2/1/2024
On the Move
Jennifer Zurko
BALL HORTICULTURAL COMPANY
Josh Henry has been hired as a new Technical Services Specialist for Ball Horticultural Company. Josh services Ball’s Gold Supply network together with Todd Cavins. In addition, the team will have increased capacity to service Ball Seed customers, support sales reps in the field and develop content for Tech On Demand technical resources.
Josh comes from Helena Agri-Enterprises where he provided technical support for customers and nearly 100 sales reps in the greenhouse, nursery and turf markets. There, he provided chemical and fertilization recommendations to customers throughout the country. He received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University under Dr. Brian Whipker. His expertise lies in plant nutrition, plant growth regulators and advanced diagnostic technologies, including multispectral imagery, where he’ll be a highly valued asset due to his training and experience in plant health diagnostics. Many of Ball’s customers and suppliers are familiar with Josh’s work and publications in the eGro newsletter and the Fert, Dirt & Squirt website.
BENARY NORTH AMERICA
Benary has promoted Dwight Deppen to Sales and Marketing Manager for Benary North America. Dwight will manage the Sales and Marketing team, as well as all aspects of Benary’s sales and marketing endeavors in North America, reporting directly to CEO Matthias Redlefsen.
Dwight has worked for Benary North America for over a decade, first as Sales Manager in the western region for four years and most recently in the Midwest. Dwight’s many contributions to Benary include achieving Benary Plus’s highest sales volume year over year, as well as being an integral member of Benary’s CAST planning team and other marketing events and efforts.
CAVANO’S PERENNIALS, INC.
Cavano’s Perennials announced David Culp joined the team as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. David comes with a diverse background in all thing’s chlorophyll, including serving as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sunny Border Nurseries, perennial buyer at Waterloo Gardens, independent plant breeder, instructor at Longwood Gardens, award winning author and founder of the Galanthus Gala, just to name a few.
Along with his partner, Michael Alderfer, David created the gardens at Brandywine Cottage in Downingtown, Pennsylvania (also the home to his breeding program; the Brandywine Hybrid Strain of Hellebores were developed by David). While David has been traveling the nation lecturing about plants and gardening for over 25 years, he’s most recently recognized for his webinars with Garden Design.
David’s involvement with green industry organizations is widespread as well, including the Perennial Plant Association, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Hardy Plant Society, GardenComm and many of the public gardens within the Mid-Atlantic.
DÜMMEN ORANGE
Dümmen Orange North America has promoted Kelly Nicholas to head of technical services. Kelly originally joined Dümmen Orange during the summer of 2018, where she served as a technical support specialist until her recent promotion. She now oversees all technical services for the company, including supporting all production facilities supplying North American cuttings, giving technical presentations, performing quality checks on cuttings from various production facilities, keeping sales and product teams updated on production at the farms, and sending technical bulletins to support any issues that may develop.
Kelly’s career in commercial horticulture over the past two decades includes various roles for industry names like PanAmerican Seed, Ball Horticultural Company and Midwest Groundcovers, LLC prior to arriving at Dümmen Orange. She’s earned numerous performance awards for her professional efforts and served as an advisory board member for the horticulture program at Kishwaukee College from 2016 to 2018.
EASON HORTICULTURAL RESOURCES
Eason Horticultural Resources (EHR) announced that Kevin Lawler will be transitioning from his role in nursery logistics to sales representative, where he’ll focus on servicing customers across New Jersey and southeast New York. Kevin’s experience in logistics, combined with his product knowledge and management, will enable him to easily transition to the role of sales representative. In this new role, these past experiences will enable him to bring new opportunities and perspectives to both the team and customers.
FLORIDA NURSERY, GROWERS & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
Shannon Fry has joined the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA) team as the new Communications Manager. Shannon’s previous communications and marketing experience includes stops at AgAmerica, the University of Florida and Farm Credit of Central Florida. She’s also a graduate of UF’s Agricultural Education and Communication department. Shannon will help strengthen FNGLA’s impressive portfolio of digital media channels, including websites, social media and email newsletters.
PANAMERICAN SEED
Carlos Molina has accepted the position of Director of Operations at PanAmerican Seed (PAS). Carlos has been with Ball for over 20 years and has served in many roles throughout PAS, starting at Floricultura in Guatemala and then moving to West Chicago to be the Finance Manager for PAS. As Director of Operations, Carlos and his team will ensure PanAmerican maintains optimal inventory levels and delivers the highest order fill of high-quality seed. Carlos will take the reports of the Quality Assurance and Supply Chain functions, and continue to lead PanAmerican’s PowerBI development and analytical work.
Together with Carlos’ promotion, Laurel Schmitz has been promoted to Supply Chain Manager at PanAmerican Seed, reporting to Carlos. Laurel has served in numerous roles of increasing responsibility within PAS for the last 14 years.
STUPPY GREENHOUSE, INC.
Stuppy Greenhouse announced an addition to its sales team with the hire of Jack Maruna as the new PNW Regional Sales Manager. A graduate of the Agricultural Business and Economics program at Auburn University, Jack has been involved in the growing industry since 2018. He brings expertise in working with IPM systems and growing consultation, particularly at the intersection of the greenhouse and culinary industries, where he has experience working with high-end restaurants and chefs. Jack is located in the Seattle, Washington, area and will serve customers in the Pacific Northwest.
T.O. PLASTICS, INC.
T.O. Plastics has announced the hiring of Rob Rood to their sales team as Northeast Regional Sales Manager. Rob has worked in the green industry for over 25 years, primarily in the tree and shrub wholesale market. Throughout his career, he’s worked with large and small growers, as well as contractors.
Rob started his career in horticulture with a small family-owned nursery in central New York while in high school. He followed his horticulture interest and earned a degree in Horticulture and Landscape Development at the State University of New York, Morrisville. In his most recent role, he served the Northeast as a retail sales manager for a U.S.-based agricultural chemical and ag input company.