Limagrain UK Appoint Sam Horner

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Limagrain UK Appoint Sam Horner: Sam Horner has been appointed as Limagrain UK’s new amenity seed specialist covering the south of England, the company has announced.

Sam has been involved in the sports turf industry for over twenty years and brings with him a wealth of experience.

Limagrain UK Appoint Sam Horner

It all started at his beloved Gloucester Rugby where he first became familiar with sports turf maintenance. He then went onto study sports turf at college and after graduating he landed a job at Tewkesbury Park Golf Club. Sam quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to deputy course manager before accepting the position of golf course manager at Gloucester Golf Club.

Five years ago he moved into a sales and marketing role within the amenity industry but continues to ‘work on the tools’ by offering match-day support for the grounds staff at Gloucester Rugby.

Commenting on his new position at Limagrain UK, Sam said that the opportunity was just too good to turn down.

“It was a very easy decision – all the way through the process I knew that if I was offered the job then I was absolutely going to take it. Limagrain is an outstanding company, in terms of its product portfolio and its reputation – the way it conducts itself is very professional. Limagrain has always been a leading company in the industry working at the very high end of sports turf and opportunities like this do not come along very often – I was always going to take it.”

With immediate effect Sam will now be offering technical advice and full support on products such as Limagrain’s leading brands of MM and Designer grass seeds and Colour Splash amenity flower mixtures.

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm.

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Doosan Bobcat EMEA Announces New Changes

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Doosan Bobcat EMEA Announces New Changes: Doosan Bobcat, a global leader in the compact equipment industry has announced new presidents and other organizational changes in the global structure of the company.

The changes have been announced as the company works across all regions to fully integrate and leverage the strength and scale of the business around the world, whilst maintaining the focus on customer centric solutions and further expanding and refining the company’s full liner strategy. As a result, Doosan Bobcat has announced the appointment of new regional presidents and a different global organization and leadership structure, including newly created global groups responsible for engineering, procurement and strategy.

Doosan Bobcat EMEA Announces New Changes

Consistent with these changes, Doosan Bobcat has announced the following leadership appointments, effective immediately:

  • Gustavo Otero has been appointed president, Doosan Bobcat Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Otero previously served as vice president of Compact & Telehandlers, Doosan Bobcat EMEA. Otero will be based out of Doosan Bobcat’s EMEA headquarters in Dobris in the Czech Republic.
  • Mike Ballweber has been appointed president, Doosan Bobcat North America. Ballweber previously served as senior vice president, Commercial Business, Doosan Bobcat North America.
  • Alvaro Pacini has been named senior vice president, Global Procurement, Doosan Bobcat. Pacini previously served as EMEA region president.
  • Troy Kraft has been appointed senior vice president, Global Engineering, Doosan Bobcat.
  • Youngmin Kwon has been named senior vice president, Global Strategy & Operational Excellence/Total Quality Management.

All the executives named above will report directly to Doosan Bobcat CEO, Scott Park.

“As a global company, we are taking these steps to become even more collaborative by sharing the best ideas and innovations around the world,” said Park. “I have great confidence in each of these leaders as they take on new and expanded roles and look forward to working with them to ensure our continued growth in the global marketplace.”

New Doosan Bobcat EMEA president named

Gustavo Otero has been named president for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA). Otero joined Doosan Bobcat in 2012 and most recently served as EMEA region vice president of Compact and Telehandlers. Prior to this, he was vice president of Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment EMEA and served as general manager at Geith and has an extensive 20-year background in the global construction equipment and automotive industries.

Otero earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering at Universidade de Vigo, an executive MBA from IESIDE Business Institute and a PDD from IESE Business School Universidad de Navarra.

Gustavo Otero commented: “I look forward to working with our global function teams, leaders and dealer network to further position us for long term growth and bring enhanced collaboration and innovations. I believe that the expanded global organizational structure will assist us in reaching new levels of success in EMEA and reinforce our position as the global leader in compact equipment to bring the best value to our customers.”

Global function leadership team

As a part of this initiative, Doosan Bobcat has announced additional senior leadership roles to lead the expanded global structure and help enhance and streamline the company’s focus on engineering, procurement and strategy globally. These global teams are designed to encourage collaboration, agility and drive innovation and growth strategies.

Alvaro Pacini has been appointed senior vice president, Global Procurement. He is responsible for global procurement functions including regional governance and commodity strategic management. He joined Doosan Bobcat in 2011 and most recently served as region president of Doosan Bobcat EMEA. Pacini has an extensive, 30-year background in the construction equipment and automotive industries, including experience in operations, strategy, sourcing, supply chain and total quality management.

Troy Kraft, named senior vice president of Global Engineering, has led engineering for Doosan Bobcat North America for nearly 12 years. He has been appointed to join the global leadership team and is responsible for global compact equipment product development, product safety and international standards.

“We are extremely pleased to have Troy and Alvaro lead the global engineering and procurement function teams,” said Scott Park. “They bring unique skills and professional insights that will enhance our global executive team, from their in-depth industry experience to technical leadership and impressive management capabilities.”

Kraft and Pacini join Youngmin Kwon, senior vice president, Global Strategy & Operational Excellence/Total Quality Management, as members of the Doosan Bobcat global function leadership team.

“Our new global structure and leadership team will encourage greater collaboration and agility throughout the company’s worldwide regions,” said Park. “Together, we will work more closely as one global team, which will bring enhanced collaboration, innovation and continued success for Doosan Bobcat.”

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit www.bobcat.com

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Machinery Dealer UK’s Youngest

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Machinery Dealer UK’s Youngest: Luke Mortimer, the owner of Ace Machines Limited in Milton Keynes, is the youngest member of the Cub Cadet dealer network in the UK.

Aged just 21, Luke has bought the dealership, formerly known as RGC Engineers.

Machinery Dealer UK's Youngest

He is no newcomer to the world of garden machinery and started his journey, aged 17, when he established his own business, ‘Mort’s Garden Machinery’. The company ran successfully for two years until Luke became aware of a long-established business owner looking to retire.

Luke approached the owner of RGC Engineers and agreed terms. The deal went through in December of last year and now Luke owns the company, with four members of staff by his side.   The dealership, now renamed Ace Machines, is part of Cub Cadet’s 200-plus UK dealer network.

“When I became self-employed at 17, I could take the gamble and jump into the unknown as I still lived at home. An increasing number of young people are now starting their own businesses instead of heading towards standard employment – it’s more aspirational,” said Luke. “As I’m so young, people immediately judge me on my age and think my knowledge isn’t what it should be, yet once they get talking to me, they soon realise how wrong first impressions are. I don’t think of it as an insult, it’s just that the industry is dominated by older people, it’s a barrier I’m having to break through.”

In the three short months Luke has owned his dealership, he has hired two members of staff to run his office and a further two to assist him in the workshop.

“Having a major brand like Cub Cadet is a significant benefit to the business,” he said. “They have been really good to me in my short time here. They haven’t been fazed by my age and have taken me and my business at face value, which is so encouraging. A trusting brand like them is what dealerships need, especially if they are just getting into the industry. I would say they have really helped with the success of my firm.”

Speaking on where he sees the gardening machinery industry heading, Luke added: “Over the next few years, I see the industry shifting towards robotics as millennials take more of an interest in gardening, opening up a new market.  Cub Cadet’s recent robotics training day has been invaluable. It was so in-depth and informative, and I now feel well equipped to sell this new technology to customers.”

Phil Noble, sales and technical manager for Cub Cadet, said: “It’s great to hear Luke’s story and to see how well he is getting on. It just goes to show that this industry has limitless opportunities available to all. Working with our dealers is one of the core principles for Cub Cadet, it’s a two-way partnership. If both parties work together effectively the benefits can be seen for each side. I look forward to continue working with Luke and his team.”

For more information please visit www.cubcadet.co.uk

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Capillary Concrete Hire Three

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Capillary Concrete Hire Three: Rapid sales growth across the US market has forced Capillary Concrete, the global leader in bunker and turf management, to boost its team of representatives serving American clients. Three new hires have significantly increased the company’s ability to support clients across the United States.

Greg Nichols is Capillary Concrete’s new Sales and Installation Manager for the Northeast of America, and also covers Florida. Nichols, originally from upstate New York, graduated from SUNY Canton and has been in the golf course construction industry working with architects, contractors and superintendents specializing in bunker maintenance products since 2007. He is based in Tequestra, Florida.

Capillary Concrete Hire Three

Mark Patterson, Sales and Installation Manager for the Southeast, lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. He is a thirty year veteran of the golf industry, working as a superintendent and a director of golf and grounds at many different clubs. Patterson holds a BS degree in plant and soil sciences from Mississippi State University andhas built several high profile clubs in the southeast including Champions Retreat GC in Augusta where he was director of construction and superintendent.

With more than 24 years in the turf industry, Scott Grego’s love for golf began when he worked for his uncle on Dundee golf course in Michigan as a teen. This led him to his turfgrass management degree at Michigan State. His internship led him to Dominion Country Club in San Antonio and eventually he became superintendant of the golf course. After seven years, he transitioned into the sales industry selling chemicals, fertilizers and equipment, leading to his recent appointment at Capillary Concrete’s Sales and Installation Manager for the Central US.

“Our growth and future projections have provided us the opportunity to hire a leading sales staff to match our leading bunker liner and turfgrass management applications. We are excited to bring the team together to make another huge impact for us in the near future,” said operations manager Travis Chivers.

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Ransomes’ Nigel Church Retires

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Ransomes’ Nigel Church Retires: One of the UK’s most respected and valued members in the turf industry, Nigel Church, is retiring at the end of June after almost 50 years in the sector. We had the pleasure of working closely with Nigel for decades and his knowledge, technical ability, eloquence and downright likeability shone through in everything he did.

Nigel joined Ransomes Sims & Jeffries as an apprentice back in the 1970s along with other industry notables such as Bob Buckingham, Bob Bevan, Paul Watson, Richard Bishop, Richard Walne, Graham Dale, Jeff Anguige and Barry Beckitt.

Nigel Church Retires From Ransomes

Readers of a similar age will recognise many of these names demonstrating that this generation of apprentices were the base for the new Toro European distribution – all built on the Ransomes skills they had been taught by John Wilson, Ken Buckledee & Guy Catchpole. In its day, Ransomes was considered the ‘university’ for the UK turf industry.

Nigel fulfilled many roles within the Ransomes business and the industry in general. In his time, he has been a demonstrator, technical rep and area rep; had responsibility for export sales, national accounts, regional sales management and training.

Included in his impressive CV is an eight-year sojourn, when he left Ransomes to work for one of their dealers, Kingston House Mowers in a sales role. He was back at the company in 1998, when it was purchased by Textron, became Ransomes Jacobsen and played a significant part in providing continuity as the two businesses merged together.

Later in his career he joined the new Cutting Edge Training division at Ransomes Jacobsen with a remit to pass on his extensive knowledge and experience to the next generation of sales and technical professionals within the dealer network. This was another area where Nigel excelled and the quality of training delivered by him and his colleagues was arguably the most concise, detailed and effective across the entire industry.

In the past few years he has continued to expand this role travelling to all points of the globe delivering training in his enthusiastic, effervescent manner and has recently returned from his final visit to the Far East. Many of us will never forget the long days and short nights at exhibitions and shows, where we enjoyed the camaraderie of a close-knit team in which Churchy was often the pivotal point … with a beer or gin and tonic in hand.

Nigel has forgotten more than many people in this industry will ever know and he will be sorely missed as he rides off into the sunset (probably on a Ransomes Highway 3). It has been an absolute pleasure to work with a man of this calibre – kind, knowledgeable, dedicated, humorous, affable –  and who is instantly recognised across the industry. Just try walking with him across the halls at SALTEX, BTME, GIS and any other international event and see how long it takes to get from A to B!

The global turf industry’s sincere best wishes go out to you Nigel, to Sylvia, your family and grandchildren, for a very long and happy retirement. It is well deserved.

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