STIHL Inc. has announced the appointment of Asif Azhar as Vice President of Sales, effective November 11, 2024.
Kubota has announced a partnership with Boot Campaign to help restore the lives of veterans and military families.
Massey Services’ Jeff Buhler, Senior Vice President of Customer Service, has been honored with the 2024 Lifetime Leadership Award by NALP.
How much do you know about lawn care management? Take this week’s quiz on late-season grub control and find out.
Marty Grunder, Founder & CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co., has spent 40 years paying attention to detail and making sure his clients and employees feel valued and happy.
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is modernizing its straight boom excavators with an updated EC300 and an all-new EC400, as part of its new generation revamp.
System Pavers has recently announced its partnership with the Seattle Seahawks’ Small Business Program to continue momentum in Seattle market.
After serving as a Senior Airman with the U.S. Air Force, Jeff Baker now ironically wears the title of “Grounds Guy.” But though his career is now more down-to-earth, the leadership experience, skills, and discipline he acquired in the Air Force serve him equally well in owning a successful landscape business, The Grounds Guys of East Wichita.
With four years as a Security Forces Member, Baker was deployed to Operation Southern Watch, spending several months in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. These assignments provided a unique set of skills that would prove invaluable to his career today. An experience during his Kuwait deployment, in which he and his fellow service members were uncertain about their return home due to the emerging threat of an unknown terrorist act (ultimately the tragic events of 9/11), taught him the importance of organizing thoughts and moving forward despite uncertainty.
After the Air Force, Baker served as a police officer in El Dorado, KS, as a Patrol Sergeant. But by 2013, Baker was ready for a new mission. His motivation for transitioning into franchising with The Grounds Guys, a Neighborly company, was fueled by a desire for a fresh challenge and the opportunity to build a successful business. The discipline and focus instilled by the military, including the ability to stick to the plan, adapt when necessary, and prioritize mission success, have been key contributors to Baker’s success as a business owner.
Running a lawn care business comes with its share of challenges, spanning areas like overhead, production, and maintaining business momentum. Baker’s method for cutting through these weeds lies in his unique mindset and perspective. His journey as a small business owner stands as testament not only to his unwavering dedication but the immense value of the skills, mindset, and leadership traits that veterans bring to the business world. His extensive list of accolades awarded through The Grounds Guys includes:
Franchise of the Year for 2022
1 Million Benchmark in 2021
Pioneer Award in 2021
Excellence in Leadership in 2018 and 2021
President’s Choice Award 2020
Top Gun recognition 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023
Personal Achievement Award in 2016 and 2018
Builder Award in 2016 and 2017
Shining Star Award 2016
These awards highlight his outstanding contributions and dedication to excellence in his role as a franchise owner. He envisions scaling his business to a 5 to 6-million-dollar operation and transitioning into a semi-absentee ownership role in the future.
Baker’s story serves as an inspiring example for those venturing on a similar path, driven by his resilience and steadfast commitment to success. For military veterans considering a career in small business ownership especially in the landscape space, Baker offers a valuable piece of advice: approach franchising like following a military model. Hit the ground running and don’t stop until you’ve achieved your goals!
What better day that Election Day to revisit a piece highlighting a brave military man turned Green Industry pro!
Compiled by Turf Staff
From the October 2024 Issue
From herbicides to charging systems to small equipment, this selection of professional lawn care and landscaping products will be on display at the NALP ELEVATE Expo, November 3-6, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
EGO PGX™ Charging System
EGO Commercial has introduced the PGX™ Charging System, anchored by the PGX™ Commercial Charging 1600W Hub, which mounts in a building, van, or trailer, and runs off any standard 15-amp, 120-volt outlet. The 1600W Hub connects to PGX Commercial Charging 3-Port Docks to charge up to 70 EGO 56V 2.5Ah ARC Lithium™ batteries overnight. EGO Commercial also has off-grid DC-DC charging covered with the PGX™ Power Bank, which uses a large format 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller handheld batteries off the grid for use during the workday. Once fully charged from the 1600W Hub, each high-capacity battery can recharge more than 30Ah of smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium batteries in the field through the Power Bank.
Aethon™ Herbicide SL
Aethon™ Herbicide SL for Turfgrass from PBI-Gordon is formulated for warm season, southern turfgrass varieties. The liquid herbicide offers broad-spectrum control of sedges, kyllingas, and several key broadleaf weeds in a timesaving, single application. Aethon utilizes a proprietary blend of active ingredients Pyrimisulfan and Penoxsulam. It also reduces the number and viability of nutsedge tubers. Aethon is labeled for use across many sites including residential and commercial lawns, golf fairways, tees, roughs and aprons, sports facilities, parks, cemeteries, and sod farms.
Kress Commercial CyberCapsule
The Kress Commercial CyberCapsule, designed as an energy storage module for use with the CyberLite Charger for DC-DC charging on-the-go, provides 1.5 kWh of flexible power for charging batteries when AC outlets are not accessible. With the CyberLite Charger and one fully charged CyberCapsule, Kress Commercial 240 Wh CyberPacks can be recharged from 0% to 100% in 12 minutes or less and up to five times throughout the day. Crews can charge as many as four CyberCapsules overnight using the Kress 4 Port Extended Charging Case and the Kress Commercial 60 V 30 A CyberPlug AC charger. The CyberCapsule can also be used as a backpack battery to power tools.
Milwaukee Power Manager
The Milwaukee® Power Manager enables users with a high quantity of M12™, M18™ or MX FUEL™ chargers to optimize their circuit usage and charge more batteries. The Power Manager automatically energizes the largest number of chargers possible, and then switches over to additional chargers once it has detected batteries have completed charging. This enables users with heavy energy demands to prioritize high-speed chargers for fast daytime charging, and bulk overnight charging, all while avoiding tripping breakers or unnecessarily upgrading their infrastructure. With the Milwaukee Power Manager, professionals can efficiently charge any battery, avoid infrastructure investments, and easily transition from gas to battery equipment.
Pursuit 120 Spreader/Sprayer
Backslope Inc. launched the Pursuit 120 in January of 2024 as a spreader/sprayer that is more compact and performs better on hills and slopes than other machines available today. The Pursuit 120 features a 100% stainless steel frame, Honda engine, and a heavy-duty drive system. The machine utilizes a 120 lb. capacity Spyker hopper but is also available with a larger 220 lb. capacity hopper. The spray system includes dual 8-gallon spray tanks that will cover up to 64,000 square feet between refills. A newly designed gate lever allows the hopper to be opened and closed with either hand without the need to remove the hands from the controls. In addition, the handlebars fold down to one of three positions which allows users to walk behind the machine on extremely steep terrain.
Husqvarna 590BTS/BFS
Engineered for unparalleled performance, the Husqvarna 590BTS/BFS backpack blower boasts an industry-leading 56 Newtons of blow force and delivers a staggering1245 CFM of air volume. Powered by a robust 79.4 cc X-TORQ® engine, it produces 5.5HP. The 590BTS/BFS’s AutoTune™ controlled carburetor adjusts the fuel mixture automatically, optimizing performance across varying conditions. The simplified starting procedure features an easy “Start” button, eliminating the need for a manual choke—just press the button, purge the engine, and pull to start. The top-mounted adjustable right handle accommodates users of all sizes, while load lifter straps ensure a tailored fit. Additional conveniences include a cruise control feature, commercial-grade 3-stage air filter, and the industry’s largest fuel tank for extended runtimes.
Terradex™ Power Premix
Terradex™ Power Premix herbicide from Envu takes the guesswork out of controlling more than 80 broadleaf weeds like dandelion, ground ivy, wild violet, clover, docks, knotweed, poison ivy, poison oak, puncturevine, purslane, Virginia buttonweed and more. Terradex Power Premix herbicide is a convenient premixed formula consisting of four active ingredients. It’s best applied spring through fall at temperatures above 50° and below 90°. The postemergence herbicide can be applied to most turfgrasses on residential or commercial properties, reducing the need for multiple products for different customers. Terradex Power Premix is rainfast in four hours. It is quickly absorbed into leaves and stems of target weeds, delivering noticeable symptoms of die off in days and helps reduce customer callbacks for retreatments.
BRAVO GreenPRO Trailers EZ Charge Package
As landscape professionals introduce electric equipment to their fleets, BRAVO has developed support options to make charging batteries easy and efficient. BRAVO’S EZ Charge Package allows users to mount all chargers inside the trailer and power with a single exterior plug. At the end of the workday, crews just need to plug the trailer in, and rest assured, the batteries will be charged and ready to go the next morning. BRAVO’S EZ Charge Packages are fully customizable to current and growing electric equipment fleets. Choose from 30 or 50-amp service, specific receptacle locations, battery locations, shelving/E-track, and exterior motorbase plug location. This system is designed to work with all electric equipment manufactures.
Read more Get Equipped features here.
SingleOps has announced its merger with Landscape Management Network (LMN), the largest provider of landscape business software and crew training in the United States and Canada. Together, they form the premier business management software and payment platform serving the full-service landscaping, tree care, design/build and snow removal industries.
As part of this transaction, SingleOps secured an additional growth equity investment from existing investor FTV Capital, with participation from Five Elms Capital. Mark Sedgley, CEO of SingleOps, will lead the combined business effective immediately. Mark Bradley, founder of LMN, will remain with the company as a strategic advisor and partner to the business.
With the merger, SingleOps and LMN’s combined business will significantly enhance product offerings, delivering unmatched innovation and customer service to over 4,000 customers across North America.
The green industry continues to undergo rapid change but remains largely fragmented. Despite the growing need for intuitive business management solutions to improve efficiency, the industry remains early on the adoption curve, with more companies expected to require all-in-one solutions, including payments capabilities, in the coming years. SingleOps and LMN will continue to support and invest in their respective software platforms, aiming to optimize their technology capabilities and expand the breadth of services they provide to meet market demand.
Raymond James served as exclusive financial advisor and Stikeman Elliott and Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel to LMN. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Gibson Dunn as legal counsel to FTV and SingleOps.