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INDUSTRY NEWS |
More than 125 future golfers attended the annual Give-A-Kid-A-Club event at Deep River Driving Range, High Point, N.C., which was hosted by the Piedmont GCSA this August. Kids received golf instruction, dinner and a club to take home for more practice. The group combined efforts with the Triad Youth Golf Association and the Jamestown Youth League to ensure a big turnout. A local YMCA also bussed in kids from day camps. The program relies heavily on donations of used clubs to introduce kids to the game. To donate clubs, contact Mike Duffy at mikemduffy@hotmail.com.
ProLink Solutions, provider of GPS systems and digital advertising, has paired up with Sport Business Group to install the ProLink system at golf courses and resorts in France. Sport Business Group, a European sports company, will oversee sales, installation and service of ProLink screens mounted on golf cars in France. The two companies will partner on the advertising platform at the participating courses. ProLink has also become the exclusive provider for courses managed by Billy Casper Golf. So far the ProLink GPS system is set for installation at 12 Billy Casper golf courses.
For the third consecutive year, Bernhard & Co. is offering 10 GCSAA Class A members free trips to England to attend the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association’s Turf Management Exhibition, Jan. 18-22 in Harrogate, England. Winners will also visit golf courses in England, among other activities. The deadline to apply is Nov. 14, and winners will be notified Dec. 5. The company will cover airfare, accommodations, conference registration, education seminars and transportation. Register online at www.bernhard.co.uk/gcsaa-registration.0.html, or call 888-474-6348.
Florida turfgrass professionals met recently with the USDA to prioritize the industry’s research needs. The two-day meeting facilitated discussions on issues such as golf, sod and seed, athletic turf, parks and recreation, lawn care and grounds maintenance. The USDA was expected to draft a post-meeting report to examine the issues and establish priorities. The report is expected to be released this fall. The Florida turfgrass industry has a $5 billion economic impact in the state and provides about 84,000 jobs.
Caterpillar Inc. and Navistar International Corp. have entered a memorandum of understanding to pursue global on-highway truck business opportunities and cooperate on a variety of engine platforms. The two companies said they plan to focus on global truck opportunities, including North American service construction trucks and technology development for engines worldwide.
Leaders at the Irrigation Association gathered June 11 for the inaugural Water Caucus briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where they made presentations to 35 congressional staff members. Andy Smith, IA’s external affairs director, gave a one-hour presentation on national water issues, drought and the importance of water management. Other presentations were given by caucus co-chairs John Linder (R-Ga.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and George Radanovich (R-Calif.). The Congressional Water Caucus is intended to facilitate a meaningful educational venue and forum on the nation’s water issues for members of Congress committed to those goals.
Almost a year after its acquisition of Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments businesses, Doosan Infracore International has moved into its new global headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. Its parent company is South Korea-based Doosan Infracore. The 28,272-square-foot facility will house approximately 100 employees in engineering, manufacturing and marketing. The three entities are now called Bobcat, Doosan Infracore Portable Power and DII Attachments, which all operate as individual businesses of Doosan Infracore International. Charlotte was selected during a feasibility study that compared the city with Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and New York. Doosan Infracore is now one of the top seven global construction equipment manufacturers. It operates a network of 3,500 dealers worldwide and 20 manufacturing plants in the U.S., Europe and China.
Aqua Control Inc., Spring Valley, Ill., has acquired Aeration Technologies Inc., Burnsville, N.C., which manufactures Lake Bed Aeration equipment. Its owner, Cary Martin, has agreed to become the east coast regional sales manager for Aqua Control. All manufacturing will occur at Aqua Control’s Illinois facility, and all sales, support and requests for information will be handled by Aqua Control.
As part of an ongoing initiative to educate industry partners about aeration, overseeding and synthetic turf maintenance, Redexim Charterhouse announces a certification program for professional contractors. Within the program, contractors must prove their competence with Redexim Charterhouse machinery and show specific knowledge of the services offered. Newly certified contractors include Holes R Us, St. Louis; Grass Roots Aeration, Odgen, Utah; Bio Builder, Alexandria, Minn.; Specialty Aeration Turf Services, Chatham, Ill.; Rich’s Sports Fields Inc., Lancaster, N.Y.; Boston Co. Golf & Athletic Fields, South Berwick, Maine; Munie Green Care Professionals, Caseyville, Ill.; and Sports Turf Specialties Inc., Plainville, Mass.
Twenty-seven undergraduate students were awarded the 2008 Bayer Scholarships from Bayer Environmental Science. The Bayer Undergraduate Scholarships honor students pursuing careers in the green industry who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership skills.
This summer, Tiger Truck LLC opened its new assembly plant and headquarters in Poteau, Okla., which will employ 300 people in the town. The new facility is the home to the first e-coat paint plant in the U.S. This paint finish is three times more durable and rust-resistant than most vehicles’ finishes, the company says. The 150,000-square-foot space will have the capacity to manufacture 7,500 vehicles per year. Tiger Truck assembles vehicles designed by China’s third-largest vehicle manufacturer, ChangAn Automobile Group. The company adds that its status is a reversal of recent trends — the company is manufacturing in the U.S. vehicles with a Chinese heritage. Nearly 80 percent of the trucks manufactured at the plant will be exported.
The New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation announces William R. Morton, CGCS at The Misquamicut Club in Westerly, R.I., as its president for 2008-09. Morton has served on the NERTF board of directors since 2000 as a delegate appointed by the Rhode Island GCSA.
The National Golf Course Owners Association has awarded its Don Rossi Scholarship to three students pursuing degrees in golf-related fields. Ranging from $1,900 to $3,000, the scholarships are given in the name of one of the association’s founders. The scholarship winners are Lucas Brick, a senior in the professional golf management program at New Mexico State University; Paul Speltz, a senior in golf enterprise management at the University of Wisconsin, Stout; and Henry Mohr, also a senior majoring in golf enterprise management at the University of Wisconsin, Stout. Since the scholarship’s inception in 1999, the group has given more than $27,000 to students.
StrataPoint’s Web-based software can now be found on the testing and demonstration grounds at The Experience at FarmLinks, Sylacauga, Ala. StrataPoint, the newest partner of The Experience, provides global positioning satellite technology to drive a geographic information system. The company says its products offer complete coverage of green industry management functions and enable users to manage volumes of data such as ground assets, irrigation systems, tree inventories, chemical purchases and applications, personnel, maintenance and machinery.
H&E Sod Nursery, Markham, Ill., has pledged its support of Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere Foundation, a partnership of the Iowa Veterans Administration Hospital and Iowa PGA Section. Created to enhance veterans’ quality of life through the game of golf, the foundation provides free personal golf instruction from Iowa PGA professionals for wounded veterans. H&E Sod is donating 1 percent of its revenues from sales of its bluegrass, bentgrass, blue fescue and tall fescue sod products to Iowa golf courses to the foundation.
Valent U.S.A. Corp. has agreed to acquire certain assets of Green Light Co., a San Antonio-based consumer lawn and garden business. Green Light offers self-branded insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and fertilizers through lawn and garden distributors and retailers.
Sonny DuBose, CGCS, who passed away Dec. 11, 2007, at the age of 91, is now honored with an award in his name created by the South Texas GCSA. DuBose, one of the founders of the South Texas chapter, worked at Houston Country Club for the bulk of his career and remained active in the industry during his retirement. President of the Texas Turfgrass Association in 1960, he also served as president of the South Texas chapter in 1960, 1964-65 and 1971. DuBose received GCSAA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2001. The Sonny DuBose Superintendent of the Year Award will go to a superintendent who has been a Superintendent Member of the STGCSA in good standing for five consecutive years and must have not won the award in the previous three years. The inaugural recipient of the award will be chosen by the chapter’s members at its annual meeting and will be formally presented with the award at the group’s annual Christmas party this December.
Singapore Island Country Club, one of Asia’s largest golf course destinations, has retained the course architects at Golfplan-Fream, Dale & Ramsay to redesign 36 of the club’s 72 holes beginning this fall. The architects will refurbish the layout’s Bukit Course, a James Braid design that has hosted many professional tournaments in Asia, including the Johnnie Walker Classic and Singapore Open. Golfplan will re-infuse the 1924 layout with a host of vintage Braid traits while adding tournament length and challenge. Noel Manlangit is the superintendent at Singapore Island CC.
Summer campers from the First Tee of Augusta (Ga.) took part in a two-week program recently that focused on golf and introduced them to careers created by the game. Ranging from 8th graders to 12th graders, the campers took a trip to visit the offices and production facility of SubAir Systems and heard a presentation from Mike Corwon, CEO; Brian Key, golf project manager; Jeff Corwon, production and engineering manager; and Will Brown, designer engineer. They were also given a step-by-step tour of how SubAir products are designed, produced, sold, installed and operated.
People news
Reinders Inc. continues to expand with the addition of eight new sales representatives to serve the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois markets. In the company’s soft goods business group, Dale Parske is the new western region sales manager; Jeff Schmidt will cover the west metro and outlying areas of Minneapolis; Scott Gilbertson’s territory includes Minnesota and western Wisconsin; Bill Gauwitz, a Class AA retired GCSAA member, will cover east central and southeast Minnesota plus west central Wisconsin; Tim Keating is responsible for northern Illinois; and Bruce Woehrle will cover the Chicago metro area. In the commercial equipment business group, Mark Robel, a Class A GCSAA member, will cover southeast Wisconsin. Bob Hauser will cover the Chicago metro area for the company’s aerator and irrigation business group.