Valent Professional Products announced that Steve Sears has joined the company as territory manager in the Mid-Atlantic region. Sears will be responsible for managing the company’s turf product line and distribution channels in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Sears, who most recently worked for Valent Professional Products promoting Tourney Fungicide in New England, has more than 30 years of experience in the turf and ornamental industry.
Prior to joining Valent Professional Products, Sears held sales and managerial positions with Harrell’s LLC, Ciba Turf and Ornamental, and Abbott Laboratories. Having spent most of the past 13 years working on the distribution side at Harrell’s, where he was the sales support manager, Sears is looking forward to putting that experience to work in his new role.
“I think my experience in distribution is going to help a lot because I’m already familiar with the various products on the market and I have a good understanding of who the major players are in distribution,” Sears said. “That will help me offer the most effective solutions for golf course superintendents while also providing the best possible service for our distributor representatives.”
John Johnson, national sales manager for Valent Professional Products, said Sears’ extensive experience was evident in his work promoting Tourney.
“Steve has a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of all aspects of the turf industry,” Johnson said. “We were very impressed with his work on Tourney in New York, where that product was just recently registered. We’re certain that his experience in both sales and distribution will help us identify opportunities to grow our turf product line in the Mid-Atlantic region.”
Sears, who graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in entomology, worked in the Mid-Atlantic region after college and is excited about returning to the area.
“I’m really looking forward to it. Valent has a great group of people and a phenomenal product line,” Sears said. “I sold some of the Valent product line when I was with Abbott in the 1980s and early ‘90s, so it’s kind of like coming back home.”