Landscape Management articles from February 2002

Landscape Management archives from February 2002

Next month : WHAT'S COMING UP IN MARCH.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... * Cover story: Focus on your strengths Learn strategies to get better at what you do best, whether it be design/build or maintenance * Common sod job screw-ups 10 ways to not get paid for your next turf installation project * Mow for...

Ask 'em what they think.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... How would a weekend at the Chicago Ritz Carlton sound to you? Would you treat yourself to a great meal? Check out a blues club? Take in an afternoon Cubs game at Wrigley? I can think of about two dozen things to do in Chicago on a weekend,...

Help! Manager is in a funk.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Everybody, including great performers like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, suffers the occasional slump. Those of us in the landscape and lawn industry are far from immune. Our business is intensely competitive, the work can be physically...

AGCO execs die in plane crash.(AGCO Corp.'s John Shumejda and Ed Swingle)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... DULUTH, GA -- AGCO Corp.'s president and CEO, John Shumejda, and Ed Swingle, its senior vice president for sales and marketing, died in a plane crash at a Birmingham, England airport Jan. 4, 2002. The company said Robert J. Ratliff, executive...

Syngenta, Bayer resolve dispute.(Syngenta AG and Bayer AG)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... BASEL, SWITZERLAND -- Syngenta AG and Bayer AG have reached an agreement on their intellectual property disputes in neonicotinoid chemistry. Under the agreement, Syngenta will pay Bayer $120 million for full access to crop protection and...

Florist Mutual becomes Hortica.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... EDWARDSVILLE, IL -- Hortica is the new name of the company formerly known as Florists' Mutual Insurance Company. President and CEO Robert McClennan says the name change better reflects the broader market now being served by the company.

SePRO buys Dow's flurprimidol.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... CARMEL, IN -- SePRO Corporation purchased the worldwide rights of flurprimidol plant growth regulator from Dow AgroSciences LLC. Flurprimidol is marketed under the trademarks Topflor, Cutless and Greenfield.

Student Career Days is big in '02.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... EAST PEORIA, IL -- Representatives from almost 200 landscape companies will check out the cream of this year's crop of hort, turf and ag business students at the ALCA Student Career Days on the campus of Illinois Central College here March...

Gowan acquires Rubigan.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... INDIANAPOLIS -- Gowan Company, Yuma, AZ, and Margarita Internacional, Madeira, Portugal, announced on Jan. 23 that they are buying Rubigan fungicide and Magister insecticide from Dow AgroSciences LLC. Professional turf managers are very...

National "Do Not Call" list proposed.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- If you sell via telemarketing, you should be watching a senate bill to establish a national "Do Not Call" list. Senate bill 1881, sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) this past December, has been referred to the Committee...

RBI changes name.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... LITTLETON, CO -- Landscape construction firm and golf course contractor Randall & Blake, Inc. (RBI) has changed its name to American Civil Constructors, Inc. RBI and San Francisco-based West Coast Bridge merged in 1999, but RBI continued to...

Bobcat donates over $200,000 to 9-11 victims and families.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... WEST FARGO, ND -- The Bobcat Company has donated $208,300 to the American Red Cross in support of the 9-11 relief work. Shortly after cleanup efforts in New York began, Bobcat immediately shipped additional units to area dealers, and the...

The Toro Company named Mark Mullowney.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Toro Company named Mark Mullowney national finance manager.

Deere and Company.(Kenneth L. Edwards retires)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Deere and Company announced the retirement of 30-year employee Kenneth L. Edwards. Edwards had been the director of marketing and sales for John Deere Golf & Turf since its inception in 1986.

Syngenta Corporation.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Syngenta Corporation has given Bob Woods, chairman, responsibility for Syngenta Crop Protection in NAFTA, which includes Syngenta Professional Products.

Lifestyle Landscaping.(appoints new account manager)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Lifestyle Landscaping, North Ridgeville, OH, appointed Dan Wolfe multiple account manager.

Komatsu Zenoah America.(hires new assistant marketing manager)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Komatsu Zenoah America hired Afshin Mehraban as assistant marketing manager for its RedMax handheld power equipment.

Otterbine Barebo.(new employee)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Otterbine Barebo named Steve Blackshire southeast regional sales manager.

Aquatrols named Vic Swann.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Aquatrols named Vic Swann national sales manager, Colleen Clifford marketing assistant, and Mark Cleveland territory manager.

FMC Corp.(appoints new manager)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... FMC Corp. appointed Jim Walter turf & ornamental/general household pest segment manager.

LandTek Group improves New York City soccer field.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... NEW YORK -- LandTek Group of Amityville, NY, put a little bit of good back in lower Manhattan recently by renovating a full-size soccer field at New York City's East River Park in December. When Mike Ryan, president of LandTek, and Marty...

Growing up, up, up.(online plant retailer still growing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Slow and steady has been the name of the game for dot com Nursery Network, which survived the tech crash and is now expanding its offering of over 7,000 different varieties of plants to East Coasters. "Our nurseries are primarily on the West...

Creating good leaders : Successful landscape pros share what they've learned about developing leaders in their operations.
February 1, 2002... Every landscape and lawn company owner knows how difficult it is to find quality employees. It's even more difficult to find employees with good leadership skills or with the potential to develop into leaders. But finding those leaders is an...

Fertigation for the residential market : Feeding turfgrass and landscape plants with in-ground sprinkler systems offers hard-to-ignore benefits.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The battle to secure and keep lawn care customers never stops. For a contractor, there's nothing worse than spending money and time to land a new customer, only to lose others because of employee and/or service problems. Fertigation...

Chicago Central Medians : 2001 PGMS Grand Award Winner for Public Works Sites.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... What started as a way to provide work experiences for the homeless has turned into a $3.5 million venture for the non-profit Christian social agency, Chicago Christian Industrial League (CCIL). It all started in 1993 with a three-year, $350,000...

Irrigation's changing face : The trends that will determine how you will soon irrigate your customers' properties.
February 1, 2002... Water conservation is a huge issue in the irrigation industry. Providing products and systems that do more with less water is increasingly becoming the focus of irrigation equipment manufacturers. Look for equipment manufacturers to...

Sprayers, spreaders at a glance.
February 1, 2002... Commercial sprayers are manufactured using stainless steel, fiberglass, polyethylene or brass. Each material has its place, and each has its cost. Brass, for example, is limited almost exclusively to fittings. It's too expensive and heavy to...

Building a 'grand' view : New Hampshire landscapers partner with a developer to restore elegance to a grand old hotel.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Kevin Craffey knew he had a job on his hands in bringing the century-old Mountain View Grand Hotel back to life. The historic hotel in Whitefield, NH, had been vacant since 1986. It had started to fall apart. So had its landscape. The...

The one that got away (almost) : This landscape company owner saved a big contract by crunching the numbers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... There's lots of things that can cause a landscape or lawn care company owner to pull his or her hair out, but one of the most stressful has to be watching a big client cancel their contract with no explanation. That's what happened to Tony...

Get saved by software : Winter's a great time to upgrade your computer systems and train your staff to make those upgrades pay off.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... If your company hasn't upgraded its computer systems in the last five years, it may be time to consider investing in Green Industry-specific software and staff training that will allow your company to grow, even in tough economic times. As...

Easy with the N : Why slow-release fertilizers can help you eliminate problems caused with turfgrass growth peaks.
February 1, 2002... The American prairie was once lush in vegetation with no input from humans whatsoever. Intense microorganism activity and consistent turnover of plant and animal residue enabled prairie grasses to flourish. Undisturbed plants had extensive root...

Ask the expert.(questions about landscape management)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Multiple stress syndrome A number of ash, sugar maple and oak trees with thin crowns are showing decline at a campground. Walkways there contain small gravel which we think is crushed limestone. There also appears to be a lot of soil...

Lock down.(Knoxx Industries)
February 1, 2002... Knoxx Industries' new DuraLock CableLock is a 8-in.-long woven cable with stainless steel ends that allows truck and trailer owners to secure valuable cargo. Its hardened electroless nickel coating resists hacksaws and saltwater. Mount...

Chip it up.(Bandit)(Advertising)
February 1, 2002... Bandit's 14-in. capacity Model 254 hand-fed Brush Bandit Chipper is now available with an optional back hoe style loader to ease the task of feeding large diameter materials and piles of brush. The boom has an 11-ft. reach with a lifting...

Bye bye thatch.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Sisis's Rotorake 600 thatch remover has a 13-hp engine, a 24-in. working width and will work to a maximum depth of 2 in. It also has one neutral, one reverse and six forward gears and front or rear discharge. For more information contact...

Cut it out.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Exmark has two new Lazer Z mid-mount zero-turns, one with a 20-hp Kohler engine and one with a 25-hp Kawasaki engine. The new 20-hp features a 52-in. UltraCut deck, and the engine has a heavy duty canister air filter and clean-out ports. The...

Go with the flow.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... L.R. Nelson's 9000 Series one-inch valves are available in threaded or slip versions and angle and globe models with and without flow control. This PVC valve also has a captured diaphragm for ease of service. For more information contact...

Much mulch.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Mulch Tender from Millcreek Manufacturing carries up to 10.2 cu. yds. of mulch to residential and commercial job sites, then automatically dispenses mulch into wheelbarrows. One man can load a wheelbarrow in 10 seconds by operating an...

All wet.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Specially engineered for mid-size commercial turf areas, Rain Bird's 5004 stainless steel rotor has a radius of throw of 23-50 ft. The tough stainless steel riser deters vandals, and a built-in slip clutch mechanism provides added protection to...

Mid-sized might.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Sarlo Power Mowers' Viper is a mid-size lawn mower, a five-speed and self-propelled machine with a 32-in.-wide cutting swath. Available with either a 10.5-hp Briggs & Stratton industrial-commercial, 12.5-hp Kawasaki, or 13-hp Honda engine. ...

Get a grip.(GripWorks)
February 1, 2002... GripWorks' Foam Grip Wrap cushions grips for all kinds of tools. The wrap is 1/8-in. thick, and each foam kit includes a 5-ft. strip of wrap and four finishing tape strips. For more information contact GripWorks at 800/827-4747 / circle no....

Tight moves.(Buhler Manufacturing)
February 1, 2002... Buhler Manufacturing's B56 wheel loader is a four wheel drive unit that articulates and oscillates for tight space operation. It is powered by a 56-hp Kubota diesel engine. For more information contact Buhler at 204/661-8711 or...

Events : WHAT, WHEN & WHERE.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... February 18-22 Cornell Turfgrass Management Short Course / Westchester County, NY; 607/255-1792 20-21 Landscape Industry Show / Long Beach, CA; 800/448-2522 20-22 Winter Workshop 2002 / Bethesda, MD; Sponsored by the Landscape...

Mow and prosper.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Making money by mowing grass is simple, right? Get yourself a pickup, a trailer and a big mower, and you've got yourself an instant landscape business. Shazam! What could be easier? In most areas, all you need is a local business license to...