SportGroup

LAYKOLD - 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW NEWS & STORIES | 50 | THE EVOLUTION OF THE COURT 5. The environmental performance of courts is playing an increasingly important role. How do you balance profit and planet? There is an increasing appetite for green technology and more environmentally-friendly practices in our industry so we try to do our bit. Choosing products with better yields means you use less product, fewer drums and generate less waste so that's a great way of balancing both profit and planet. We reuse materials such as buckets as much as possible and avoid painting when it's raining and coats will run which avoids the need to use more product than is necessary and prevents chemicals leaking into the environment. Green technology like Laykold's Gel courts which are made from 60% renewables are very welcome innovations. There's no compromise for player or environmental performance and it's good for business too. 6. Every court installation job must bring its own unique challenges. Is there a project that stands out for you in terms of using the joint expertise of your crews and the court manufacturer to solve those challenges? One of my school clients came to me asking for an upgrade to their existing facilities and this needed to be portable so that the space could be transformed for other sports outside of the tennis season. I worked together with Laykold's chemical experts to develop a wood and acrylic court system for them which required insight and technical and field support beyond the knowledge of my crew alone. We worked 15 hour days side by side to get it right and the end result was a profitable job for me and an increased revenue generator for the school who now have the best courts in the area. I've been in this business since I was 17, I have brilliant crews, but we don't know it all. We are fast learners though and working alongside a manufacturer who offers training, expertise and support gives us the advantage – especially for the initial install of a new product. Sometimes it's not even driven by a specific job. I've recently been to a seminar in New Orleans where we regularly sit around a table to discuss new ideas and share best practice with Laykold scientists and their wider pool of installation partners. It's an invaluable group and I think pretty unique in the industry. 7. How do you spot an inferior product? What are the 'watch outs'? 'B' class products are not consistent. Quality control at the manufacturing plant is key. If the product looks and feels the same each time, this builds trust. If it doesn't, time and money is lost in returning product. In short, I expect the same level of quality and consistency I expect of myself and my crew from my manufacturer because clients don't look past me to the manufacturer when it comes to reputational damage. Low yields are also a tell-tale sign of an inferior product as is a brand that walks away after the sale is done. 8. It's been a challenging time for the industry, but as lockdown eases in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, how do you plan to ensure your business continues to thrive? In real terms, we got started five weeks late as a result of the pandemic as court installation was considered non-essential construction in New York. However, as restrictions have started to lift, business has picked up at a crazy pace and I currently have more demand than I can meet. The pipeline for next year is looking healthy too as I've pushed jobs into next year rather than over-committing to clients this year and then not delivering. It's about growing responsibly and for the long term, even if that ultimately means losing out on some jobs because I can't get to them soon enough. My sense is that tennis will be one of the sports to thrive in a post- COVID 19 world. It is conducive to social distancing which may be a part of life for a while to come. So I am optimistic for my business and for the industry. Growth can happen because of, not just in spite of, challenging times. continued

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