For the seventh year in a row, Douglas Dynamics’ brands Fisher and SnowEx sold raffle tickets at GIE+EXPO, Oct. 21-23 in Louisville, Ky., for a chance to win a limited-edition pink Fisher XV2 V-plow and SnowEx HELIXX polyhopper spreader.
Douglas Dynamics raised a total of $11,173, with all proceeds going to Susan G. Komen Kentucky. In total, the company has raised more than $85,000 for the charity since 2013.
Anna Miller from Casa Grande, Ariz., was the winner of the Fisher XV2 V-plow, and Chad Green from Dyer, Ind., won the SnowEx Helixx polyhopper spreader.
“We’re thrilled to announce the money raised for Susan G. Komen Kentucky through our equipment raffles at GIE+EXPO,” said Katie Sandieson, director of advertising and business communications for Douglas Dynamics. “Given the timing of the show coinciding with breast cancer awareness month and the great support we’ve consistently received from lawn and landscape professionals, this has always been the ideal event to focus our efforts. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make this another successful fundraising year!”
Belgard celebrated the grand opening of the Superlite plant on Nov. 7 in Phoenix, Ariz. The event included plant tours, live demos, raffle prizes, free swag, appetizers, drinks and product displays.
The plant, which is 27,000 square feet and created 30 new jobs, provides a higher margin of products at larger scale to the Arizona and New Mexico area. In addition, the Superlite Plant boasts the latest technology, protecting the community from noise pollution and creating a healthier local environment.
Case Construction Equipment dealer Sonsray Machinery donated the use of a Case TV380 compact track loader for a wildland fire and wind damage response operation in Las Vegas.
Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs is a 2,040-acre park on the north side of Las Vegas. Centered around a group of small natural lakes, this oasis in the Mojave Desert is a popular outdoor recreation spot for travelers and local residents. The easternmost area of the park is a wooded area with established trails which has been plagued with reoccurring wildfires and subsequent damage from windstorms. Team Rubicon deployed a limited-scale disaster response task force as a follow-up to an initial operation that took place in 2018.
“The leftover debris from wildfires and subsequent wind damage in the area had made sections of the trail system either unsafe or inaccessible to park visitors,” said Alex Roth of Team Rubicon. “This four-day operation, comprised of Team Rubicon volunteers, equipment operators and support personnel, was a follow-up to our initial cleanup operation in 2018 and has drastically improved trail conditions, and helped mitigate potential fires in the future. The Case equipment and support from Sonsray Machinery helped make this operation a success.”
LawnStarter, an on-demand platform for outdoor services, announced a $10.5 million growth investment from Edison Partners, a growth equity investor.
The new funding will enable LawnStarter to continue its growth in lawn care across the U.S. and add new outdoor service lines including landscaping, fertilization, pest control and tree care. Existing investor Lerer Hippeau is also participating in this new investment round, which builds on previous investments from Bull Creek Capital, Techstars, Cotter Cunningham and Gary Vaynerchuk.
“The investment from Edison Partners will help us grow and scale our platform and business so we can transform the outdoor home services industry to meet the modern needs of homeowners, and work towards making every outdoor home service interaction as easy as clicking a button,” said LawnStarter CEO and co-founder Steve Corcoran.
Aqua-Aid Solutions expanded its dealer network with JW Turf serving Chicagoland area and beyond for its Cultural Solutions products of Imants equipment and Vredo seeders.
The Cultural Solutions include the Imants equipment, featuring aeration solutions with the Imants ShockWave and RotoKnife and surface hygiene solutions in the Imants FTM series and RootPruner.
JW Turf will be supporting these innovative Cultural Solutions across the Chicagoland area and beyond, including Wisconsin, Northern Indian and Northwest Ohio.
The TurfMutt Foundation has a new spokesdog. Mulligan, a mixed breed rescue puppy, will fill the cape left behind by Lucky the TurfMutt, who recently passed away at the TurfMutt Foundation offices after serving as the organization’s superhero voice for a decade.
The TurfMutt Foundation promotes environmental stewardship and its program has inspired millions of kids, families and teachers to become backyard superheroes by creating and sustaining suburban and urban habitat, parks, sports fields and other green spaces.
Mulligan, who was abandoned along with her siblings, was rescued by the Kentucky Humane Society and adopted by TurfMutt Foundation president, Kris Kiser, in Louisville, Ky., last month during Lucky’s Mutt Madness, a national dog adoption event that takes place during GIE+EXPO.
Gachina Landscape Management kicked off its annual Movember campaign Nov. 1 to raise awareness for men’s overall health through early detection and diagnosis of cancer.
Employees are encouraged to schedule their wellness visits. Those interested can join Team Gachina by making a donation. Team Gachina raised $2,292 in 2017 and $2,400 in 2018.
Professional Lawn Care in Waterloo, Iowa, has been mowing grass and plowing snow in the Cedar Valley for nearly five decades.
The business Dennis Lickteig started in 1971 from his two-stall garage on Butterfield Road is now undergoing a major expansion near the Waterloo Regional Airport.
Nearly 30,000 square feet of new buildings are going up on Wagner Road to house the company’s growing lawn care, snow removal, landscaping and tree service business. Professional Lawn Care acquired its new 4.4-acre site in a growing light industrial area the city developed on Wagner Road. A 14,000-square-foot heated shop and office is expected to be completed by the end of this year, while another 12,000-square-foot building and 3,000-square-foot salt storage facility are also in the works.
