Tag Archive for: Agrovista

Agrovista UK electrifying delivery fleet

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Agrovista UK electrifying delivery fleet: Agrovista UK has started its journey towards replacing its delivery fleet with electric powered vehicles.

Agrovista UK is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and recently revealed that it has already set out a new range of measures and commitments designed to improve the health of the planet.

Agrovista UK electrifying delivery fleet

Agrovista UK electrifying delivery fleet

Chris Sprigg, Strategy and Planning Manager, offered a greater insight: “The use of diesel is our biggest CO2 emission so if we can move to a sustainable electricity supply as an alternative then that will put us on the right track towards our net carbon zero objectives. We have already moved onto electric vehicles for our car fleet, and I’m pleased to say that we currently have 44 vehicles in this respect.

“Furthermore, we have already started to install electric vehicle charging points at the depots and the objective is to have every depot installed with charging points by the end of 2022.

“This gives us a good starting point but the biggest impact we can make is if we are able to fully electrify our delivery fleet. We have already started this process and it is extremely exciting.”

Over recent years there have been phenomenal developments in electric and battery-powered technology and manufacturers have been quick to embrace it. In many sectors there are now a wide range of alternatives to diesel and petrol – whether it be in the form of machinery, tools, or vehicles. There is however still an element of range anxiety (a fear that a vehicle has insufficient range to reach its destination) and Chris admits that he is no exception.

“The thing that we really are nervous about is range anxiety – which is a real issue,” he said. “It has to be a change of mind and attitude and we must make sure that this not only fits our green credentials, but it must also fit commercially too. It needs to be absolutely the right solution for us and our customer.”

Agrovista UK has already begun testing a range of potential electric vans and Chris revealed that the trials are being carried out by the company’s delivery drivers.

“We have had some really good feedback from the drivers to say that they like driving them, that they like the experience, and that they think it is the way to go. They have said that they are proud to be part of this very forward-thinking initiative.

“Now we need to find the right vehicle that will help us to achieve the support we need to give our customers through a fleet of electric vehicles. Let us not forget that our customers also have emission targets, and this is all part of the process.

“We need to develop what we have learnt from the trials and continue to try different vehicles,” he continued. “It will be a gradual transition rather than in one big hit and maybe in five years’ time I’d hope to see electric delivery vans fully integrated into the fleet.”

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

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

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Chris Hamley retires from Agrovista UK

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Chris Hamley retires from Agrovista UK: Agrovista UK has announced the retirement of Chris Hamley, Supervisor at the Liskeard depot in Cornwall, after an incredible 44 years of service.

Born and bred in Cornwall, Chris Hamley is a highly respected man in the South-West. He started working for the company back in 1976 after seeing an advertisement in the local newspaper. His first role was as a delivery driver and then he went on to cover most positions in the Liskeard depot including an assistant, a manager and now as the overall supervisor – which he admits was a proud moment in his career.

Chris Hamley retires from Agrovista UK

Chris Hamley retires from Agrovista UK

“It was a great personal achievement especially as I started out as a driver,” he said. “Over the years I have seen so many changes – different logos, new vehicles, name changes, products – but to be honest, being tucked away down here in Cornwall, it didn’t have much of an effect on us. We’ve just always done the job we’re supposed to do.”

When he is not managing the Liskeard depot, Chris volunteers as a first responder for the South-West Ambulance Service and says that he is looking forward to dedicating more time to this in his retirement. He will however miss both his colleagues and customers whom he has worked alongside for so long.

“I don’t have any big plans for retirement,” Chris said. “I will just take it as it comes but I will be doing more responding for the ambulance service.”

“I have really enjoyed my time working for the company and I’ll always remember the people that I’ve worked with. There are customers that I still see who I first started working with back in the very early days. A lot of my friends from my generation have retired already – and now it is my turn!”

Those who have worked with Chris are full of praise for him. Commenting on Chris’ retirement, Line Manager James Seabrook, said: “It is a very busy depot, but I just leave Chris to get on with it. He has been an absolute pleasure to work with and he is a real company man. 44 years of service is phenomenal, and he will be missed by all.”

Echoing James was Martin Stuart – an Agronomist for Agrovista UK: “Chris is an incredibly modest man. He has been out there on the road and in the office and has grown up with the job. Chris is very customer focussed and he knows so many of our customers by name – just as they know his. He will pull out all the stops to ensure that the customer is always satisfied, even if that means going in on a Sunday morning to open up for somebody who needs a product.

“I wish Chris a very happy retirement and I am sure he will be sorely missed by the agricultural community in Devon and Cornwall. He is certainly leaving behind some big boots to fill.”

The man filling those boots is the experienced Daniel Clarke, who is making the most of Chris’ last few weeks to prepare for his new position.

“He probably has the best product knowledge throughout the company, and he certainly has the best knowledge of the area I have ever known,” said Daniel. “I’m looking closely at how he works, how he interacts with customers and trying to learn as much from him as I can.

It is fitting that Daniel is somewhat of a Cornishman as well after moving to the South-West when he was just eleven. His previous positions have included working in a logistics role for celebrity chef Rick Stein, leading wholesale provider Booker and a memorable experience of working on an almond farm in Australia.

“The job really appealed to me because I have always been in this line of work and to become a supervisor is progression,” he said. “Also, the products and the sectors which Agrovista specialises in piqued my interest.

“It is one of the biggest companies I have worked for, and everyone has been incredibly welcoming. I am driven and motivated and looking forward to putting my own stamp on the role – in time. Overall, I am just incredibly pleased to be on-board.”

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

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

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Agrovista UK announces depot upgrades

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Agrovista UK announces depot upgrades: Agrovista UK is reinventing the way it distributes its wide range of products and that has started with a newly built depot in Melsonby and some significant upgrades in Allscott.

Ongoing improvements, developments and new initiatives are signalling exciting times for everyone connected with Agrovista UK. Staff, partners, suppliers, and customers are reaping the benefits of all the mechanisms being put in place, and the company’s latest focus has been on improving its storage and distribution.

Agrovista UK announces depot upgrades

Agrovista UK announces depot upgrades

The initiative perfectly captures the essence of Agrovista UK’s recently launched new campaign, which highlights its support for the arable and amenity industries that it specialises in.

The new #ForOurGrowers and #ForOurSports campaign celebrates the hard work of all involved in British farming and in British amenity – particularly following the unprecedented challenges experienced during recent times.

“We are striving to become the best in class in distribution and provide the best service we possibly can,” said Jamie Appleton – Agrovista UK National Supply Manager. “Our goal is to increase the capability of our teams and to ensure that our customers and our people are central to everything that we are doing.

“Historically, in terms of depots, we have centred ourselves on the outskirts of very rural communities in small holdings or farms. What that did, however, was create certain challenges, in terms of staffing, in terms of road networks and being able to reach out to all our customers on time.

“Melsonby, North Yorkshire, is the first purposely-built depot and is centred on the A1 and the A66 so drivers can reach the likes of Cumbria, Northumbria, and Yorkshire with a great level of ease. We can get products to our customers even quicker now.

“When we acquired Maxwell Amenity – we provided ourselves with a great power in the amenity sector and Allscott, Telford, is how we service our online customers. The recent upgrades at this depot have made us even stronger and it is our largest site across the company.”

Scott Hird, Depot Supervisor at the Melsonby depot and Jamie Harvey, Depot Manager at Allscott, were on hand to offer further insight into how this strategy is benefitting both staff and customers.

Melsonby

“We feel that we are now closer to our customers,” said Scott. “The Melsonby depot was built to replace a depot in Malpas, and it is much larger in size. We can hold more stock and we are delivering more products in a day than we ever did before. Because we are now closer to our customers, some even come directly to us to pick the products up if they really need them.

“Furthermore, the staff are all now on long-term contracts to ensure that we are more suited to the customers’ needs. They feel more valued and understand that there is always training available and opportunities for them to move through the business. It is a great atmosphere to be in daily.

“We had a clear vision of what we wanted to create at Melsonby and it is exactly how we wanted it to be. It wouldn’t have been possible without the team that were working at Malpas – we are working hard to keep the high standards that they originally set.”

Allscott

“It is a highly professional and slick operation,” said Jamie Harvey. “We have re-racked the entire warehouse; the front offices have had a major renovation and look fantastic, and we are also developing a new warehouse.

“We have the resources in place to ensure that everybody gets the same service regardless of if they are a first-time buyer or have spent two million pounds on our products. Improving customer service was always top of the agenda and these upgrades have helped us to achieve this.

“The staff are also a lot happier. It is nice to work for a company where employee welfare is a massive part of what they are trying to accomplish. We’re not just numbers and that makes a huge difference.”

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

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

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Agrovista Amenity Academy continues to grow

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Agrovista Amenity Academy continues to grow: Agrovista Amenity’s online Academy has shown significant growth with over 9,000 CPD points awarded so far, and the company believes that it is just the start of something special.

The Agrovista Amenity Academy is an online learning resource with courses and lessons created on a range of areas of turf management and for all products sold by Agrovista Amenity.

Agrovista Amenity Academy continues to grow

Agrovista Amenity Academy continues to grow

“It has grown bigger than we ever expected it to,” said Karl Parry, the founder of the education platform. “The amount of CPD points we have awarded really is quite phenomenal.”

The portal consists of videos, case studies, MSDS, labels and technical specifications which have been designed so that turf managers can fully understand and get maximum benefits from the products they use. This will, in turn, lead to healthier, better performing turf.

Furthermore, the Academy website boasts a highly sophisticated weather system which helps people make better decisions for the week ahead.

Launched in 2017, the Academy was the result of a need to provide a platform which suited both the learner and the employer – according to Neil Pullen, Agrovista Amenity Business Development Manager.

“The thinking behind the Academy was to provide education that was open to everybody,” he said. “Not just for those at the top, but more a vehicle for people who were new to the industry or part qualified, to further their education with a desire to become a course manager, or a head groundsperson for example.

“It progressed from there and then two years ago we sat down with BIGGA to discuss their education programme. It was apparent that golf clubs were paying for their staff to complete BIGGA courses, but it meant that the staff would need days off to do them. There was also an issue with the employers paying for their staff to be educated only for the staff to leave once they were qualified.

“So, you had a frustrated employee wanting to further their CPD education with BIGGA but struggling to do it because nobody wanted to pay for it, and nobody wanted to give them the time off. This was where the Academy really progressed because individuals can get the CPD points they need without it having an impact on their employers. Each course can be done at home and there is no cost. Now, a lot of BIGGA members come directly through the Academy.”

The Agrovista Amenity Academy, which is free to sign-up to, provides in-depth knowledge on Agrovista Amenity’s market leading products (Product Courses), as well as a wide range of areas in turf management such as turf disease, chemical, product application, seed and turf pests (Knowledge Courses).

The Product Courses have been designed so that the individual can fully understand and get maximum benefits from the products they purchase. With Product Courses and Knowledge courses being added on a regular basis, Academy students are guaranteed to have a wide variety to choose from.

“I think that the Product and Knowledge portfolios that we can build is endless,” said Karl. “Agrovista has an incredible number of resources combined with highly knowledgeable and experienced professionals. Both sections will continue to expand and will push the amenity standard forward.”

BIGGA allocates up to 4 points for all successfully completed Knowledge and Product Courses and can vary depending on content and length. To date, the Academy has awarded 9,499 CPD points to over 3,000 individuals. While it is evident that the wider industry is indeed seeing the benefits from using the Academy, so too is Agrovista Amenity.

“Internally, having that platform to train the team has been invaluable and we have seen improved sales results,” said Neil. “We now insist that all members of staff pass the courses because it teaches them about the products – how it works, why it works, how to apply it, what rates – absolutely everything.

“At the end of the day, we feel that we have a responsibility to make sure that customers understand everything they need to know about the products – so stewardship wise it is important too.”

The Academy has inevitably seen an increase during the pandemic with more people either being furloughed or working from home, but both Karl and Neil are confident that it will continue to grow, especially with the plans that are already in place.

“I would like to see a deeper integration with BASIS and FACTS and we have already spoken about some exciting new content for best practice,” said Karl. “We are also looking forward to continuing to support BIGGA and I feel that is a partnership which will develop even further. We have so many more courses to publish and I would just like to see the Academy continue to grow.”

“Further down the line I would like to see the Academy spilt into different sections to cater for individual sports,” added Neil. “At some point we are planning on having a golf academy, a football academy, a cricket academy, and a rugby academy, for example, to make it even more specific.

“We would also like to have courses for different abilities – so a foundation, intermediate and a professional course. We’ve got so much planned and while we are not quite there yet – we certainly are not far away.”

For more information, please visit www.amenityacademy.co.uk

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

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Agrovista Amenity appoints Katy Richards

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Agrovista Amenity appoints Katy Richards: “I have already found my path – digital marketing is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” said Katy.

Born and raised in rural Shropshire, Katy wanted to experience ‘city life’ and it is for this reason that she opted to attend university in the heart of vibrant Birmingham. Her three-year degree course was Digital Marketing, and she was so keen to get started that she began working in a marketing role before she had even graduated.

Agrovista Amenity appoints Katy Richards

Agrovista Amenity appoints Katy Richards

“My degree course very much focused on the creative side of digital marketing and so working for a marketing agency also enabled me to learn the practical side,” she said.

Even after graduating, Katy continued to work for the marketing agency and was quickly promoted from an assistant to an executive – most notably after excelling in search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. However, after four years of experiencing ‘city life’ her heart still belonged in Shropshire.

“I discovered that it just isn’t for me,” she said. “I am very much a country girl and I needed more greenery back in my life. Therefore, I left the job in Birmingham and moved back to my family home in Shropshire.”

With an impressive marketing portfolio Katy started freelancing and worked on a variety of different projects for just over a year. She admitted to missing an office environment and the camaraderie of working in a team and it was at this point that she came across the job at Agrovista Amenity.

“The job obviously caught my eye because it was a digital marketing role, but it was the company culture which really appealed to me,” said Katy. “The amenity and agricultural aspects of Agrovista is all very much part of life when you live in a Shropshire village – it just felt a good fit for me.”

The office environment will have to wait a little longer after the country went back into lockdown on the day before her start date, but Katy is already settling into her new role.

“It is all very exciting and there is lots to do,” she said. “At the moment I am working on a variety of projects such as e-commerce, SEO, social media advertising and I’m also starting to learn HTML coding.

“I’m part of a great team here and my line manager, Siân Workman, has so many excellent plans in place – I’m looking forward to supporting her and playing an important role.

“We are all working from home at the moment,” Katy continued. “It is working really well, and the company has put some excellent procedures in place to ensure that we have excellent communication with one another.

“I find every aspect of this role fascinating and I’m very much looking forward to the road ahead.”

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

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

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