Turf Industry
Atlas Turf’s John Holmes
HOW DID YOU GET
INTO THIS BUSINESS?
“I have to go back. I was
a golf course superintendent in Mexico and then
the Philippines, so that
kind of got the international golf and travel in
my blood. About 10
years ago, I was selling
sod here domestically in
the United States and we
found a niche market to
start exporting the
turfgrass to certain
projects around the
world.”
“We export warm
season turfgrasses all
over the world as well
as seeded varieties of
cool season turfgrass.”
JOHNS HOLMES President at
Atlas Turf International
LOCATIONS
124 Morgan Drive
LaGrange, GA 30240
2603 Tung Wai Commercial Building
109-111 Gloucester Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
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WHAT IS THE EXPORT PROCESS?
“We work with various farms around the
country that have facilities to wash
sprigs. The turfgrass is harvested in the
sprig form in the field; it is washed,
hydra-cooled, boxed and typically flown
to its ultimate destination. We typically
try to turn an order around within five
days to make sure it is fresh when it
arrives there for the client.”
HOW DO CONTRACTORS BASED
SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD
GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU AND
START THE PROCESS?
“We have on our website a pretty
extensive list of our turfgrasses that we
sell. You can also find out about us on
facebook and we do have a twitter
account as well.
Typically when they have selected a
product, they work with us. They will
secure an import permit for their
country and that import permit really
drives our processing here; whether it
has to be treated with fungicides,
pesticides prior to shipping and once
that portion takes place, we work
extensively with the USDA to secure a
Phytosanitary Certificate. That is a working
document between the
two countries stating
that we have met all of
the requirements for
the foreign country to
ship this product over
there.”
IN WHAT AREAS ARE YOU SEEING
REAL GROWTH OVERSEAS RIGHT
NOW?
“For years we were busy in Southeast
Asia and China, but we have seen an
uptick in the Middle East over the past
few months and we feel like that’s going
to be a continually growing market for
us; more so in the sports field industry
than in the golf industry.”
YOU TRAVEL A BIT, DON’T YOU?
“I have had to travel a lot over the past
few years and that’s a challenge that’s
hard on my family and it’s hard on me
physically, but we are starting to get a
lot of good product out in the marketplace around the world. Probably about
five times a year I am gone for extended
periods of time.”
WHAT IS THE COOLEST JOB YOU
HAVE DONE? +