Companies in the News: Updates from Bobcat Co., LMN and more

From left: Village Development Director David Newman, Doosan Bobcat President Mike Ballweber, Open Tournament Director Mark Johnson 2021. (Photo courtesy of Bobcat Co.)

The 57th annual Bobcat North Dakota Open, held Aug. 27-29 at the Fargo Country Club, brought the best amateur and pro golfers to compete while also supporting The Village Family Service Center, a local nonprofit agency providing regional community behavioral health services.

Bobcat Co. has served as the major corporate sponsor for the tournament since 1984.

The tournament concluded with an awards ceremony and a donation check presented to The Village Family Service Center, an agency dedicated to working with children and families throughout North Dakota and Minnesota.

Bobcat has donated more than $1.15 million to the organization since 1984. To support the event, a group of 45 Bobcat employees and 33 corporate and community members volunteered their time before and during the event.

The Bobcat North Dakota Open is a part of the Dakotas Tour, a 17-event, professional golf tour played in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Andre Metzger is this year’s champion. The three-time Bobcat Open winner secured a one-shot victory in the last stop on the Dakotas Tour. Metzger received $10,000 in purse winnings and a paid $4,500 entry fee to the Korn Ferry Qualifying School.

LMN opened its second location in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI).

The new site will house more than 50 employees, including customer service, business development and technology positions. LMN Chief Technology Officer Mike Lysecki will be based at the location and is thrilled to be part of the PEI community.

Fortune Magazine named K-Rain Manufacturing as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production.

The complete list can be found here.

“Being is successful is the goal of any company, but success is measured in more ways than ROI and market leadership,” said Chip Kah, K-Rain president. “It’s also measured in how employees feel about working at that company. People spend a great percentage of their waking hours at their place of employment. It’s always been highly important to us that they feel K-Rain is a great place to work. Beyond any technical advancement, people are at the heart of what we do. We’re thrilled to be recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the best workplaces.”

RC Mowers, maker of remote-operated robotic mowers, has been traveling on an extensive “Great American Road Show” all over the U.S. to meet commercial landscapers; public works departments; city, county, state and federal park systems; and city, county and state road departments.

The response and related sales of RC Mowers remote-operated robotic mowers, which are for mowing steep slopes, difficult terrain and other hazardous landscapes, has been tremendous. The commercial mower market is estimated to be a $4 billion industry.

The company will be traveling to at least 10 more cities before the end of the year, including the west coast cities of Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore.

Aquascape opened registration for its newest hands-on training event, Aquascape Academy: Starting and Succeeding with a Water Feature Business. The company is offering eight sessions from November through February.

Held at Aqualand, the company’s corporate headquarters in St. Charles, Ill., the 48-hour training session spans three days and helps new and prospective business owners succeed with water features through workshops on operations, sales and marketing. Attendees will also learn the streamlined process Aquascape uses to properly design, build and sell water features for any property.

Regardless of experience or skill level, the course agenda focuses on helping contractors start a new business and learn how to profitably grow with water feature installations. During the first day of training, attendees learn the steps to install both an Aquascape Pondless Waterfall kit and a fountain kit. Afterward, they observe the entire construction process of an Aquascape ecosystem pond from start to finish while instructors answer questions throughout.

On day two, experts from Team Aquascape provide best practices and proven marketing strategies to acquire new customers and help sell new projects to existing customers. Attendees will leave the Aquascape Academy with a detailed game plan to execute in their future or existing landscaping business. Space is extremely limited. To register and reserve a training date, visit here.

Canada’s Sollio Agriculture and Alabama’s Pursell plan to spend $18 million to build a controlled-release fertilizers plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, a Canadian town on the north shore of Lake Erie, about halfway between Detroit and Buffalo, N.Y.

The plant will break ground in the fall of 2021 and is expected to become operational in August of 2022. Controlled-release fertilizer coatings improve the uptake of nutrients by plants.

Pursell, which opened its flagship fertilizer coating plant in Sylacauga, Ala., in early 2018 has also initiated plans to open an additional plant in Savannah, Ga.

The St. Thomas plant will produce more than 100,000 metric tons once full capacity has been reached.

The American Rental Association launched the RentalHQ Mobile app.

The new RentalHQ mobile app makes finding local rental equipment and rental partners fast and easy for construction contractors and professionals. The popular online rental store locator RentalHQ.com is now available as a mobile app, putting the most comprehensive rental store locator at your fingertips for on-the-go rental equipment needs.

The RentalHQ app, developed by the American Rental Association (ARA), features easy-to-use search functions with fields for equipment type and location. Searches deliver a list of local ARA-member rental partners carrying the equipment — such as lifts and scaffolding, loaders, backhoes, dump trucks and mini excavators — with a mapped location, contact information and a website link for each store.

With the new RentalHQ app, finding rental construction equipment can be done right from the job site. Whether working in town or traveling in the field, contractors can locate reliable rental partners in the area when equipment is needed now. The app functions seamlessly with Wi-Fi and data connection. The RentalHQ app is available for both Apple and Android users. In addition to easy-to-use search function, app users will also find helpful articles and tips on equipment best practices with new topics being added often.

Loving expanded its service offering with the launch of a business that will serve the sod needs of landscaping companies across the Southeast, as well as the ever-growing DIY segment of the industry.

The new platform, nextDAYsod.com, features a simple “three clicks and done” platform and guaranteed next day delivery. As if the ease and speed isn’t enough, freight is also free.