Valent Professional Products, the non-crop business unit of Valent U.S.A. Corp., has named Rod Marquardt national accounts manager, a new position dedicated exclusively to the company’s lawn care operator (LCO) business segment.

Marquardt will be responsible for the day-to-day management of large national accounts and the development of new national and regional LCO accounts.

“Valent has done an excellent job building its LCO business, but there’s a lot of potential and opportunity for the future,” he said. “I’m excited to be the architect for what happens next.”

Marquardt, who graduated from the University of Manitoba with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, most recently served as branch manager for ValleyCrest Landscape Companies in Fort Pierce, Fla. Before that, he was a district manager for Austin Outdoor on Florida’s Treasure Coast and a senior superintendent and project director for The Brickman Group in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“This is a new position in our group and will be vitally important for us as we continue to expand our best-in-class LCO business,” said Dr. Mike Riffle, Valent Professional Products national sales and market development manager. “Rod has extensive experience in the LCO market segment and he has worked closely with a number of our products. His combination of industry experience and familiarity with our product line makes him an ideal fit for this important new position, in which he’ll be working with our largest accounts and exploring opportunities to grow the business.”