PROFILE
For example , in 1968 he developed a battery-powered lawn mower for golf courses and home lawns . The product was a success at the National Hardware Show , and soon other companies were mimicking the concept .
West Point Products , which had grown to a thriving business with more than 100 employees , was eventually acquired as part of a hostile takeover , and later sold to Hahn Inc .
“ After the company was sold , we moved to Florida in 1972 ,” said John . “ He was retired for only a few months and started consulting with a sprinkler company called Safe-T-Lawn that developed some of the first home lawn pop-up sprinklers .”
In the mid-1970s , Tom invented a new product called Grass Cel , which was a golf cart path paving system made of plastic honeycombs that allowed people to drive over the soil without compacting it and still grow grass . With the success of Grass Cel , Tom started Turfgrass Products Corporation , which was the predecessor to Turf-Tec International .
John , who started to launch a t-shirt silk screening company after college , also began working with his father .
28 SportsField Management | January 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com