Latest Articles
Born from a humble groundsman’s idea... Pitchcare celebrates 25 years
10 September 2026
SP Landscapes keeps commercial contracts moving with Kubota
08 September 2026
Born from a humble groundsman’s idea... Pitchcare celebrates 25 years
From a pioneering online community to a trusted industry brand, Pitchcare has spent 25 years championing grounds professionals, sharing knowledge and driving progress.
As we celebrate this milestone, we reflect on the past and look ahead to an exciting future.
One day, Pitchcare would find itself in the hands of a multinational corporation. Yet its heritage, ethos and brand remain firmly engraved in the journey of our beautiful sports turf industry, from improving grassroots surfaces to delivering meticulous turf presentation on the highest international stage.
Pitchcare’s key objectives
- Raise awareness of the sports turf industry
- Elevate standards in professional and grassroots turfcare
- Improve recognition and respect for the skills and expertise of groundstaff and greenkeepers
- Provide a free educational platform for the turfcare industry
- Offer a portfolio of leading agronomic products at competitive prices, supported by best-in-class service
Sitting in the North Bank Stand of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ historic Molineux Stadium back in 2000, changing the world was not particularly in Head Groundsman Dave Saltman’s plans for the day’s pitch preparation when he was asked an intriguing question:
“How do people make money from websites, Dave?” Dave pondered.
“Well, you find a specialist area, impart knowledge, create a community, build trust, and sell goods or advertising.”
It was the penny that dropped from that simple statement that inspired a journey, a business, an internationally recognised brand and, perhaps most importantly, jobs, careers and futures for many families.
Core to Pitchcare’s ethos was the involvement of key members of the turfcare community. Dave realised that if he was to unlock the skills, expertise and knowledge of his peers, making them part of the concept would be essential. Together with former Wolves striker and Managing Director John Richards, he set about launching a website where grounds and greenkeeping knowledge could be exchanged freely, best practice shared and debate encouraged. To get the venture off the ground, they engaged many influential figures across the industry, bringing a number of them in as minority shareholders.
Pitchcare’s launch in August 2001 proved a revelation. As the industry’s first dedicated turf website, it was welcomed with both intrigue and scepticism. Traditional membership organisations watched on as a vibrant forum, industry news platform, job board and advertising marketplace quickly developed.
Most notably, Pitchcare established itself as the place where professional and amateur groundstaff alike could share tips, advice and knowledge for the common good of the sports turf sector.
Like many start-up businesses, the early years were spent hustling to keep the business solvent. During what was an exciting period of innovation for the turf industry, Pitchcare and its industrious Managing Director became involved in a number of notable projects, including:
- Building a grass tennis court on a barge on the River Thames for an exhibition match between John McEnroe and Monica Seles
- Project-managing the Millennium Stadium and its innovative palletised turf system
- Building and maintaining grass furniture in the Big Brother House
- Painting the grass for the main stage at the Toyota Aygo launch during T4 on the Beach in Weston-super-Mare
Dave and John remain magnanimous in recognising that having the right team around them was key to the company’s early success. Among those who played a pivotal role were Peter Britton in advertising, Sharon Taylor in accounts, Ellie Parry in PR, journalist Laurence Gale and Alastair Battrick in IT. Together, they formed the nucleus of a team that not only created a popular digital platform, but also established an industry publication with strong editorial principles that continue to shape our content today.
A foray into e-commerce
As member registrations approached 20,000 in 2005, it was felt the time was right to increase investment in e-commerce. Fresh out of university, I was given the opportunity to put my studies in marketing, business and management into practice, under the instruction:
“We can’t afford to pay you, so everything you sell will have to pay your salary.”
With Dave balancing his turf management responsibilities at Wolves and the Millennium Stadium, and leveraging a strong network of industry contacts, we set about building one of the first comprehensive online turfcare supply platforms.
In those frontier days of online sales, products such as line-marking paint played their part. However, some of our greatest financial successes came through unexpected ventures into peripheral markets, including rock salt, play bark, topsoil and even recycled rubber play chips endorsed by Kim Wilde.
By the end of 2006, Pitchcare had achieved its first £1 million turnover, and e-commerce had firmly established itself as the financial engine of the business.
Commercial relationships with Sherriff Amenity and Amenity Land Solutions (ALS) introduced a new wave of specialist turf products and helped drive continued growth.
With little more than a box of digital thermometers held as office stock, service control remained limited. However, a growing relationship with ALS presented an opportunity for the two businesses to merge in 2009. This marked a new era under the Maxwell Amenity banner, operating from the company’s Telford-based office and warehouse facility.
As part of a wider business, Pitchcare flourished. Sales growth was supported by significant investment in people and infrastructure.
By 2015, the company had been shortlisted as a finalist in the Shropshire Chamber of Commerce’s Customer Service Excellence Awards and won the Apprentice Employer Award.
A number of staff from Maxwell and Agrovista came together to celebrate the Agrovista acquisition in 2019.
A huge source of pride for Operations Director John Richards, he reflected: “We created a culture where we could effectively introduce young people to our business and develop their skills within a niche sector. Their contribution was incredibly important, and a number of our apprentices have gone on to hold senior positions within the company.”
For many within the industry, Pitchcare remained a disruptor, challenging traditional sales models while leveraging enhanced audience reach and credibility. It was never afraid to call for change, even if that meant locking horns with organisations and the status quo.
Further changes to the editorial team followed, with Kerry Haywood joining in 2013.
In 2019, the business prepared for its next phase of investment through acquisition by agricultural giant Agrovista UK Ltd, part of the Marubeni Corporation.
What followed was the integration of Maxwell and Sherriff into Agrovista Amenity, while Pitchcare remained an important and respected brand within the amenity portfolio.
Following the disruption of the global pandemic, it became clear that the website required a significant overhaul. Declining forum participation coincided with the rise and widespread adoption of social media platforms such as X, Facebook and LinkedIn, where much of the turf industry conversation had migrated.
The free availability of digital content had also transformed the print landscape. Audiences increasingly sought faster, more visual and more engaging content. In response, the team modernised and relaunched Pitchcare Magazine with a fresh new look in 2024.
In 2019, Agrovista acquired Maxwell Amenity. Left to right: Dave Saltman, John Richards, the late Finance Director Duncan Brown and Manging Director Chris Clayton.
Pitchcare magazine: Doing turf media differently
- No industry product PR
- Coverage across a diverse spectrum of sports, from bowls greens to international stadia
- Technically driven, peer-led content
- Coverage spanning grassroots to elite sport
- Topical discussion and debate
- A 60/40 split between editorial content and advertising
Moving forward and serving our turfcare industry
Providing value to the turfcare community has always been at the heart of Pitchcare.
While we are proud of our achievements to date, a new management structure and team are not afraid to critically assess where the brand stands today and where it needs to go tomorrow.
Our print magazine provides a free, high-quality resource to nearly 5,000 professionals working within the turfcare industry. We are proud of its role as a contemporary educational publication and a platform that champions the issues facing turfcare professionals across the sector.
Digitally, we recognise that continued investment and evolution are essential if we are to achieve our engagement ambitions. In a world where short-form videos, reels and social snippets compete for attention, we are committed to creating content that is relevant, engaging and informative.
As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, we will be launching a newly configured Pitchcare homepage. Supported by significant investment in skilled personnel, we are refocusing our efforts on creating a modern digital destination for grounds managers and greenkeepers.
The progress made by Pitchcare is not simply about investing in technology. It is about investing in the future of the business and, importantly, in the people and expertise needed to deliver it.
Our digital capability is being strengthened through the appointment of skilled and experienced professionals who understand both the opportunities presented by technology and the needs of the turfcare sector we serve. Behind the scenes, a huge amount of planning, effort and commitment has gone into strengthening our platforms, improving the customer experience and ensuring Pitchcare is equipped to meet the changing expectations of customers and audiences alike.
Our focus is on making Pitchcare not only a leading source of products, information and expertise, but also a business that is genuinely easier and more intuitive to engage with in a digital world.
It has been an incredibly exciting 25 years witnessing Pitchcare’s role as the UK turf industry has helped drive global standards forward. We remain committed to building a stronger Pitchcare for the future, combining the knowledge, relationships and passion that have always been at the heart of the business with the people, technology and digital capability needed to take it to the next level.
