Personnel News: Includes Dow, Advanced Sensor Technology, Hines Horticultural and Southland

Dow AgroSciences Makes Changes to T&O Team

Dow AgroSciences announces several changes to its turf and ornamental business division. Raymond Miller has been named the specialist for the nursery and greenhouse markets. Ryan Messner and Brian Dockery have joined the group as sales representatives, providing support to distributors and customers in the lawn care, nursery and golf industries. Kerry Avirett has been named national account manager.

In his new role as nursery specialist, Raymond Miller will be dedicated to providing training and technical support to nursery and greenhouse customers. He will work closely with Dow AgroSciences Turf and Ornamental sales representatives and account managers to promote the full portfolio of products that includes Dimension 2EW, Gallery, Snapshot and Showcase specialty herbicides, and Conserve specialty insecticide. Miller will relocate to Fort Worth, Texas, from Orlando, Fla.

Miller most recently served as a Turf and Ornamental sales specialist for western Florida. He joined Dow AgroSciences in 2001 when it acquired Rohm & Haas. He has more than 20 years of sales experience. Miller graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy, and a master’s degree in agronomy, specializing in chemical weed control.

Kerry Avirett has been named a national account manager with responsibilities for end users, distributors and formulators in both the turf and ornamental, and pest management markets. He assumes these responsibilities from Mark Neterer, who has been named district sales manager for the Midwest pest management and turf and ornamental sales region. Avirett most recently served as the T&O sales representative for Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He joined Dow AgroSciences in July 2001 as part of the Rohm & Haas acquisition, where he had worked for 21 years in multiple markets. Avirett earned a bachelor’s degree in entomology from Texas A&M University. He will continue to reside in the Houston area.

Ryan Messner rejoins Dow AgroSciences as a sales representative serving lawn care, nursery and golf customers in western Florida. He replaces Raymond Miller. Messner began his career with Dow AgroSciences in 2004 after earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, Ind. He most recently served as a senior sales representative for GlaxoSmithKline and was previously a sales representative for Dow AgroSciences in Memphis, Tenn. Messner will be based in Tampa, Fla.

Brian Dockery has been named the sales representative for Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, replacing Kerry Avirett. Dockery earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, N.C. Dockery’s experience has included sales for PhytoGen cottonseed and small grains herbicides, and marketing positions for the coastal crops, range and pasture, and industrial vegetation management markets. Dockery will relocate to Dallas.

Advanced Sensor Technology Adds Executive Officer

Advanced Sensor Technology, a provider of wireless soil sensing technology, hired Joseph Cahill as its CFO and COO, making him responsible for directing the company’s financial and day-to-day operations.

With more than 17 years of finance, accounting, consulting and leadership experience, Cahill brings firsthand experience in directing AST’s high growth and expansion into golf and non-golf markets. Most recently, Cahill was the CFO at Gamesa U.S. where he transformed – in just three years – the financial operations of an early stage renewable energy company, into a company with annual revenues in excess of $900 million. Prior to Gamesa, Cahill spent nine years in the technology industry, working at Unisys and Andersen Consulting.

“Joe’s past experience fits perfectly with our growth vision at AST,” says Walt Norley, founder and CEO of Advanced Sensor Technology. “The leadership he provided at his last position is a model that can be applied to AST as we enter a crucial stage with high growth in revenue, product evolvement, entering new markets and staffing. Joe’s background in managing all of this, and managing it well, makes him a great addition to the AST team. Joe is an executive the company can grow into and not out of.”

Cahill received an undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania, and later earned an MBA, with a concentration in international business, from Villanova University. Cahill also attained the distinction of certified public accountant.

In his new role, Cahill will oversee financial and operational activities of AST, positioning the company for tremendous growth in the marketplace.

Hines Horticulture Names Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Hines Horticulture announced that Tom Batt has joined the executive leadership team as the vice president of sales and marketing. Batt has more than 20 years of experience in the horticulture industry and was most recently the national sales director for the Lowe’s team at Hines.

In this new role, Batt will lead a national team of consumer and green goods experts who make up the nursery industry’s best selling, marketing, business development and customer support management staff.

“After a thorough external search process that attracted numerous talented individuals, it was clear that the new leader of our Sales and Marketing team was one of our very own. The addition of Tom to the Hines Executive Leadership Team demonstrates our commitment to field the best staff for each distinct customer channel,” says Jim Tennant, CEO. “His successful track record at Hines will further enhance our ability to deliver optimum product mixes in the time and quantities our customers need, with the merchandising and marketing expertise they rely on.”   

Batt joined Hines from Spectrum Brands where he was the Lowe’s Business Director. He was responsible for being the key liaison between Lowe’s buying, merchandising, marketing, inventory, and logistics teams.

Prior to Spectrum Brands, Batt was the Director of Production and Inventory at Stacy’s Greenhouses in York, SC.  He also held such positions as Category Manager and Channel Marketing Manager at Pursell Industries, a leading fertilizer company. Earlier in his career, Batt managed both a retail independent garden center and a 150 acre nursery

Batt graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Horticultural Science.

ChromaScape Names New President

ChromaScape, a specialty chemical manufacturer, headquartered in Twinsburg, Ohio named Joseph Majewski as its new President, March 1, 2008.  Majewski succeeds George Chase, who will remain as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of ChromaScape, Inc.

Majewski has been vice president of operations for ChromaScape for the past three years and previously worked as operations manager, plant manager, regional director and sales manager for several specialty chemical companies, including Technor Apex, M.A. Hanna Co. and Allied Color Industries. He has an MBA degree from the University of Phoenix.

ChromaScape is a privately held company that owns Amerimulch Dispersion, which produces mulch colorants for coloring wood mulches and other landscape materials and ChromaScape Dispersions, dba Solution Dispersions, the largest producer of aqueous black dispersions in the world. ChromaScape, Inc. has manufacturing plants in Kentucky, Arizona and Texas and has a distribution center in Carson City, Nev.

Southland Adds Operations Administrator; Employee Earns ICPI Certification

Ashley Cooper was hired as operations administrator for Midland Operations at Southland.

Serving as Operations Administrator, Cooper will handle payroll, scheduling, human resources and customer service.

Cooper joins Southland after working for Jarrett’s Jungle in West Columbia, S.C., as a floral designer. She has an associate degree in business from Midlands Technical College and is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Limestone College.

In addition, Pablo Catala of Southland’s Eastern South Carolina Operations has earned his certification with the Interlocking Concrete Pavers Institute.

ICPI was founded in 1993 and is the North American trade association for professionals in the interlocking concrete paving industry. The organization is recognized worldwide as the leader in development and distribution of technical information for design professionals and contractors and has more than 800 members.

Catala’s new certification gives him Level 1 Concrete Paver status. He joins David Schwartz, vice president and general manager of Eastern South Carolina Operations as Southland’s certified members of ICPI.

Aquascape Hires Senior Territory Sales Manager

Trent Caldwell recently joined Aquascape as a senior territory sales manager in the Southern region. Caldwell graduated from Purdue University in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture and has 10 years of experience in the green industry.

Caldwell worked in a small design/build firm in Indianapolis after graduating from Purdue and later joined Automatic Irrigation Supply in Fishers, Indiana in 1999 to start a landscape products division.  In 2001, the Aquascape product line was added to the division and Caldwell served as the Pond Champion for Automatic Irrigation until July of 2006.  Caldwell then served as head of design and sales for an Indianapolis pond construction company until joining Aquascape in 2008.

“We’re honored to have Trent join our ranks,” stated Sue Soderberg, National Sales Director for Aquascape.  “I knew Trent as a customer when he worked at Automatic Irrigation and we’re fortunate to add his knowledge of the irrigation industry and background of water gardening and landscape design to our team.”

Caldwell will provide training and support to wholesale and retail customers in the Southern region. 

Phoenix Environmental Care Adds Northeast Area Sales Manager

Michael J. Donahue was named Northeast area sales manager for Phoenix Environmental Care.  

“Mike’s 20-plus years of experience in the New England golf and specialty markets make him an ideal choice to help us continue our growth and maintain our commitment to superior customer service” says Owen Towne, President of Phoenix Environmental Care.  

Donahue will cover the New England Specialty Turf and Ornamental markets from Maine to Virginia. 

“Mike is actively involved in our industry,” Towne says.  “He currently serves as an associate board member for the Connecticut GCSA. Over his career, Mike has demonstrated leadership skills, technical knowledge and sales ability. He has an outstanding knowledge of customer needs, management issues and solutions for the region that will benefit distributors and end users in the region.”

Donahue was formally Connecticut territory manager for TurfLinks. He has also been a golf course sales associate for R.F. Morse Turf & Ornamental, and a senior golf course sales associate with LESCO.  

Former BASF Manager Forms Company

Excel Turf and Ornamental will serve the entire Upper Midwest green industry through providing better agronomic services, better products and the best customer service possible beginning this spring.

Founded by David J. Oberle, the distribution company is focused on helping both golf course and lawn care maintenance professionals meet today's challenges by providing products that benefit turf and ornamental plantings as well as protecting the surrounding environment.

"Today, more than ever, green industry professionals are looking for ways to focus on the sustainability of the environment that they care for while also maintaining the standards that their profession requires to succeed – now and in the future," says Oberle, who has served the green industry for more than 20 years as product specialist, field sales and management with the Scotts Co. and BASF.

With its broad offerings in both product and technical support, Excel Turf and Ornamental will strive to help its customers succeed in an industry that is constantly seeking ways to garner a competitive advantage while keeping costs low. By helping customers make good agronomic decisions based on product selection and advice on proper use and incorporation of cultural practices, Excel will serve as a partner that helps customers accomplish their work in a manner that increases both quality and efficiency.

Oberle and the Excel Turf and Ornamental team will complement their product offerings through their expertise and customer service. "The most important thing that I have learned serving this industry is that customer service goes beyond getting products to the customer," said Oberle. "We intend to help our customers pick the best products for their specific needs and then provide fast, efficient product turnaround and back it with a high level of technical information and support."

In addition to meeting the need for specialty fertilizers, chemicals and organic alternatives, turf seed, and tools, Excel will also provide plant material through their Excel Gardens where they grow a variety of annual plants for the landscape to include both bedding plants and hanging baskets.