Tag Archive for: Amenity

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

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New divisional sales manager for Vitax Amenity

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New divisional sales manager for Vitax Amenity: Vitax Amenity has appointed a new divisional sales manager as it continues to drive forward plans to expand its presence in turf management and groundcare markets, both in the UK and internationally.

Greg O’Leary joins the team from Roechling Engineering Plastics where he has spent the past 10 years as sales manager responsible for leading the sports and leisure division.

New divisional sales manager for Vitax Amenity

New divisional sales manager for Vitax Amenity

Prior to joining Roechling, Greg has held several national sales manager and sales manager roles, including over 15 years’ experience working in global markets.

Managing a team of six, Greg will be responsible for working with existing UK clients whilst maintaining and growing Vitax Amenity’s international customer-base.

Carl Welsh, Vitax’s managing director and group CEO, says: “Greg has a thorough understanding of the markets we work within, the challenges the industry is experiencing post-Brexit and good ideas about where and how we can continue to grow our portfolio.

“It is an exciting time to join Vitax Amenity and Greg’s strong sales background speaks for itself. We are thrilled to have such an experienced manager join the team.”

Greg will work across all Vitax Amenity’s divisions including Supaturf and Thomas Elliot Fertilisers.

“After working in the same industry for most of my career, I have been looking for a new challenge and I am looking forward to working for a well-established company with its excellent reputation within the industry,” says Greg O’Leary, divisional sales manager at Vitax Amenity.

“Vitax are continually innovating and are well-known for producing a comprehensive range of products with a strong emphasis on quality and cost-effectiveness. I am delighted to be joining such a strong team and looking forward to the new challenges my role brings.”

In his spare time, Greg is a keen golfer and an avid supporter of Make a Wish Foundation, helping to raise funds for children with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions, as well as speaking on behalf of the charity at events.

To find out more about Vitax Amenity, visit: www.vitaxamenity.co.uk

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

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Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report

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Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report: The Amenity Forum is the UK Voluntary Initiative promoting best practice in all aspects of the management of amenity spaces and sports surfaces.

It seeks to bring together all who work in this diverse and essential sector providing support and guidance and acting as an independent link between the sector and policy makers. The Annual Report for 2021 covers the year up to the end of July this year. Whilst a report on activities, it also provides information on how the sector has progressed in meeting UK targets and identifies key issues facing all involved in, what without any doubt, are extremely challenging times.

Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report

Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report

Writing in the Report, the Forum’s independent chairman, Professor John Moverley OBE says ‘’Even without the implications of the Pandemic, this has certainly been another year full of change, challenge and opportunity for the Forum. There is much going on at policy level with the UK Government finalising its review of the National Action Plan and a further review of pesticide policy ongoing. The Forum is fully contributing to the process where requested and appropriate with UK and national governments and indeed all involved in policy making and implementation.

The report shows that the Forum continues to respond to a wide range of consultations and has been fully engaged with partners and all stakeholders dealing with the implications of the pandemic. The role of amenity managers during this time has been essential maintaining our transport networks, parks and more. It has not been easy working conditions and they deserve all our thanks.

It is important to ensure the debate is not an either or but based on an integrated approach making use of all the tools available in the most effective way. The year has also seen the debate widened to take account of the environmental costs of different approaches particularly in determining carbon sums from the various methods employed. Out of change inevitably comes challenge – but the professional amenity sector is robust and ready. There is much to be proud of in the professionalism of our sector’’.

The report identifies that some  key priorities in the year have been in assisting everyone engaged to further develop integrated management  approaches, promoting the sector wide Amenity Standard and to significantly increasing communications both to the public and within the sector. The full report is available on the Amenity Forum website in the resources section https://amenityforum.co.uk/resources/amenity-forum-2021-annual-report/

The report identifies that there is much change ahead and in this regard the timing of the 2021 Amenity Forum conference, to be held on October 21st, could not be better and its title ‘Facing the Future’ very apt indeed including some eminent speakers and good opportunity to network and catch up on developments in the exhibition area. A day not to be missed and, given the support from organisations, very competitively priced at £95 per delegate. For further information, contact Kate at admin@amenityforum.net

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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

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Change in approach to managing amenity spaces

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Change in approach to managing amenity spaces: Withdrawal from the European community, and the consequences of a pandemic, are already substantially impacting on all who manage amenity and sports spaces.

The pandemic has highlighted just how important these areas are to all and especially in the urban and sporting environment. BREXIT has heralded new requirements in trading, changes in resource sourcing and more. For those charged with maintaining areas, those involved operationally and indeed anyone with an interest in amenity, these are times when it can be difficult to keep up with policy announcements and new innovations and approaches.

Change in approach to managing amenity spaces

Change in approach to managing amenity spaces

All this means that the timing of the 2021 Amenity Forum conference, to be held on October 21st, could not be better and its title ‘Facing the Future’ very apt indeed. The conference will focus on policy change and its impact. The event will commence with keynote senior speakers from Defra, the Chemicals Regulation Department of HSE (CRD) and the Environment Agency. Defra will address change resulting from the recent review of the UK National Action Plan relating to weed, pest and disease management. The CRD speaker will address changes in pesticide regulation and enforcement approaches. The Environment Agency will look at the ever tightening of regulation relating to water and its quality. Each area is crucially important and reason in itself for conference attendance.

These will be followed by some eminent speakers involved operationally who will look at what more integrated approaches might mean including a specific contractor and a distributor view. There will then be a focus on the vitally important area of education and training. Policy change will bring more requirements for both training and CPD and increased innovation in how this can be delivered. The conference programme will conclude with some individual perspectives on the future for amenity and sports space management. This will include a focus on parks, on the environmental impact of various management approaches and what is involved in creating and maintaining surfaces at an international sporting venue.

To complement all of this will be an exhibition area where supporters will be on hand to showcase and describe what they do and new developments. There will be the announcement of the category winners for the Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year and John Moverley will provide a presentation of his thoughts looking forward.

A day not to be missed and, given the support from organisations, very competitively priced at £95 per delegate. For further information, please contact Kate at admin@amenityforum.net

Some comments from participants at last year’s event were:

‘’I would just like to say a huge thank you for putting on a great conference, along with some excellent speakers in their various fields of expertise from across the sector. The whole conference was well organised, fast moving and held my attention throughout’’

‘’Congratulations on such a successful and well run event.  As usual the standard of presenters and presentations was incredibly high, although we’ve come to expect that. .  It was an incredibly worthwhile day, very enjoyable and I learnt new things’’

‘’Just to let you know that I thought the conference yesterday was really excellent – the content and speakers were very good and their topics were very relevant.  Very well managed making great use of the time, an event not to be missed’’

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

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