The Ohio Landscape Association’s Snow and Ice Management Clinic will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 at St. Michael’s Woodside in Independence, Ohio.

Designed for both owners and employees, speakers include:

Breakout session for Operations Managers
Troy Clogg presenting "What To Do When Things Go Wrong!"

Kevin Gilbride - Accredited Snow Contractors Association
Industry Standards and Best Management Practices

Josh Ferguson - Kent & McBride, Philadelphia, PA
Risk Management: Reducing Your Exposure

Mike Zawacki - Snow Magazine
The State of the Industry
 

Kent, Ohio – The Davey Tree Expert Co. has announced the appointment of Don Winsett to Vice President of National Business Development.

Pat Covey, Davey’s chief operating officer, said the appointment was an opportunity to identify and bring opportunities to Davey operations throughout the country. “Our clients will benefit from Don’s experience and contacts in the landscape and tree care industry,” Covey said. “Furthermore, his understanding of the needs of large commercial clients will assist in our ability to provide tailored, comprehensive property management solutions for them.”

Winsett comes to Davey with about 20 years in the industry, including time spent at ValleyCrest, Brickman and his own Florida-based grounds maintenance company that grew to more than $20 million before it was sold.

Winsett serves on the Board of Directors and is a past president of the Florida Chapter of International Society of Arboriculture. He has been the Chair of the Sustainable Urban Forest Coalition since 2009.
 

EL CAJON, Calif. – In recognition of Smart Irrigation Month, Toro is pleased to announce its new educational website and eNewsletter, DripTips.

The website, driptips.toro.com, seeks to educate new and existing drip irrigation users by sharing best practices, how-to guides, tips, trends, videos, webinars, design tools and case studies. In addition, visitors will find the latest irrigation and agricultural news. DripTips updates and replaces Toro’s previous and successful educational website, dripirrigation.org, improving site navigation, user-friendliness and social networking/share-ability.

DripTips was created to be a one-stop drip irrigation resource for growers, dealers, institutions and other members of the agricultural community. “Drip irrigation is growing in popularity and people are interested in learning more about the benefits of drip and how to get the most from the technology,” says Sky Anderson, marketing communications manager for Toro Micro-Irrigation.

“DripTips is exceptional because it not only provides relevant news and information, but it also offers tools that help users make decisions. So visitors to DripTips can do research and make informed decisions all in one place.”

Other features of the site include:

• Drip irrigation basics
• Typical system layout and components
• Case studies for various crops – from corn and cotton to strawberries and tomatoes
• The Drip/Micro Payback Wizard – to calculate the payback period of investing in drip irrigation
• Toro’s free drip irrigation design software, AquaFlow
• The Drip Irrigation Owner’s Manual

In addition, DripTips was specifically designed to encourage interaction. “The site’s blog allows visitors to post comments or ask questions,” Anderson said. “This element promotes the social aspect of the site and will help the entire value chain of suppliers, end users, affiliated businesses and institutions collaborate and share their unique experiences.” Users can also seek advice or ask Toro’s drip irrigation experts questions directly through the “Ask an Expert” function.

To stay updated, users can subscribe to the DripTips eNewsletter, which will be sent to subscribers every other month. Each eNewsletter will provide top news stories, special features and upcoming events. Plus, the eNewsletter will deliver special promotions, offers and coupons only available to DripTips subscribers. To subscribe, visit driptips.toro.com.
 

According to Reuters, Leonard Green & Partners LP is exploring a sale of Brickman Group Holdings that could value the largest commercial landscaping company in the United States at up to $1.5 billion, three people familiar with the matter said this week.

Leonard Green, a Los-Angeles based private equity firm, has asked Barclays (BARC.L) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to run an auction for Brickman, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is confidential.

Representatives of Leonard Green and Brickman did not respond to requests for comment. Barclays declined to comment while Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Brickman tends to gardens of offices, campuses, hotels, shopping centers, healthcare facilities, industrial parks and homes, looks after trees, removes snow and maintains sports turf across 29 states.

"It seems unlikely that the possible sale of Brickman will have much impact on the overall M&A market anytime soon. However, it is possible that a buyer might want to move to fill out Brickman’s network in the relatively few markets in which it may be perceived to be weak. It is also possible that opportunities might arise as a buyer acts to integrate Brickman’s operations into its own," said Ron Edmonds of the Principium Group, a mergers & acquisitions advisory firm, in his newsletter.

"No matter what ultimately happens with Brickman, other players in the fiercely competitive landscape services industry will no doubt be seeking opportunities to exploit the situation with both customers and employees."

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