Miki Stengaard Petersen wins student award

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Miki Stengaard Petersen wins student award: Miki Stengaard Petersen has been named the Campey Turf Care Systems and Havdrup Student of the Year 2019.

The award is presented by the Groundsman Association Denmark (GAD) and is given to the student that finishes the Danish Groundsmen’s school with the highest grade in the final exam. In the event of two students getting the same grade, the decision is made based on the overall highest grade.

Miki Stengaard Petersen wins student award

Miki Stengaard Petersen wins student award

Miki works for Skive IK, who are into their second season in the Danish First Division after topping the Second Division and winning promotion in 2018/19. The 26-year-old has worked for the Jutland based club since April 2016 and works alongside three others at the 10,000 capacity Skive Stadium.

As well as winning the title of Student of the Year, Miki was also given the opportunity to travel to Spain and spend a week working Paul Burgess and his staff at Real Madrid CF. Miki has since spent a week in Madrid, and the experience has been one that will stay with him for the rest of his career.

“I almost didn’t believe it at first,” Miki began. “I was so happy and super excited, I’ve never won anything before, so to win the award and be given the opportunity to work with Real Madrid was huge for me.

“It was simply amazing; it was the experience of a lifetime. Paul Burgess and his staff are all very talented, and I feel that I learnt a lot from them. I’m very thankful for the experience because I’ve seen how beautiful our line of work can be.”

GAD was founded in December 2011 and aims to bring those interested in maintaining football fields and similar areas together. In doing this, they hope to use education, professional networking and educational tours abroad to strengthen the professional environment for groundsmen.

This has already included a visit to England in 2019 organised by GAD and Campey Turf Care where thirty-eight groundsman from Denmark and Spain visited leading venues such as Arsenal’s London Colney training centre, Liverpool Football Club, Stoke City Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur’s Enfield Training Ground and the brand-new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where head of playing surfaces and estates, Darren Baldwin, gave up his time to give the group a tour of the stunning new facility and answer questions from the groundsmen.

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Precision Microbes appoint Gary Robertson

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Precision Microbes appoint Gary Robertson: Precision Microbes has appointed Gary Robertson as their new technical sales director for the United Kingdom.

Gary has held various positions during his 25-years in the turf industry including golf course manager, groundsman at a Premier League club, working in Bulgaria as a construction and grow-in manager and more recently as technical sales manager at Consolidate Turf.

In his new role, he will be overseeing the expansion and development of Precision Microbes products in the UK amenity sector. The range of products is already popular in Europe with football teams in Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga, and expanding on this success within the English winter sports and golf market is a target for Gary.

Precision Microbes produce blends of up to 60 different microorganisms that can benefit the plant in different ways. These blends focus on the behaviour and benefits of microorganisms on the plant and the growing medium which it lives in.

Gary’s arrival at the company has unfortunately coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, with this in mind, a greater level of sensitivity has been adopted regarding a lower key introduction.  He feels that the products Precision Microbes offer can assist turf managers who may be disrupted or feel short of renovation time as a result of the uncertainty over the re-opening of golf facilities or the resumption of this season and beginning of the 2020/21 season.

Gary explained: “I’m confident Precision Microbes are set up to have a beneficial impact on the UK turf market because they offer a diverse and evolving product range, particularly with the growing demand for alternatives to chemical products.

“Regardless of the green space that you manage, turf issues are generally the same across the board to a lesser or greater extent. The golf establishment continues to adjust with changing landscapes and environments in order to strive for their own individual perfect playing surfaces. Spring and Autumn renovations often take place under less than ideal climatic conditions. This can result in prolonged surface disruption and slow recovery leading to frustrations. It is certainly well documented that oxygen within the profile is a necessity, and incorporating Precision Microbes as part of your primary maintenance programme will supplement this process.

“Our products have been successful at football clubs in Europe, and we’ve seen excellent results not only during renovations but as part of a continued maintenance programme.  Given the current circumstances, these products could be used on pitches to naturally reduce the organic matter without putting them out of action for any length of time.

“Modern pitch surfaces such as Hybrid stitched, carpet systems or even the older stabilised systems have quite specific renovation and maintenance requirements.  Our organic range will complement existing practices and potentially alleviate some of the issues resulting through the inability to turn the surface over.”

Strong Grass Hybrid is a blend of beneficial microorganisms that colonise the leaves, plant crown, rootzone and rhizosphere. Their main objective is to promote strong, healthy root growth and to breakdown organic matter and fertilisers so that they can be easily taken in by the plant. It contains extra beneficial microorganisms that eliminate black layer, and pathogens that infect plants, help keep the plant healthy, thereby helping it fight off pests and infections. It can be applied by spraying directly onto the surface or through the irrigation during a normal cycle.

For further information contact: gary@precisionmicrobes.com

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New appointment at Indigrow

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New appointment at Indigrow: Indigrow are delighted to announce the appointments of Joe Russell as area sales manager, helping us expand and enhance our areas of operation within the UK.

For the last few years, Joe has been working in Landscaping and Lawncare, including a spell travelling and working in Sydney, Australia. He studied Sport and Outdoor Education at University and is a keen runner who regularly takes part in local 10k races. Currently training to run marathons, Joe also enjoys playing cricket and golf and for many years has helped prepare wickets at his local cricket club.

New appointment at Indigrow

New appointment at Indigrow

Joe will be responsible for the Sussex and Kent. His knowledge and expertise from the world of sports turf and agronomy are priceless to us and invaluable to our customers. If you wish to Joe, their contact details are as follows:

Joe Russell 07483 082 903 jrussell@indigrow.co.uk

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New COMPO EXPERT appointment

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New COMPO EXPERT appointment: COMPO EXPERT GmbH, a European market leader in fertiliser production, has appointed Matthew Williams as National Account Manager for Turf to increase the company’s profile in the UK’s sports turf sector.

A BASIS-registered Turf Agronomist and a member of the European and International Turfgrass Society, Matt brings 15 years of sales and turf consultation experience at high-profile sports venues, landscape businesses and public green facilities to his new role.

New COMPO EXPERT appointment

New COMPO EXPERT appointment

He had previously worked at Spunhill Amenity where he was UK Turf Sales Manager, having moved from Barenbrug UK in 2018 where, over a 10-year period, he held the roles of UK Key Account Manager and New Product Development Manager.

Within his national role at COMPO EXPERT, Matt will be looking after the needs of the company’s current distributors and merchants throughout the UK and Ireland with raw material and branded material supply.

“I intend to increase COMPO EXPERT’s brand presence in the UK,” Matt says. “The brand is number one in Europe and with the company’s high-quality chemistry products, I believe there is plenty of room for expansion in the UK & Ireland market.”

Commenting on Matthew’s appointment, COMPO EXPERT Managing Director, Gerald Bonner says: “‘We are delighted to have recruited someone of the stature of Matt Williams. Matt has extensive experience in a wide range of turf environments and we look forward to achieving greater growth in this market. COMPO EXPERT is the European leader in Turf Agronomy applications and Matt will be leading our significant expansion plans for the UK & Ireland Turf programme.”

Matt can be contacted on: 07392 976 748 or matt.williams@compo-expert.com

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An insight into Agrovista Amenity

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An insight into Agrovista Amenity: “My hope for Agrovista Amenity is that the industry welcomes what it’s trying to be – a science-based company offering real solutions to customers and adding value wherever possible.”

John Marland has been integral in the development of the newly formed Agrovista Amenity. With more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, John claims that the launch of the new company is his proudest moment yet.

An insight into Agrovista Amenity

An insight into Agrovista Amenity

In this exclusive Q&A, John explains what Agrovista Amenity truly represents and why the industry should start getting excited.

Q: Now Agrovista Amenity has officially launched, how do you think it’s going so far?

JM: We’re right in the depths of integration now, and that always presents a challenge, but it’s going as well as we expected. There’s a great team within the Agrovista business, and this isn’t the first integration project that they’ve worked on – they’re well versed in integrating businesses into our internal system.

We’ve had a fantastic reception from both customers and suppliers – people really understand why we did it and what we are trying to do. It’s not about buying another business, it’s about finding the right business that helps you to create what you’re trying to achieve in the industry – a business that can service all the marketplace whether it’s online, by telephone or by face-to-face.

Q: What does the new organisation look like?

JM: As you can imagine, there were two existing structures that needed to come together, and we’ve certainly made progress. It may well be early days, but the thing that excites me is that we have a national sales team that rivals any in the market. As we start to turn the strategy into reality there will be a whole new level of customer support, whether that be internet support, field sales or telephone support.

Q: What does this mean for customers?

JM: Customers come first and that’s the primary motivation – not just for Agrovista Amenity, but for Agrovista as a whole.

There’s no need for us to radically hike prices just because two businesses have come together – that’s not a consequence or a motivation. The industry regulates the industry and we are part of that. We hope that our uplift, if you like, will be increased by efficiencies and bigger critical mass. We’re not expecting the customer to finance us – it will just be a case of being better at what we do.

Q: What are your hopes for the Agrovista Amenity business and in turn, your role?

JM: My hope for Agrovista Amenity is that the industry welcomes what it’s trying to be – a science-based company offering real solutions to customers and adding value wherever possible. Inevitably there will be changes within my role, but I just want to see this group of people maximise their potential and help them to become all they can be.

An insight into Agrovista Amenity

An insight into Agrovista Amenity

Q: What do you think are the current industry challenges?

JM: It’s a lack of solutions for challenges. I think soil-borne pests are becoming a real issue. We’re really starting to witness the effects of a lack of chemistry and an expediential rise in issues caused by the likes of leatherjackets and chafer grubs.

Also, I think we still face the same challenges that arise due to a lack of investment in green spaces, or government provided green spaces. I would love to see this market come together and try and approach government to increase standards in local-level sports facilities. I have coached youth football for nearly ten years now, and I’ve seen that although people work hard, the standards just aren’t good enough because there isn’t enough money there.

I think that we need to work harder as an industry to raise our profile and the value of what we do. However, as I sit here today, the weather is top of the agenda. I’m very conscious that the greenkeepers and the grounds people of the industry are adept at facing challenges from weather, but the constant wetness is becoming unbearable.

Q: Do you see any potential growth areas?

JM: I think there needs to be an acknowledgement of the fact that amenity has a lot of markets within it, and we see fit to grow in all of them because we just need to be better than everybody else out there.

Q: Is the development of Agrovista Amenity a career highlight?

JM: I’ve been in the industry for more than 25 years but seeing Agrovista Amenity launch to the team and the market must be one of my biggest career highlights. This is because of the size, scale and magnitude of the business that we now have.

Also, in terms of highlights, I take huge pleasure in seeing how far some of the younger members of the team have progressed. Seeing people succeed within the business that we have is really a highlight. I don’t think you can take too much value in personal achievement. It’s more about what we have achieved collectively over the time we have been in the marketplace.

For more information, visit www.agrovista.co.uk

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