featuring the Eli Young Band on Thursday, Oct. 25. The evening will begin with The Trishas at 7:30 p.m., and the Eli Young Band will take the Fourth Street Live! stage at 9 p.m. Register for GIE+EXPO at www.gie-expo.com.

Koch Turf & Ornamental Names New Director

The turf and ornamental division of Koch Agronomic Services, LLC has hired a new director for the group, Tim Sturm. Sturm joins the business as vice president, T&O, and will be based in Wichita, Kan. He joins the KAS team from the Coleman Co. and has also worked for the Scotts Co.


Ted Heywood

Heywood Earns CGM Status

The Professional Grounds Management Society has announced that Ted Heywood of Worcester, Mass., has become the 136th grounds management professional to successfully complete its Certified Grounds Manager program. Heywood is the superintendent of grounds at College of the Holy Cross.

Rain Bird Controller Earns WaterSense Label

Rain Bird’s ESP-SMT Smart Irrigation Control System has earned the WaterSense label from the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense partnership program. The WaterSense label certifies that the ESP-SMT has passed the EPA’s rigorous testing requirements, confirming the controller’s water efficiency and performance in landscape settings. The ESP-SMT is the first controller from a major irrigation manufacturer to receive this certification.

Hunter Unveils Water Savings Calculator

Hunter Industries introduced a free app designed to help system owners reduce water consumption, save money and promote healthy local environments. The Hunter Water Savings Calculator is available at www.hunterindustries.com. The interactive tool features five individual water use calculators that show the financial and sustainable advantages of MP Rotators, Solar Sync sensors, Check Valves and pressure-regulated spray bodies. The calculator gives a reliable estimate of how much water and money can be saved if the latest and most conservation-conscious Hunter products are installed.

Bobcat Launches Attachment Comparison Videos

Bobcat Co.’s website, www.bobcat.com, has a new attachment section to showcase more than 70 front-end implements and attachments. In addition, five attachments have brand-new competitive comparison videos to help contractors compare Bobcat attachment performance, durability and overall manufacturing quality with that of other manufacturers’ attachments. These videos are similar to the Bobcat Advantage series produced for compact excavators and compact track loaders last year. The first five attachments tested include augers, buckets, grapples, pallet forks and soil conditioners, and are denoted on the website with an “Advantage” logo on each attachment’s thumbnail photo. Bobcat will continue to produce competitive comparison videos for additional attachments.

U.S. Lawns Adds Two Franchise Locations

U.S. Lawns announced the addition of two new locations to its network of more than 250 landscape management franchises. The new franchisees are Jeff Schneider, Anchorage, Alaska, and Bruce Browne, Torrance, Calif.