Before joining Bowman, Johnson owned JStudio LA in Tucson.

Bowman Consulting Group has hired Tim Johnson, who joins the company as a landscape architect in Tucson, Arizona.

Through a value-added approach, Johnson will help Bowman expand into the landscape architecture market in Tucson and across the western United States.

Before joining Bowman, Johnson owned JStudio LA in Tucson for more than four years. He led the business with more than 20 years of experience in various areas such as landscape architecture, site planning, urban design, master planned communities, streetscapes, parks and recreation design, renderings/simulations, irrigation design, native plant and riparian mitigation, rainwater harvesting design and construction administration.

“The first time I met Tim I knew he fit our culture well and would flourish at Bowman. He brings a wealth of experience in Tucson, Phoenix and across much of the west. I look forward to working with Tim as we grow landscape architecture as one more practice we provide to our clients,” said Bruce Larson, Bowman executive vice president and regional manager. 

Johnson previously worked as a principal within another multi-disciplinary office in Tucson for 15 years, furthering business development and oversight of landscape architecture, site design, community visioning and planning, and graphic communications. Prior to his role as a principal, he worked as a landscape architect in other Tucson and Colorado Springs offices.

“I enjoy the interdisciplinary synergy between civil engineering, land planning and landscape architecture expertise at Bowman,” Johnson said. “We will establish a trusted and valued landscape architectural consultant service that will embody client visions and needs along with the respective communities we impact.”

Johnson earned a bachelor's degree at Arizona State University and furthered his studies with a Master of Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning and Urban Design degree from Utah State University. In addition, Johnson is a certified LEED Accredited Professional by the U.S. Green Build Council and a licensed Professional Landscape Architect in Arizona, California, Utah and New Mexico.

The Lebanon, Indiana, facility is expected to be complete by May 2023.

Steel Green Manufacturing broke ground in May of 2022 on a new facility in Lebanon, Indiana. The company plans to relocate its offices and manufacturing operations to the new building in May of 2023. 

 Steel Green will lease 30,000 square feet of the building—more than double the size of its current facility—from Merritt Contracting, the company completing the project. Advanced Turf Solutions will lease the remaining 10,000 square feet of the facility. 

Since its founding in 2018, Steel Green has grown to more than 30 employees. The company manufactures stand-on zero-turn spreader/sprayer machines, attachments and parts. With an initial focus on lawn care professionals, Steel Green has expanded its customer base to include sports field managers and golf course superintendents. 

“This will be a much-needed move for us,” said Matt Smith, co-founder and sales manager of Steel Green Manufacturing. “We’re eager to increase production, serve more customers, and provide more jobs in our community.”

The new facility will be located at the address below:

The commercial-grade controllers provide retrofit and new-install options with 40 programs and connectivity for up to 48 stations.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Contractors can now help commercial sites, like schools, parks and shopping centers, create more customized irrigation schedules, meet their water-efficiency goals and enjoy simpler remote access with Rain Bird’s new ESP-LXME2 and ESP-LXME2 PRO Controllers.

“The ESP-LXME2 and ESP-LXME2 PRO are feature-rich, next-generation, modular commercial controllers,” said Doug Closter, product manager at Rain Bird. “They incorporate an improved user interface developed through multiple rounds of customer research sessions and field testing. We feel that these controllers truly elevate our commercial control product line by offering everything contractors and their customers told us they need, including an extra-large backlit display and more available programs.”

Contractors can install the LXME2 or LXME2 PRO as new controllers or as retrofits to existing LXME and LXMEF models in the field. Thanks to an intuitive user interface with simple dial positions, new soft buttons – like the dedicated “Back” and “Language” buttons – and a backlit screen, they’re easy for contractors and end users to program. The controllers can be expanded from 12 to 48 stations using 12-station modules, and both models support Simulstation capability, enabling them to run up to five stations at once for maximum efficiency in tight water windows.

The LXME2 and LXME2 PRO offer 40 programs and up to 10 start times per program, so users can tailor their irrigation schedules to meet the needs of any site. Both controllers have capacity for one weather station and one master valve, and the LXME2 PRO features a flow-sensor input and second pump start output programmable by station. Improved diagnostic features like detailed event/failure logs and contextual help make it easier to discover problems before they become serious issues.

The more advanced LXME2 PRO offers a “Pro Smart Module” that supports flow sensor input which enables additional features such as an automatic “Learned Flow,” as well as Rain Bird’s FloWatch™ and FloManager™ features that optimize water usage, guard against high- and low-flow conditions and shorten total watering times. The module also provides a secondary pump output that makes it possible to program the controller to only engage the booster pump when running stations or programs that really need it, saving valuable energy.

Remote access to the LXME2 and LXME2 PRO is available via Rain Bird’s IQ4 Central Control with an NCC Network Communication Cartridge that uses a cellular connection as well as other connection methods. Having multiple connectivity options available makes it possible for end users to select the one that best suits their sites’ needs and configurations.

“With the ESP-LXME2 and ESP-LXME2 PRO Controllers, we’re able to offer an easier-to-use, modular system with multiple configurations and price points,” Closter said. “These controllers represent an excellent new install or retrofit opportunity for contractors and enhanced flexibility for end users. LXME2 and LXME2 PRO can bring affordable, top-of-the-line control and water savings to more commercial sites.”

For additional information, visit www.rainbird.com. 

Arbor Masters, SiteOne Landscape Supply, Mirimichi Green and Arborjet all recenrtly volunteered to help treat trees affected by the Emerald Ash Borer.

The green industry is joining forces to address the pest sweeping across the nation, the Emerald Ash Borer. The city of Des Moines requested help to treat 150 Ash trees that hadn’t been treated for several years. Arbor Masters, a provider for the city, volunteered assistance alongside SiteOne Landscape Supply, Mirimichi Green and Arborjet.

The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive beetle that has destroyed millions of Ash trees in the U.S. since it first appeared in 2002. It was first spotted in Des Moines several years ago, leading to the removal of thousands of trees. The beetle’s larvae lay eggs in the cracks of the Ash trees and feeds on bark, killing the tree.

“Like many communities, Des Moines has many well-established Ash trees that should be preserved,” said Matthew McCarroll, national account manager at SiteOne. “This pest is impacting neighborhoods by taking memories and history when trees must be removed. It was important for us to come together as an industry to help the city maintain some of its tree canopy.”

The treatments included root collar excavation and soil amendment with LESCO CarbonPro-G, a soil optimizer, among other products. Infected Ash trees can be identified by thinning leaf coverage, yellowing leaves, canopy and bark loss, and D-shaped holes.

QuickStart creates digital storefronts for local material suppliers to sell their materials directly to the platform’s user base.

Soil Connect is rolling out a QuickStart program to partner with local construction materials suppliers across the U.S. – including quarries, recycling facilities, landscape suppliers, asphalt and cement plants, and sand and gravel locations. Soil Connect’s QuickStart program creates digital storefronts for local material suppliers to sell their materials directly to the platform’s growing user base of construction professionals.

 Soil Connect has secured fresh funding led by new investors Stellifi VC and GS Futures. Both firms launched their venture capital units in the last 12 months, and both were born out of traditional real estate and construction firms. GS Futures is an early-stage corporate venture arm of GS Group, a Korean conglomerate with operations in the energy, constructions and retail, looking for investment and business development opportunities in climate, energy transition, construction and retail innovations. Stellifi was formed by the partners of OTH Capital, an Austin-based Real Estate Private Equity & Development firm.

The QuickStart program supports Soil Connect’s broader market expansion plans by driving listings of available materials for construction professionals at the local level, while providing suppliers access to a self-serve suite of tools to more effectively market and sell their product. As part of the program, Soil Connect builds a company profile for local businesses to “claim” and take ownership of. The material supplier can then adjust the types and quantities of material that the business wants to market as part of their digital storefront on the Soil Connect marketplace. Soil Connect will initially launch the program in Indianapolis on July 27 before rolling it out to markets across the U.S.

“We are pleased to launch this new QuickStart program and welcome Stellifi VC and GS Futures as investors to further accelerate the growth of our platform,” said Cliff Fetner, founder and CEO of Soil Connect. “As longtime construction professionals, we founded Soil Connect to address many of the frustrations we had experienced in trading and transporting soil, aggregates and other construction materials – and our reputation has preceded us in markets across the country as our colleagues have proactively joined and started transacting on our platform. However, as we’ve scaled, we’ve recognized that there is an untapped opportunity to create value for local materials suppliers as well.”

“These sellers reflect the industry in that many still operate on analog systems and for the most part do not have the capability or budget to develop and manage an online store. In claiming their digital Soil Connect storefronts, suppliers gain immediate, hassle-free access to our rapidly growing community of construction professionals and a more efficient way to move product, while providing added supply liquidity to our platform to drive increased transaction volume – it’s truly a win-win for all stakeholders,” added Jonathan Alvarado, chief growth officer of Soil Connect.  

In addition to its QuickStart program, Soil Connect continues to invest in and enhance its technology to advance its mission to be a full-stack, end-to-end solution for the construction industry. Most recently, the platform built a new tech stack to support its marketplace, allowing Soil Connect to introduce new services and features to its community. This will include, among other things, the ability to triangulate and secure transport for materials within the app, as well as enhancing The Daily Dig jobsite monitoring service.  

For more information on the Soil Connect digital marketplace, visit www.soilconnect.com.