New Signage!

Cody Schindler & Brian Wissel show off our new signage that was recently put up at our Edwards Road "shop".

The Motz Group Names Travis Rowlette as Project Assistant

Cincinnati, Ohio – March 12, 2010 – The Motz Group has hired Travis Rowlette as Project Assistant.

Travis comes to The Motz Group with more than five years experience in the commercial and residential construction industry. He has worked internally with document control as well as externally in the field. His primary responsibilities at The Motz Group will be to assemble bid documents, submittal packages and close-out binders, attend pre-construction and progress meetings and assist with production of drawings.

Travis will be graduating in May 2010 from Northern Kentucky University with a Bachelors Degree in Construction Management.

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for high school, college and professional teams.

For more information, contact Ryan Margraf at 513-533-6452 or rmargraf@themotzgroup.com

Backspin: Zach Burns, Lebanon 1995

11:39 AM Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Zach Burns was a stellar student-athlete at Lebanon High School in the early 1990s.

His career has taken him back to the playing field, as he works as a sales and marketing representative for the Motz Group, installing field turf to football stadiums in the area.

Varsity days

Burns was an All-Mid-Miami League performer in both football and baseball during his playing days at Lebanon from 1991-95.

A linebacker on the football team and a first baseman on the baseball team, Burns’ high school career was shortened by knee surgery his senior season.

“That was a disappointment, because we had a really good baseball team my senior year and I had to miss it to get my knee scoped and get ready for college football,” Burns said.
Burns said the highlight of his high school days was playing for John Reed, the now legendary football coach at Coldwater High School.

“I can’t say enough about what it meant to play under coach Reed,” Burns said. “I still draw back on the lessons he taught me about life and the level of integrity he instilled in his players.”
Burns played football for four years at Brown University, earning All-Ivy League status two times at tight end and was the first Brown football player ever to be named first team All-American his senior year.

“I was fortunate enough to play in an advanced offense while at Brown,” Burns said. “Our coach, Mark Whipple — who is now the offensive coordinator at the University of Miami — installed a pass-happy spread offense. We scored 30-35 points a game and I was able to catch 60 balls in a season in that offense.”

After his senior season, Brown was invited to play in the Blue-Gray Game, an annual college all-star showcase.

“I got to throw my hat in the ring with Big 10 and SEC players, so that was fun,” Burns said. “The whole college football scene was a great experience.”

Today

Burns graduated from Brown in 1999 with a degree in organizational behavior and management.
After working with Dakin Insurance in Lebanon for a few years, he took a spot as sales and marketing representative with the Motz Group.

“I get to talk to football coaches and athletic directors all the time,” Burns said. “That’s my comfort area, and I feel very fortunate to still be involved in athletics in some way.”
Burns has also been involved as a coach, serving as a varsity assistant baseball coach at Lebanon and a junior high football coach earlier this decade.

He is now focused on coaching youth sports for his son, Jackson, 7. He and wife, Jennifer, also have a daughter, Lillie, 1

Quotable

“It’s great coming back home to the community we’ve enjoyed and grown to love. Seeing our kids grow up and play sports in the same place we did as a kid, it’s an honor for me and Jennifer.” — Zach Burns

— Scott Hayes, staff writer

Click HERE to see the original article posted on Western-star.com

Seasongood Pavilion

The Motz Group has just completed a turf installation at Eden Park's Seasongood Pavilion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Seasongood Pavilion is a popular summer spot for concerts and events in Cincinnati’s Eden Park.

The installation includes a post industrial closed cell foam pad with roughly 2000 square feet of a synthetic turf. Envirofill, produced by USGreentech, was the infill used for this gorgeous installation.

“The recent installation of landscape turf (‘Garden Party Premium’ turf) by The Motz Group is an attractive addition to Eden Park’s Seasongood Pavilion. The Pavilion’s seating is set in a natural bowl shaded by scattered trees” says Steve Schuckman of The Cincinnati Parks Board. “We rebuilt stepped seating terraces of porous concrete within this bowl shape. At the front of the seating area just below the stage, two turf panels were installed in areas which are heavily shaded. The turf panels provide a green relief to the concrete seating, walkways and stage, and they provide a place for people to enjoy performances from blankets and lawn chairs on a grass-like surface. They have the added benefit of staying green even though they are in a shaded and heavily used site where grass could not easily be maintained. The turf panels themselves will be easy to maintain and their maintenance will also be gentler on the environment.”

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for park and recreational venues as well as high school, college and professional sports teams.

If you’d like more information about turf design or construction call Zach burns at 513-533-6452 or email Zach at zburns@themotzgroup.com

Sekisui Visit ~ March 16, 2010

Front:

Sekisui Products President Minoru Miyashita,

Sekisui Chemical Co. Managing Executive Officer Yuji Enatsu,

The Motz Group President Joe Motz,

Sekisui Products Manger Peter Tkacz

Back:

The Motz Group Senior VP Mark Heinlein,

USGreentech Director of Sales & Marketing Adam Coleman

USGreentech and The Motz Group were honored to host Yuji Enatsu - Managing Executive Officer, Sekisui Chemical Co. along with Minoru Miyashita - President of Sekisui Products and Peter Tkacz - Products Manager, Sekisui Products. Based in Tokyo, Sekisui Chemical has a substantial international footprint that includes over 246 divisions. As a worldwide leader in foam technology, Sekisui-Alveo is bringing to market a unique, cross-linked polyolefin foam shock pad for the synthetic sports turf market. USGreentech and The Motz Group have partnered with Sekisui to offer the Alveo Sports Layer in the North American market. It's an ideal compliment to our Envirofill and together create a high performance system unlike any other on the market.

Happy Birthday TMG!

Today, March 17, 2010 The Motz Group turns 33 years old! To celebrate we want to share some photographs through the years...

1977

1978

1989

1991

2003

2009

2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TMG!

Here's to at least another 33 more successful years!!

Search for the Real Field of Dreams™

The Motz Group is excited to extend a special opportunity to our synthetic field owners!

The Synthetic Turf Council is holding its annual Search for the Real Field of Dreams™ contest, and The Motz Group wants its partner schools to be rewarded. This contest aims to discover why your synthetic turf field, and the story behind it, is the best in America. Participating schools with the best story to tell may win up to $2,500 for your athletic department.

The 2009 contest saw four schools with The Motz Group’s 24/7® synthetic turf system recognized as national finalists. Oak Hills High School, Walton-Verona High School, Wyoming High School, and Zanesville High School all received national recognition on the Synthetic Turf Council’s website for their compelling field of dreams story. The Motz Group takes great pride in the accomplishments and unique stories of our partner schools. Click here to read their stories.

To enter the competition, simply enroll online or by mail by March 31, 2010. Winning fields will be announced on April 30, 2010.

Founded in 2003, the Synthetic Turf Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving as a resource for trustworthy information about synthetic turf. The Motz Group is proud to be an active member in the STC where we are recognized as a Certified System Builder. Our involvement is not just limited to membership as our President, Joe Motz, recently completed his second term as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Once you enroll your field for the contest, please take a moment to visit STC’s website for additional, independent third-party information about health and safety issues involving synthetic turf.

Best of luck and please feel free to contact us at 513-533-6452 with any questions.

2010 Joe Motz Buckeye Sports Turf Student of the Year

Congratulations Robbie Dworkin, recipient of

The 2010 Joe Motz Buckeye Sports Turf

Student of the Year!

At the sports turf short course last week, the recipient of the "2010 Joe Motz Buckeye Sports Turf Student of the Year" was announced. The award is given in honor of sports turf entrepreneur Joe Motz, who graduated from Ohio State in 1977 and went on to build a very successful sports turf construction company, The Motz Group. In addition to his business success, Joe plays an active role in the green industry and serves in many capacities at The Ohio State University. He supports this award with a plaque and monetary gift for the student.


The recipient in 2010 was Robbie Dworkin (left), who received his award from Zach Burns of The Motz Group. Robbie is a turfgrass science major at The Ohio State University who expects to graduate later this year. His work experience has been at Columbus Crew Stadium, The Cincinnati Reds, The OTF Turfgrass Research Facility, and OSU Athletics. He is currently the Turf Club President.

Robbie is the epitome of "going the extra yard”, whether it’s helping out in class, working extra time to get the job done, or gathering up the students to raise money for the turf club. When he was working at Columbus Crew Stadium, he came after work to help with a night class when the students were renovating a local high school baseball field. When he was interning at the Cincinnati Reds and the team was out of town, he took time to come back to Columbus and help build a sand-based field at the research plots. He didn’t expect payment or gratitude, that's just the kind of person he is. We have no doubt that Robbie will go on to be a revered and successful sports turf manager and he’ll get involved with the industry and the industry associations. In addition, he’ll have a “pay-it-forward” attitude with students and young professionals. In essence, Robbie loves the sports turf industry and is one of the most hard working, humble and therefore deserving people we know.

Previous recipients of the Joe Motz sports turf award include:

2009 ~ Joe Kirschner (Cincinnati Reds) & Jeff Boll (Loyola Marymount University in LA, California)


2008 ~ Chris Fox (Columbus Crew)


2007 ~ Russell Horn (Cleveland Browns)


2006 ~ Wes Appelfeller (Boston Red Sox)


2005 ~ Erica Titus (Nottingham Equestrian Center, Michigan) and Rodney Bockrath (OSU Intramural Sports)

Snow Removal Tips

It's no secret that we've been hit pretty hard with Snow this winter!

Below are a few tips from The Motz Group Operations Manager Paul Schinner for removing snow from your turf field:
1. Use rubber edged plow
2. Turf tires only
3. Never spin tires on the turf
4. No sharp turns!
5. Use a tractor bucket with a pipe slit to fit over the edge

Contact Paul Schinner at 513-533-6452 for your snow removal needs!!

The Motz Group Names Dan Veil as Sales & Marketing Assistant

Cincinnati, Ohio- February 3, 2010- The Motz Group announces Dan Veil as Sales and Marketing Assistant. Dan will specifically coordinate the Synthetic Maintenance Program (SMP) for The Motz Group. In addition to his role with SMP, Dan will assist with marketing campaigns, search for and aide in the procurement process, accompany the Sales and Marketing Division on prospect visits and trade shows, as well as liaison between the office and the field installation teams.

Dan previously worked part-time with The Motz Group since July of 2007, when he worked on multiple installation crews across the region, and gained extensive knowledge on the installation and maintenance processes. Dan graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a Bachelor of Science degree in History.

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for high school, college and professional teams.

For more information, contact Zach Burns at 513- 533-6452.

The Motz Group Hires Erin Richards as Office Coordinator

Cincinnati, Ohio – February 3, 2010 – Erin Richards has been hired as Office Coordinator for The Motz Group. Erin will work in the realm of client relations, maintaining social media websites, internal company communications, bid processes and logistics, among other office responsibilities. Additionally, she will assist in the development of marketing activities including programs both on site and at client related functions.

Erin brings over fifteen years of experience including office management, training coordination, sales, marketing, personal & professional assistance. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelors of Science degree.

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for high school, college and professional teams.

For more information, contact Zach Burns at 513-533-6452.

Motz acquires 2 synthetic-turf companies

In a major expansion into the manufacturing side of the synthetic turf market, the Motz Group, a designer and builder of grass and turf sports fields all over the world, has acquired two companies to produce and process a new coated silica sand product for turf field infill.

Newtown-based Motz recently acquired U.S. Greentech LLC, in Dalton, Ga. and rival All Sports Surfaces LLC in Longview, Texas, and combined them under the Greentech name to produce the new product called Envirofill. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

While studies have shown crumb rubber to be safe in field applications, silica sand has gained popularity in regions of the country where concerns exist over heavy metals and other toxins in traditional crumb-rubber infill.

Envirofill closely simulates a natural grass field which provides a higher performance playing experience, is less abrasive, is treated to keep out moisture reducing bacteria growth, is cooler than crumb rubber as a turf infill, Motz said. A typical turf football field can require up to 475,000 pounds of infill to support the synthetic grass.

U.S. Greentech has teamed up with Target Technologies International Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia as the sole North American distributor of Envirofill.