Meet the Grower— Stephen Edwards of INTURF Tells All
How long have been growing turfgrass?
We have been turf growing for 36 years, and it all started with 50 acres, we now produce well in excess of 2000 acres, or more than 800 hectares in new money. My father, Derek Edwards, worked with another turf growing company in the late seventies and early eighties, and helped shape the face of the cultivated turf industry into what it is today, but wanted to carve his own path in the sportsturf World. Tis was extremely successful, customers included: the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC) in Wimbledon, Wembley National Stadium, and many famous golf courses.
Since then, we have mechanised and now supply nearly all of the national DIY chains, various Building Merchants, and many Open Championship Golf Courses. We also grew turf in Northern France in the 1990s from where we re-turfed the Parc des Princes, Paris, using our patented ‘turf tile’ and ‘thick- cut big roll’ systems; pioneering systems which were adopted by a handful of other turf growers across the UK and Europe and helped numerous football clubs re-turf during the playing season. We also introduced the ‘standard big roll’ turf format in 1991, and by 1992 no other turf grower anywhere in the world was using this so ubiquitously as Inturf!
Tell Us About Your Team
We have a very dedicated team at Inturf, the majority of whom have been with us for many years, 30 years plus in a few cases, and we are hiring new recruits regularly to keep pace with an inexorable increase in demand for our turf. As the business grows, we will require more and more staff to drive the latest technology and to occupy the growing office.
Employee training and engagement are key markers to retain staff and for success, and we leave no stone un-turned in the respect. Valuing staff is a priority for Inturf.
What is your proudest achievement?
Tere are many, however, I think the proudest moment was re-surfacing ‘Centre Court’ at the AELTCC in August 1997. My brother (Alex) and I completed this work behind closed doors for the club during a very long hot summer. Nearly every court had been re-surfaced using our custom-grown- turf service (another first in the turf world), either before or following the centre court re-turf… to my knowledge, this had not been undertaken before or since our time working with the AELTCC, which spanned circa 20 years.
Why do you love producing turfgrass?
Most importantly, turf is good for our planet… socially, environmentally, and economically and generally speaking, the people who operate within the industry are down to earth and helpful. We have an amazing manicured 2000-acre plus garden too, so we benefit from the abundance of positive health benefits turf offers. For instance, its noise reduction qualities, flood defensive applications (it reduces water run-off), it has a high efficacy
TPI Turf News July/August 2021
63
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