ST. LOUIS, Mo. - After eight years working in the subsurface aeration installation business, Paul Tabor and Bill Fishburne have started JustAir, a division of Subsurface Technologies, based here. Both previously worked for the former Sub Air Inc., which has since been bought by a group of investors and renamed SubAir Systems (GCN, Jan. 2003).
“We started JustAir last year in the sports field market and in the past six months we have gotten into golf,” said Fishburne.
With their combined field knowledge the pair has “built a better mousetrap” according to Fishburne.
“We have stainless steel vaults that are welded and are waterproof, we have redesigned the directional valving to be more efficient and achieve higher pressures and air volumes and we have stainless steel air and water separators that are easier to install and less prone to damage,” he said.
Additionally, the firm has also added a switch valve to allow vault units to be shared by two different greens that are close together and introduced climate-control components that can help control rootzone temperatures.
Fishburne said the new company will grow slowly so it can concentrate on customer service and quality installation.
“We want to stay small and not expand too quickly,” he said. “My emphasis has always been more hands-on with installations to make sure they are done properly and correctly.”
One of JustAir’s first golf course jobs was at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, last fall.
“We put an electric in-ground unit on the first green that we use to evacuate water out of the green profile after heavy rains or when we flush greens heavy to get sodium through the profile,” said superintendent Jeff Elliot.
Although Elliot said he had not used the system to its full extent this season, he did use it through the winter to remove frost from the green because it is the most shaded one on the course.
“We are still in the experimental stage with it, we have an existing manual system on all the greens,” he said. “We are looking for something to help carry the rootzone and the bentgrass through the summer. We already have fans on all the greens and we are looking for another tool to keep the greens alive.”
Darby Colen at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark., also brought in JustAir. At Chenal CC, JustAir is retrofitting an existing SubAir Inc. system that was getting water in the vaults.
“They were put in places that were too low and would get water into them,” said Colen. “JustAir is retrofitting them with stainless steel vaults.”
For now, JustAir is focusing on the Southeast, Texas and southern Calif., and Arizona markets.
“We see a market throughout the United States,” said Fishburne. “Initially subsurface aeration was targeted toward bentgrass greens, but it can control rootzone health in any type of green. The units can help the plant and enhance a course’s operation.”
Pricing for the JustAir units run from $8,000 for the portable unit, to $15,000 for the in ground unit, to nearly $20,000 for an in-ground unit with climate control.
“We started JustAir last year in the sports field market and in the past six months we have gotten into golf,” said Fishburne.
With their combined field knowledge the pair has “built a better mousetrap” according to Fishburne.
“We have stainless steel vaults that are welded and are waterproof, we have redesigned the directional valving to be more efficient and achieve higher pressures and air volumes and we have stainless steel air and water separators that are easier to install and less prone to damage,” he said.
Additionally, the firm has also added a switch valve to allow vault units to be shared by two different greens that are close together and introduced climate-control components that can help control rootzone temperatures.
Fishburne said the new company will grow slowly so it can concentrate on customer service and quality installation.
“We want to stay small and not expand too quickly,” he said. “My emphasis has always been more hands-on with installations to make sure they are done properly and correctly.”
One of JustAir’s first golf course jobs was at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, last fall.
“We put an electric in-ground unit on the first green that we use to evacuate water out of the green profile after heavy rains or when we flush greens heavy to get sodium through the profile,” said superintendent Jeff Elliot.
Although Elliot said he had not used the system to its full extent this season, he did use it through the winter to remove frost from the green because it is the most shaded one on the course.
“We are still in the experimental stage with it, we have an existing manual system on all the greens,” he said. “We are looking for something to help carry the rootzone and the bentgrass through the summer. We already have fans on all the greens and we are looking for another tool to keep the greens alive.”
Darby Colen at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark., also brought in JustAir. At Chenal CC, JustAir is retrofitting an existing SubAir Inc. system that was getting water in the vaults.
“They were put in places that were too low and would get water into them,” said Colen. “JustAir is retrofitting them with stainless steel vaults.”
For now, JustAir is focusing on the Southeast, Texas and southern Calif., and Arizona markets.
“We see a market throughout the United States,” said Fishburne. “Initially subsurface aeration was targeted toward bentgrass greens, but it can control rootzone health in any type of green. The units can help the plant and enhance a course’s operation.”
Pricing for the JustAir units run from $8,000 for the portable unit, to $15,000 for the in ground unit, to nearly $20,000 for an in-ground unit with climate control.
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