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Product Manager

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An opportunity to join a world class organisation. Aquatrols Europe Ltd are looking to appoint a Product Manager for Europe.

Product Manager

Product Manager

Aquatrols has pioneered the development of water management products used in turf management for over 40 years.  The Company offers a full range of water management and nutrition products backed by decades of independent and university research, solving water management problems globally.

The main responsibility for the position is leading Marketing efforts for Europe, working closely with the Global Marketing and the European Sales teams.

Main accountabilities include:

  • Drive the marketing activities of the European business from innovation, segment planning, pricing and communications.
  • Management of European rebates and accruals
  • Coordinate Marketing and Sales support campaigns in conjunction with Director of Marketing and Sales Manager, Europe
  • Monitor marketing budgets in conjunction with Director of Marketing
  • Be a connection between the company and the marketplace
  • Management of European rebates and accruals

Specific Responsibilities – Sales & Marketing

  • Coordinate and present generated innovation ideas through the concept phase and identify new opportunities for the markets
  • Create marketing and communication plan to dovetail with Global strategy annually
  • Plan and execute all European product launches
  • Manage European forecast in conjunction with Marketing Director and Sales Manager, Europe
  • To monitor the status of all live enquiries to ensure all enquiry actions are completed in a timely professional manner and passed to the appropriate Sales personnel when required
  • Update the marketing and public relations plan on a quarterly basis
  • Assist/identify potential areas for marketing opportunities locally, nationally and throughout Europe
  • Use of market information to produce a regular blog for company website
  • Lead the production and organization of the company’s marketing collateral e.g., leaflets, banners, flyers, brochures, etc.
  • Lead the production and organization of the company’s PR collateral e.g., press releases, articles, podcasts, blog, responses to questions on linked in groups etc. to manage and develop appropriate forms of social media including (but not limited to) Twitter, Linked In, Facebook
  • Develop Customer Loyalty program as part of on-going marketing strategy with US team
  • Lead the direction and messaging for all tradeshows and materials
  • Support onsite needs during key events

Other Requirements

  • Field travel required
  • Expected to spend up to 25% of time customer-facing at industry meetings and with customer calls
  • Some international travel may be required
  • Previous experience in sales and marketing is required in alignment with role descriptor
  • A degree in a relevant field or the equivalent experience is required
  • Some experience in the European regulatory systems is preferred

Normal working hours: 40-hour week or as workload dictates.

There is some flexibility on location as this is a home-based position.

Package details include:

  • Annual salary
  • Discretionary bonus
  • Mobile phone and laptop provided
  • Enrollment into Company Pension scheme

Apply:

To apply please email your CV along with a covering letter to: careers@aquatrols.com

Closing date: 15th November 2021

If you have not heard a response within 30 days of your application, please accept that we are pursuing other candidates.

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

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Course manager receives industry award

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Course manager receives industry award: Royal Cinque Ports course manager James Bledge continued a fantastic month for links venues in Kent after being awarded top prize at the BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards sponsored by BIGGA Partners Campey Turf Care Systems.

James was presented with a £750 cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to Florida, when restrictions allow, on the Campey Turf Care Systems stand at Festival of Turf, which took place on 21 and 22 July 2021 at the Warwickshire Event Centre.

Course manager receives industry award

Course manager receives industry award

Located just a few short miles along the coast from this year’s Open Championship venue, Royal St George’s, the team at Royal Cinque Ports has developed a culture of education and strong communication, led by course manager James, 41.

BIGGA is the members’ association for golf greenkeepers in the United Kingdom and the BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards recognise those BIGGA members who have undertaken outstanding work to further the cause of greenkeepers by promoting their activities through various channels, including the creation of thought-provoking articles for Greenkeeper International, the monthly journal of BIGGA.

James produced a feature that was selected for inclusion in the October 2020 edition of Greenkeeper International. The article touched upon the daily maintenance of the golf course and whether asking golfers to contribute to a course’s upkeep through activities such as raking bunkers detracts from the activities of the greenkeeping team.

Each month BIGGA encourages its members to submit articles for inclusion in Greenkeeper International, with a monthly prize of a £100 education voucher up for grabs, to be redeemed at BIGGA’s annual education programme Continue to Learn, held each January in Harrogate. James was kind enough to donate his voucher to another BIGGA member who would otherwise have been unable to attend.

From the 12 features that were selected for inclusion in the magazine throughout 2020, James’ piece, entitled “The Sands of Time: Should we dump the bunker rakes for good?” attracted praise from the competition judges for discussing a topic that stands in contrast to traditional thinking and sparked debate among readers.

The feature is available to read online here: https://www.bigga.org.uk/news-listing/should-we-dump-the-bunker-rakes-for-good.html

James said: “I was really shocked because I’ve never won anything like this before. I read every new entry that comes in, but I never thought my article was in the same calibre as those. How the article came about was I had a Sunday off, I got up and had a coffee and had a feeling that I wanted to write something. I turned the laptop on and wrote a few words and before I knew it I had enough words to submit for the magazine. It was never intended to enter a competition, it was just something I wanted to get off my mind. There are other guys and girls out there who have a lot to say and I would really encourage them to give it a shot.

“The prize is pretty exceptional and so my thanks go to Campey. We’re lucky in our industry that there are so many manufacturers and sponsors who put a lot of money into things like this. It’s phenomenal that we have all this support and we couldn’t do it without them.”

The BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards continue throughout 2021 with BIGGA members encouraged to submit articles for inclusion in upcoming editions of Greenkeeper International. Head to the BIGGA website for more information.

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EcoBunker’s new business development manager

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EcoBunker’s new business development manager: Synthetic bunker edging specialist EcoBunker has made a significant expansion by appointing Hamish Crichton as its new business development manager. Crichton joined EcoBunker at the start of May, from soil surfectant and wetting agent provider Aquatrols.

“I come from a corporate background, but a few years ago I decided I wanted to follow my passion, and work in the golf business,” said Crichton. “Although I don’t have a background in golf, while at Aquatrols I took the Fertiliser Adviser Certification and Training Scheme (FACTS) qualification. It was quite a challenge to go back to school for the first time in years, but it did me a lot of good. I found that I love the science in soil and grass. It’s one of the first jobs where I’ve found myself reading books or watching videos at one in the morning and my wife has nudged me saying ‘Go to sleep’. The thing that astonished me was the number of times I read ‘The answer is not yet known’. It’s almost like a frontier science.”

EcoBunker's new business development manager

EcoBunker’s new business development manager

“I have a lot of sympathy for greenkeepers. On top of dealing with Mother Nature and the curve balls she throws at them, they have members to worry about! For me, I’m keen to expand my knowledge of the whole arena of golf. I got to know about the greenkeeping side of things, but I wanted to expand my knowledge of architecture and construction, and understand the world of the general manager. My previous experience in marketing and business development trained mehow to present a proposition to a general manager or a greens chairman, who are usually from a similar sort of background and that’s going to be a very important part of my role.

“I had a number of different opportunities, but I chose to join EcoBunker because I believe it is a company that has almost limitless potential. When Richard Allen first conceived synthetic revetting, it was to provide a new solution to the erosion of low edge parkland bunkers. He wanted to give golf courses the option of building aesthetically pleasing, more architecturally interesting bunker shapes without the worry of introducing an increased maintenance burden. As it turned out, the product quickly became popular on higher faced links pot bunkers and our challenge now is to change perceptions, demonstrating that the product translates extremely well to all golf course styles. It helps that we now have a wonderful portfolio from the tropics to the tundra, Major venues to municipals, featuring parkland, heathland and desert courses. EcoBunker allows greenkeeping staff to spend less time on their bunkers and get on with maintaining the surfaces that really matter.”

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New Infinicut Territory Sales Manager

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New Infinicut Territory Sales Manager: Stephen Shaw has been announced as the new Territory Sales Manager for the INFINICUT® and TMSystem™ product ranges.

A well-known industry face, Stephen returns to the UK after spending the last 10 years of his career in Qatar, to support the continued growth of the collections, in use at leading golf venues and sports stadia worldwide.

New Infinicut Territory Sales Manager

New Infinicut Territory Sales Manager

In Qatar, Stephen worked at a main Toro dealership and Doha Golf Club, before taking on the role of Machinery Division Manager at Nakheel Landscapes which is where, over the last three years, he worked alongside John Coleman of INFINICUT® to spec machinery for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. When travel restrictions came into force earlier in the year, Stephen returned to his roots in Northumberland and the opportunity arose to use his acquired knowledge to support to dealers and customers across the North of England, Scotland and Ireland – along with spearheading exports and the construction of a worldwide dealer network.

“Joining the INFINICUT® team is hugely exciting” comments Stephen. “It is a quality British-built product, driven by technology that demonstrates a real understanding of what is required by today’s turf care professionals. It quickly became evident to me, working together with John and the INFINICUT® product, that this range is very much the future of the mower industry. Their engineering prowess continues across the multi-functional TMSystem™ collection, which delivers versatility, durability and precision to a wide variety of turf maintenance activities.”

Although Stephen only joined in the middle of September, he has already utilised his many international connections to remotely establish dealers in India, Thailand and South Korea and he looks forward to supporting these, and others, with product and sales training as and when travel restrictions ease.

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Avant appoint Sales Manager

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Avant appoint Regional Sales Manager: John Spencer Sales & Marketing Director, AVANT Tecno UK Ltd commenting on the recent addition to the team had these words to share “ With continued growth and expansion, we at Avant Tecno UK have been looking for a regional manager to join our team for the North of the UK, to assist our dedicated dealership network and make sure our Avant owners continue to receive the personal touch that we pride ourselves on.

We have met with many people over the past months to find someone that would meet with our criteria and eventually we have found the best candidate, that upholds our values, vision and understands our customer’s needs.

Avant appoint Regional Sales Manager

Avant appoint Regional Sales Manager

Peter Barfield was introduced to me personally by a contact within our network and came highly recommended. Peter joins us with a vast knowledge and experience of the plant/machinery industry, and I truly believe he is going to be a great asset to the Avant Family.

 I look forward to introducing Peter to our current dealer network and working with him to strengthen our close relationship with our customers, plus he will be assisting in the growth of our already extensive Avant Network throughout Northern England and Scotland bringing Avant closer to the wider audience.”

Peter Barfield Regional Sales Manager for AVANT Tecno UK Ltd upbeat about his new position commented “ I am very pleased to be joining Avant Tecno UK, it’s a family company (Finnish) with family values, every employee is valued the same no matter what job they do.

The Avant product it superb and is made to very high standards, its what you would expect from a manufacture in Finland. The range covers many industries including, landscaping, forestry, agricultural, construction and many more. With the recent addition of the 860 series Avant have raised the bar on compact loaders, this will appeal to even more markets.

I am very excited to be joining an excellent team and hope I can add to their continued success.”

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Manager Praises Departing Groundsman

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Manager Praises Departing Groundsman: Manager Danny Grainger has praised departing Workington Reds groundsman Jeff Curwen after the stalwart ended his 16-year association with the club.

The shock news was revealed on Monday that Curwen, 78, is stepping down.

Manager Praises Departing Groundsman

If Reds had moved to Derwent Park this summer, it was Curwen’s intention to step down. But after the collapse of the new stadium project, he continued in the role, with the proviso he would depart at the end of the 2019/20 season.

Curwen, though, has this week instead opted to leave his position with the current NPL North West Division leaders with immediate effect. Dennis Rossi will fill the void left by Curwen.

“I worked closely with Jeff over the summer. I went over and helped him out as much as I could,” said former Carlisle United captain Grainger.

“He is someone who has played a vital role in terms of how well we have done in the opening part of the season. He is someone that is vital to the club and we can’t thank him enough for the services that he has brought to the club.

“As the statement on the club website said, they are unsociable hours that Jeff is doing, and the amount of hours he has put in can’t be appreciated enough by us.

“He is someone I think very highly of and I can’t thank him enough for making me feel welcome when I came through the door.”

And Grainger, from Eamont Bridge, near Penrith, admits the work volunteers, like Curwen, do for the club is hugely important.

“The volunteers at the club and the people behind-the-scenes are working tirelessly,” Grainger admitted.

“I go as much as I can, to see the guys and the people working behind-the-scenes. At times, it’s unbelievable how many people are there, mucking in, making sure the ground and the club is alright for a matchday.

“People behind-the-scenes go unnoticed at times, but they are the type of people who help the club go forward.”

On the field, meanwhile, Reds are due to travel to Marske United this Saturday as they aim to extend their lead at the top of the table and build on last weekend’s 5-1 home success over Ramsbottom United.

Grainger, who gave his players a night off training yesterday, says he has thrilled with how Workington have started the season.

“As a group of staff, we have set ourselves targets and we want to keep hitting them,” he said.

“On Saturday, if we are being greedy, we could have won by even more. Speaking to some of their [Rambsottom’s] club representatives, they were saying that they felt they got away lightly on Saturday.

“It just shows how far the lads have come in a short space of time.”

Click here to read the original article

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New Regional Manager For AGS

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New Regional Manager For AGS: Advance Grass Solutions is very pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Hendy as Regional Technical Sales Manager for Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset.

Joe brings a wealth of experience to the position starting his career as a seed analyst, progressing to an in-field technical manager for an established amenity business, where he has operated in the same area for fifteen years. Joe has extensive knowledge of both seed and fertiliser and is FACTS qualified.

New Regional Manager For AGS

Sam Honeyborne, MD at AGS said ‘’Joe’s appointment is the result of a comprehensive recruitment process where we had a clear strategy to identify experienced turf specialists to support our growth plan and add value to our existing team. Joe is extremely well known in this area, the heart of our original business, and will strengthen our long-term position with his diverse customer base and knowledge.’’

Advance Grass Solutions is a leading provider of agronomy services, products and customer

support throughout the UK, with loyal customers from lawncare and small bowling clubs to Ryder Cup venues and Premier League football clubs.

Joe Hendy said ‘’I have thoroughly enjoyed my career in the amenity sector and I’m now ready for a fresh challenge. I recognise the need to supply customers with their total requirements in an ever-changing market which is being driven by sustainability. The AGS portfolio is comprehensive and market leading, with a well-researched option to suit all turf regimes.’’

AGS provide a UK exclusive range of high-quality products including: Growth Products, Sustane Natural Fertilizers, Polyon controlled release technology, in addition to well-known UK based suppliers such as DLF Trifolium and Aquatrols. Their staff hold industry recognised qualifications such as BASIS and FACTS alongside honours degrees in sports turf, soil science and sustainable land management disciplines.

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