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Born from a humble groundsman’s idea... Pitchcare celebrates 25 years
10 September 2026
25th anniversary Articles
Born from a humble groundsman’s idea... Pitchcare celebrates 25 years
10 September 2026
Looking back on the journey... Pitchcare celebrates 25 years
Pitchcare co-founder Dave Saltman looks back on the risks, challenges and achievements that shaped the journey over the past 25 years.
In June 2000, I sat in the stands at Wolves’ Molineux Stadium, looking out over the pitch we were mowing following its renovation, when a young work placement lad turned to me and asked, “How do you make money out of the internet?”
His question put the idea of Pitchcare in my head. So, I went to see the Wolves Club Secretary, Richard Skirrow, to bounce the idea off him. After his usual initial scepticism, he continued to play devil’s advocate, giving me advice whilst I continued to maintain the pitches and training grounds for the next year. All the while, I was formulating a business plan with help from the local Chamber of Commerce.
By the summer of 2001, I had some finance behind me, an office at the Wolverhampton Science Park to move into, commitments from some of the most highly regarded groundsmen and greenkeepers in the country and, to cap it all, an agreement with my former MD and Wolves footballing legend, John Richards, to work alongside me. We started Pitchcare in July 2001 and it was officially launched to the industry at that year’s Windsor Show.
John and I were on peppercorn salaries but, whilst we were haemorrhaging money, we were determined to succeed. We were getting great feedback from the members, with the message board being particularly popular. For the first time, groundsmen and greenkeepers had somewhere they could talk to each other.
The first two to three years were like riding a rollercoaster. One day a big sale would come in; the next, a big bill. We lived close to the edge, with property and other assets on the line as the bank’s collateral, and credit cards maxed out to the hilt. But membership was shooting up and we soon passed the 10,000 mark.
We continually reinvested in the business, taking on staff to run the growing number of avenues we pursued.
In those earlier years, I supplemented our income by doing groundsmanship at various stadium venues, as well as undertaking one-off construction projects for the GLC, Robinsons Barley Water, American Express and Big Brother. All of this helped to keep the business afloat until we built a critical mass of ‘bums on seats’ to sell to through the shop and generate advertising revenue.
The magazine followed in 2005 and really helped to establish the Pitchcare name. By then, the shop was flourishing as more people became comfortable with online purchasing, and our back-room staff numbers grew. The acquisition of ALS in 2009 gave us warehousing, stock and distribution facilities, as well as an external sales team, and the business continued to grow under the Maxwell Amenity banner.
In 2014, we managed to buy our 12-acre site, which is now rented to Agrovista following their takeover of the business in 2019.
“We were lucky and proud to have so many excellent people within the Pitchcare team - many of whom still work there today.”
Since the sale, I have enjoyed being a house husband and have got my teeth into various property developments at home and abroad. While I’m still fit enough, I will continue to buy, renovate and sell more.
