Ruppert Landscape Partners With Knox Lane
Ruppert Landscape has partnered with Knox Lane, a growth-oriented investment firm that is focused on partnering with businesses in the services and consumer sectors. The company’s management team, led by CEO Craig Ruppert, will continue to lead Ruppert Landscape, and remain significant minority owners in the business.
The partnership with Knox Lane supports Ruppert Landscape’s long-term vision to continue to grow the company’s footprint within current and adjacent markets and expand organically and through strategic acquisitions. “With growth comes an increased ability for our team to learn more, take on more responsibility, get promoted and earn more. The additional financial and strategic resources provided by Knox Lane will enable us to provide even more opportunity for our team and will help facilitate our continued evolution,” said Ruppert.
Ruppert Landscape Promotes Brown to Region Manager, Stoy to Branch Manager in Northern VA
In other Ruppert Landscape news, the company recently promoted Ethan Brown to the position of region manager in the company’s landscape management division. In this capacity, he will oversee operations in the company’s three Northern Virginia landscape management branches, located in Alexandria, Dulles, and Gainesville.
Brown holds an associate degree in landscape and turf management and a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the company, he gained 10 years of experience in the construction and excavation industries and two years of experience as an enhancement manager within the landscape industry. He joined Ruppert in 2016 as an area manager and quickly became known as an exceptional salesperson. In 2018, he has assumed the position of associate branch manager in preparation to take on the branch manager role, which he did later that year. In 2019, the Alexandria branch was recognized with Ruppert’s Distinction Award for outstanding performance as a branch, and in 2021, Brown was recognized with Ruppert’s Clyde Vadner Merit award for consistent hard work and dedication leading to exceptional results for the organization.
In his stead, Cole Stoy has been promoted to branch manager in the Alexandria, Virginia location. In this role, he will be responsible for the overall welfare of the branch, including the safety and development of is team, strategic planning and budgeting, training, customer service, and day-to-day operations. He holds an associate degree in landscape and turf management from Virginia Tech. He joined Ruppert in 2017 as enhancement manager in Alexandria and quickly began setting division records for enhancement sales. That same year, he was presented with the company’s Branch Impact Award for his outstanding dedication and contributions to the organization.
Vectorworks Design Scholarship Celebrates 30 Talented Students with Awards
With over 1,000 submissions, Vectorworks Inc. awarded scholarships to 30 students around the world for 22 projects in the architecture, interior design, landscape and entertainment industries. Winners received the equivalent of up to $3,000 USD in their local currency, free Vectorworks educational software licenses for their schools and complimentary virtual workshop training.
The full list of Landscape Category winners includes:
- “Site, Sight, Insight” by Chui Shan Tsang, University College London
- “Ingolstadt – On the Maelstrom into a Challenged Future” by Lea Jaud, University of Copenhagen
- “Rising with the Phoenix: The Next Generation of Blue-Green Infrastructural Design in its Re-Integration with Social & Cultural Realms” by Lok Tim Chan, Cornell University
- “Rain Park” by Marta Szar, University of Technology in Cracow
- “Nature in a Grid- Transformation of a Ruin” by Simeon von Russow, Berlin University of Applied Sciences (BHT)
The selected winners represent a wide range of countries worldwide including Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. An expert panel of international judges evaluated all submissions on five main criteria: design, technology, originality, presentation and writing.
Davey Tree Experts Promotes Four Managers in R/C Services
Vince Distrola has been promoted to market manager, Colorado, Residential/Commercial (R/C) services. Distrola started his Davey career in 2002 as a plant health care (PHC) technician trainee. He was promoted to assistant district manager of the West Denver office in 2012 before being promoted to district manager of the South Denver office in 2018.
Distrola is a 2004 graduate of the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.), which is Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques. He is also an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist® and a Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Certified Tree Safety Professional.
Sean Hoes has been promoted to district manager, South Denver, R/C services. Hoes started his career with Davey in 2017 as a climbing arborist trainee in the Dallas office. He moved to the South Denver office in 2019 and was promoted to assistant district manager in 2022. He is an ISA Certified Arborist, and he is TCIA Aerial Rescue certified and TCIA Electrical Hazards Awareness certified.
Kevin Marks has been promoted to operations manager, Western operations, R/C services. Marks started his Davey career in 1996 with the East Denver office as a plant health care (PHC) technician trainee. In 2012, he was promoted to assistant district manager of the Boulder office. Marks was promoted to district manager of the North Denver office in 2016 and market manager of the Colorado market overseeing CO and Omaha in 2019. He is an ISA Certified Master Arborist.
Dan Gillen has been promoted to district manager of the newly acquired Arboristry, a Davey company, Residential/Commercial (R/C) Charlottesville, Va., office. Gillen started his career with Davey in 2014 as a landscaper in the Albany office, before being promoted to sales arborist in 2019.
Gillen is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist®, a 2017 graduate of the Davey Institute of Horticultural Sciences (D.I.H.S.) and a 2019 graduate of the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.), which is Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques.
Profile® Products Hires Young as Chief Human Resources Officer
Rebecca Young has joined the Profile® Products team as chief human resources officer. Ms. Young will be responsible for all human resource activities across Profile, including employee attraction and retention, organization and talent development, as well as compensation, benefits, and recognition programs. Additionally, Young will focus on key initiatives supporting Profile’s ESG platform.
Most recently, Young was the vice president of HR business operations at Bright Spring Health Services. Young began her HR career in GE’s prestigious Human Resources Leadership Program. She holds a master’s degree in human resource management and bachelor’s degree in psychology, both from Purdue University.
PBI Gordon Hires Salois, Segars, and Strano
The employee-owners of PBI-Gordon Corporation announced that Dan Salois has joined the company’s sales team as regional sales representative for the Pacific Northwest. Chrissie Segars, Ph.D. has joined the research and development team as western research scientist. Sal Strano was promoted to marketing product manager.
As regional sales representative for the Pacific Northwest, Dan Salois will be based in Washington and have responsibility for PBI-Gordon product sales to golf course and turfgrass management customers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Hawaii, Utah, and Alaska. Salois brings more than 20 years of experience in the turf, ornamental and agricultural industries including as a sales professional, supplier representative, and golf course superintendent. Most recently, he worked as senior account manager of agriculture and turf for Milliken and Company. Prior to that, Salois served as territory manager for Planet Turf. Salois recently served as Northwest Turf Association president and currently serves on the board. Salois earned his bachelor’s degree in crop science from Washington State University.
As western research scientist, Chrissie Segars, Ph.D., will be based in Oregon and conduct her research in the western region of the country. She will primarily focus on product development and research related to sod production and sports turf product applications. Prior to joining PBI-Gordon, Segars was an assistant professor and extension turfgrass specialist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension located in Dallas, Texas. Segars earned her Ph.D. in crop science with an emphasis in turfgrass science from Oklahoma State University. She also holds a Master of Science in kinesiology from Louisiana State University, Master of Science in horticulture from Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Science in agricultural education from Clemson University.
In his new role as marketing product manager, Sal Strano will develop and communicate product strategy for PBI-Gordon’s portfolio of herbicide products. Strano joined PBI-Gordon in May of 2020 as a National Key Account Manager. Prior to PBI-Gordon, Strano spent ten years as a turf and ornamental product manager for Gowan Company. Strano’s experience in the turf industry also includes previous roles as regional sales manager, account manager, and territory sales representative. Strano earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Studies from State University of New York.
Mike Lane Joins Altoz
Altoz, manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, has announced that Mike Lane has joined the Altoz team as the Events and Merchandising Manager. Mike’s responsibilities will include managing Altoz events, including industry trade shows, and corporate and dealer events. He will also oversee merchandising efforts for the brand.
Mike has over 30 years of experience in the power sports industry where he worked with dealerships to develop merchandising strategies that maximized their showroom potential.
Wilbur-Ellis Joins PROKOZ
PROKOZ, Inc., a cooperative group of independent distributors in the Turf and Ornamental Markets, announces that Wilbur-Ellis and PROKOZ have reached an agreement in principle for Wilbur-Ellis to become the newest owner to join the family of companies. All PROKOZ owner companies work together on opportunities with select Supplier Partners. Owners add value to the industry by representing best-in-class branded products, with local service, agronomical support, and training.
For Turf’s November industry news round-up, click here.
Yanmar CE NA Wins Minnesota Award
The Minnesota Trade Office selected Yanmar Compact Equipment North America (Yanmar CE NA), encompassing the Yanmar Compact Equipment and ASV brands, as a recipient of the 2022 Governor’s International Trade Award in the Large Company category. The prestigious award honors companies that have made foreign direct investments in Minnesota with a continued likelihood of growth. The award stems from Yanmar CE NA’s upcoming 32,000-square-foot expansion project in Grand Rapids, MN. The project is estimated to be completed in the spring of 2024. Applicants for the Governor’s International Trade Award are judged on a variety of criteria, including significant advancement in exports to foreign markets as well as exceptional economic contributions through investments in the state of Minnesota.
GPS Insight Wins Innovation Award
GPS Insight has been named a winner in the 2023 BIG Innovation Awards presented by the Business Intelligence Group. Organizations from across the globe submitted their recent innovations for consideration in the BIG Innovation Awards. Nominations were then judged by a select group of business leaders and executives who volunteer their time and expertise to score submissions. As companies that utilize vehicles and assets in the business of performing home and commercial services struggle to reduce carbon footprint and manage volatile gas prices, GPS Insight’s innovations around improving visibility and controlling costs were key to earning this award.
For Turf’s November industry news round-up, click here.
