Tag Archive for: Agrovista

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

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New appointment at Agrovista Amenity: Agrovista UK has announced the appointment of Doug McLaren as a new Amenity Specialist who will be operating throughout Berkshire across to Essex and up to Northampton.

Doug started his career in greenkeeping after enjoying a summer job at a small nine-hole golf course in the Scottish Highlands. For the next thirty years he proceeded to work at many prestigious courses such as The Wisley Golf Club in Surrey, St Andrews in Scotland, a De Vere club in Lancashire, the Golf de Joyenval in Paris, The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, and Batchworth Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth. Along the way he worked hard to gain qualifications including an NVQ in Greenkeeping and both a HND and a HNC in Golf Course Management.

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

Prior to joining Agrovista Amenity, Doug was taking some time out after recovering from a brain haemorrhage.

“I was very lucky, and it made me take a step back to reassess,” he said. “I felt that it was time to move away from greenkeeping and then I was made aware of an opportunity at Agrovista Amenity. It is a company that I have worked with a lot over the years, so I know the products very well. I felt it would be a good fit.”

With a wide variety of clients in different sectors, Doug admits it has been a whirlwind start, but claims he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m a bit of a sponge at the moment,” he said. “I’m really enjoying going around all the different businesses, taking in as much information as I can, as well as passing on my knowledge.

“It’s an exciting time to be at Agrovista Amenity and I’m astonished at just how many products we have,” he continued. “There is absolutely nothing we can’t do as a company – the possibilities are endless and that is the message we are trying to get out there.”

With a strong portfolio at his disposal, Doug is ready to address any emerging trends and he is already seeing a strong desire within the industry to shift towards more eco-friendly products and packaging.

Turf and amenity managers are publicly showing that they are keener than ever to address sustainability with their practices.  Working with the current supplier base Doug sees huge potential within the portfolio to provide solutions to these challenges and other yet to come.

Doug claims that he has identified several growth areas and he will be working hard to achieve his goals. He admits that it won’t be without its challenges and conceded that the pandemic continues to have an impact. However, while most sports and businesses came to a standstill, some are now seeing an encouraging resurgence.

“Covid has without doubt had an impact on sporting venues, but some are returning with a bang – golf in particular. Prior to the pandemic, golf membership was declining throughout the country but now looking to get back to if not beyond the previous levels. I’ve noticed that lots of clubs are benefiting and are now looking to invest in their courses and facilities.

“I know first-hand that it is getting harder and harder for these people to produce the best surfaces they can and I’m looking forward to helping them.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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New area sales manager for Agrovista Amenity

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New area sales manager for Agrovista Amenity: Tom Weaver has been announced as the new Central Area Sales Manager for Agrovista Amenity.

Tom initially started his career as a greenkeeper and quickly worked his way up to the position of course manager. He credits his greenkeeping experience for helping to shape his career path and claims that he was proud to once have been ‘on the tools.’

New area sales manager for Agrovista Amenity

New area sales manager for Agrovista Amenity

At the age of 28 he became a sales advisor for Pitchcare, where he began advising greenkeepers and turf managers on various products – many of which he had previously used. Tom made an impact, and it wasn’t long before he was overseeing the internal sales team.

It was a period in his career that he will always remember fondly.

“For me, the biggest achievement was the team ethos that we have created,” he said.

“We’ve been on a journey together and the department is now such a well-oiled machine.

We’ve got staff ranging in age from 21 to 65, who are all pushing in the same direction – it’s great to see and even better to be a part of.”

Based in Allscott, Telford, Tom will still be leading the internal turf team but in addition he will also be focussing on the external side of the business.

“It is not a case of reinventing the wheel because the external team is the best in the business,” said Tom. “I’m there to offer support and to ensure that I’m always available on the other end of the phone if they need advice or solutions.

“I’m sure there be will lots of twists and turns in the road ahead, but that is part of the job and I fully intend on successfully overcoming any challenges. In terms of my direct line of management I could not ask for much more – my relationship with Dan Hughes (Head of Commercial) and John Marland (Head of Amenity) is very strong and it’s always nice to have their support.

“2022 has the potential to be hugely successful and I truly believe we can do great things here.”

Commenting on Tom’s appointment, Dan Hughes said: “Tom joins an exceptionally talented and experienced Area Management team of James Watson (South) and Ramsay MacGregor (North). Despite still being relatively young, Tom brings a wealth of agronomy skill and proven management experience to the role. At heart Tom is an industry person, sports enthusiast and a conscientious team player who will strengthen our business and engagement with customers.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner

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Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner: Agrovista Amenity is proud to announce that it has joined The Tree Council as a Jubilee Partner.

Since 1973, The Tree Council has been working towards bringing everyone together with a shared mission to care for trees and our planet’s future. It is therefore fitting that The Tree Council is an official delivery partner of The Queen’s Green Canopy.

Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner

Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner

The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”.

Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance the environment by planting trees during the winter tree planting season.

By becoming one of the Jubilee Partners, Agrovista Amenity will be playing an integral role in planting trees and hedgerows in honour of Her Majesty’s service to the nation, creating a lasting legacy which will benefit future generations for years to come.

The aim is to achieve 70 Jubilee Partners, whose collective impact will ensure the planting of an incredible 35,000 trees and 7 kilometres of hedgerows.

Ed Smith, Landscape Team Manager for Agrovista Amenity, revealed his delight at becoming a Jubilee Partner.

“It is such a wonderful initiative,” said Ed. “We see tree planting as a real benefit to the environment and with everything that is going on in terms of COP26, we have a real opportunity to make a change. The direction we are heading in terms of our bio-degradable tree guards, best practice and our commitment to sustainability reflects this.

“Our planet is changing. We are on a journey and want to play our part. Supporting the likes of The Tree Council is very much part of that journey.”

“This initiative will signal a huge amount of environmental, biodiversity and other eco-system services benefits.”

The Agrovista Amenity team will celebrate becoming a Jubilee Partner by attending a corporate planting day which is taking place in Bicester in Oxfordshire in early December.

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Neil Pullen retires from Agrovista Amenity

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Neil Pullen retires from Agrovista Amenity: Neil Pullen, Product Development Manager at Agrovista Amenity has announced his retirement. Neil has been instrumental in the development of a number of leading turfcare brands and his legacy is set to live on through the next generation of amenity experts.

Neil started his career as a fruit farmer, a position he held for just over 11 years before he joined Kings Horticulture. As the name suggests, the company largely focussed on horticulture, but it had a very small amenity division and Neil saw huge opportunity.

Neil Pullen retires from Agrovista Amenity

Neil Pullen retires from Agrovista Amenity

From having just one trading customer, Neil developed Kings Horticulture into a strong amenity business with a large customer base and this continued when the company became United Agri Products (UAP).

Sherriff Amenity was the next destination on Neil’s career path and a merge with a company called Profarma resulted in the creation of Agrovista.

“It was an exciting time,” said Neil. “The merger brought a lot of backing to the table and allowed the amenity side of the business to grow massively. Over time we bought Alpha Amenity, Amenity One, Terra Firma, and then more recently Maxwell Amenity.

“This acquisition enabled the launch of Agrovista Amenity and it has made us a much stronger, more focussed group of individuals,” continued Neil. “I can safely say that the group of individuals we have working for us now are some of the most technical agronomists in the country. We are moving more towards an advice-driven business and away from a sales-driven business – and it is great to see.”

Neil rightfully admits to feeling proud when he reflects on his career to date; after all he started as a trainee amenity salesman and progressed through to middle and then senior management. In his current and final role, he is now one of three people that oversees the amenity division for Agrovista. However, there is one stand out moment in his career that he is particularly proud of.

“Mark Pyrah (now at ICL) and I introduced fungicide and chemical mixing and I feel that it changed the amenity market for the better,” said Neil. “We were the first to do it and it has now become standard practice in the industry.

“At the time we faced a lot of opposition from manufacturers, but we were determined because we could see so many benefits. It would reduce costs for the user because they would be using different active ingredients from different chemical groups, but more importantly it would prevent chemical resistance and offer a better control of diseases.”

Neil has always had an eye for innovation and is renowned for working with a wide range of manufacturers to bring new ideas and products into the marketplace. He does however admit that the process has changed somewhat over the years.

“15 years ago, we would always visit the American trade show – GIS,” said Neil. “New products in America used to be four or five years in front of us and so my mission was to look for new ideas and innovations. I used to identify the best ones and then introduce them into the UK market.

“This of course has changed over recent years due to the rise of the internet. New products are not as hard to find, and you can get information very quickly at the click of a button.”

Neil reflects fondly on his successful overseas missions and is responsible for introducing many turf and amenity solutions into the UK market. However, the industry, and Agrovista in particular, will give thanks to Neil for nurturing the next generation of turf experts.

In fact, anyone that has joined the company in the last twenty years would have been trained by Neil at some point.

“It is a nice feeling to take somebody with little or no experience through to becoming an experienced, top performer,” he said.

John Marland, Head of Amenity at Agrovista Amenity, believes that Neil has laid the foundations for a bright future.

“To summarise Neil’s career, I think of a quote of which its origin I believe is lost,” said John. “It reads…

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”

“Neil has planted an awful lot of trees. His legacy is what Agrovista Amenity is today and what it will be in the future.”

After a hugely successful career, Neil can now enjoy his retirement with his wife Kim of 39 years but admits that there will be times when he will miss the job.

“I’ve met so many wonderful and varied people and I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many great places and top sporting venues – it’s natural to miss that. But now I’m looking forward to having more time to myself – to play more golf and take up fishing again. More importantly, my wife and I have so many places we want to visit, and we fully intend on working our way through the bucket list.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential

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Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential: Agrovista Amenity has further underlined its commitment to export by becoming a corporate member of the Institute of Export & International Trade.

Since Agrovista Amenity was launched many UK customers have benefited from a wider breadth of innovative products and specialist technical expertise. UK sport is a global spectacle and sets the standard for first class agronomy intelligence and natural playing surfaces.

Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential

Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential

There is, however, increasing pressure on grounds managers to produce the best playing surfaces and this in turn sees more demand for companies like Agrovista Amenity to provide new and innovative technologies.

With an experienced and motivated management team, the plan was always to explore new opportunities, and export was high on the agenda for Agrovista Amenity.

Although a vast range of the company’s products have already made an impression in various global markets, Export Manager Tom Challinor has revealed that the plan is to go even further.

“We want to grow export and the potential is absolutely there,” he said. “In the UK we are already one of the biggest amenity providers and now is the time to push on globally. I am fully focused on gradually building the export side of the business.”

With the company’s focus on sustainability, products such as those in Agrovista Amenity’s WhiptecBio range are becoming more sought after – especially due to the global initiative to reduce plastic waste. WhiptecBio tree and hedge guards are perfect for European nurseries and landscapers.

Agrovista Amenity’s diverse product range gives international customers a ‘one stop shop’ supplying everything from fertilisers, bio stimulants and micronutrients through to line marking paint, professional tools and equipment.

With excellent international logistics partners Agrovista can send products into Europe and Worldwide competitively and in good time.

The Institute of Export & International Trade is renowned for enhancing the export performance of the United Kingdom by setting and maintaining professional standards in international trade management and export practice. This is principally achieved by the provision of education, training and practical business support services.

“Having the corporate membership status gives us credibility, certainly when we are dealing with overseas customers. It shows that we are trusted exporters, which is essential especially in these current times.”

Tom admitted that the membership has come at a welcome time due to challenging and often complex trading conditions in international markets. He claims that the role of the Institute of Export & International Trade has never been more vital.

“With Brexit and the pandemic, export has become more complex,” he said. “The workload has increased, and everything is checked a lot more stringently now. Being up to date on changing legislation and customs formalities is crucial in successfully servicing our overseas customers and making sure our goods leave the UK and on to the destination country efficiently. This is where the support of the Institute will be beneficial with specific departments where we can access a host of information, such as legislation and customs advice.

“Overall, this membership is a very positive step forward and I believe it will continue to help us export our products into Europe and worldwide.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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