FSM


Feature


Looking for continual improvement


As Rigby Taylor this year celebrates its


centenary anniversary and its position as “undoubtedly the primary force in the development, supply and support of turf care solutions to the UK’s sports and amenity sectors”, executive chairman Chris Clark is adamant that all customers – at facilities of every size and of every kind - will continue to benefit


from the company’s ethos of


continual improvement. “We will not be resting on our laurels as the company enters the next 100 years,” he says. “We will always seek to offer effective turf


solutions based on value-for-money


products that are supported by a team of turf professionals who offer unrivalled turf care technical knowledge and expertise – all underpinned by superb levels of delivery and customer service.” He continues: “Irrelevant of the volume


and frequency of the orders placed, every customer will always be treated similarly. Every customer is important, whether it’s a volunteer football groundsman who orders a few bags of grass seed each year or an elite stadium where, for example, we work together on integrated turf maintenance programmes with all the products and expertise that will entail. “Going forwards, the end result has always to be the same – first-class products offered at the most cost-effective rates, delivered on time and backed up by a highly-experienced, professional team.” In the eight years since Chris picked up the company reins and instigated a number of strategic, across-the-board improvements – “not least by addressing the historical view that Rigby Taylor is a company that deals only with the ‘top-end’ of the market” – he


16 FSM


reflects that the ‘hearts and minds’ process of the company ‘re-inventing’ itself included a complete appraisal of the product range. “The industry [customers] have diverse


needs; the demands of a community football pitch are different to those of, say, a Premier League ground. They will


all have differing


agronomic requirements and, of course, different budgets. What we had to do was to ensure we could provide highly effective solutions for all possible situations that would continually exceed our customers’ expectations - a one-stop shop for turf solutions, if you like. “Indeed, while our product development – and brand/product additions via acquisitions or commercial partnerships – is an ongoing process,


sustainability is increasingly to


the fore. With certain products/chemicals being withdrawn, it is vital that sports turf is fitter and stronger to fend off the problems. Prevention is always better than cure, and this is where our product development and applications expertise come in. The demand for these attributes will only increase and we are ensuring that we are best placed to meet that now and in the future.” He continues: “You can buy everything you


want via the internet, including our products, but we are certainly not ‘box-shifters’. We place great store in our nationwide team of 50 technical representatives – who are supported by five dedicated product managers covering all sectors including fertilisers, grass seed, chemicals, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, line marking, wetting agents, biostimulants, soil improvers, flower seeds et al. “Crucially,


this dedicated, well-trained and focused team is highly knowledgeable Chris Clark.


and competent, the majority of whom are from practical greenkeeping/groundsman backgrounds. Their aim is to create effective ‘partnerships’ with customers to consistently provide appropriate solutions to continually improve turf quality – and add value to the products with their expertise. Partnerships are a two-way thing based on trust and an understanding of each individual site in terms of its micro-climate and usage. For example, it’s all very well looking at online photos of turf diseases, but a personal visit offers so much more; not least a fresh pair of eyes which can often quickly identify not only the symptoms but also the cause of a problem. “We are


problem solvers; we fully


understand the synergy of how each product interacts with another and with the turf. At many sites there are many variables that will impact product efficacy and it


takes


a lot of knowledge to deliver the correct maintenance programme. As a company, we will continue to ensure our people have that expertise.” He concludes: “Throughout our 100-year


history Rigby Taylor has never stood still and especially during recent times has moved forward in strides. My ongoing quest is to guarantee that we’ll continue to do just that!” www.rigbytaylor.com


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