Lawn Doctor diagnoses UAE growth

One of Perth’s biggest turf producers, Lawn Doctor, has completed what it believes is a pioneering step towards becoming a major turf supplier across the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The company recently finished laying of the grassed soccer pitch for the Abu Dhabi-based Al Jazira Sports and Cultural Club.

Lawn Doctor’s owner and managing director, Dave Parker, said the $100,000 contract was the first stage in his plans towards the development of a joint venture with a UAE partner to establish a state-of-the-art turf farm in the rapidly diversifying federation in the south of the Middle East's Gulf region.

Mr Parker said he believed demand for turf types that could withstand temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius was assured for decades to come.

All the turf stolons for the Al Jazira soccer pitch, within the multi-million dollar Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, were cultivated at Lawn Doctor’s Carabooda turf farm, 45 kilometres north of Perth.

Mr Parker said he had air freighted the stolons in several air containers to Abu Dhabi in April.

“The club plans establishing another 25 soccer pitches and we intend to be in there bidding for those contracts,” Mr Parker said.

“Our Al Jazira project was a long time in the development phase, with several trips to the UAE to establish business relationships.

“It only came to fruition after lengthy negotiations and two years of turf trials in the UAE.

“We’re continuing ongoing testing of several turf types to evaluate their performance and ability to thrive under UAE conditions.”

But Lawn Doctor’s Middle Eastern plans do not focus solely on sporting facilities.

Under another contract, Lawn Doctor is upgrading the grounds of Dubai’s five-star Royal Mirage Hotel.

Mr Parker said a range of recent economic initiatives taken by the UAE indicated that demand for WA-cultivated turfs and expertise, including research and development of specialist lawn varieties, could grow markedly over coming years.

“For instance, the Dubai municipality has adopted a charter that ensures 8 per cent of its surface area will be greened,” Mr Parker said.

“An equally significant development is the fact that the land tenure system that has been adopted permits private land ownership, somewhat along the lines of Canberra’s 99-year leasehold approach.

“The major outcome of this is that private home ownership will now increasingly emerge and this will mean ongoing demand for the greening of domestic premises.

“The city, its major thoroughfares, parks, residential sub-divisions and sporting and other public facilities have begun to be greened, and we want to become involved in this federation-wide greening experience.”

The UAE’s fresh water is obtained predominantly by desalination of sea water.

Grey or used water is purified and re-used on greened public open space and grounds surrounding residential and commercial complexes.

Mr Parker said his decision to diversify Lawn Doctor beyond being a major Perth turf producer and lawn care and maintenance contractor was sparked by his links with Perth-based Middle East contract marketing specialist, Michael Cottam, who has promoted trade across the Gulf region since 1980.

Cottam Contract Marketing’s client list includes Hamersley Iron Group, Midland Brick Pty Ltd, and Peter’s WA Ltd.

Lawn Doctor has supplied the UAE with lawn varieties that were scientifically developed in Australia.

“We’ve found two specialist varieties, Sir Walter Buffalo and a couch, Windsor Green, to be ideal for Arabian Gulf conditions,” Mr Parker told WA Business News.

“Sir Walter was developed in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales by Buchanan Turf Supplies and is the one we turned to for the Royal Mirage project, while Windsor Green was selected for Al Jazira’s soccer pitch.”

He said the contractual arrangements entered into with buyers in the UAE involved strict protection of plant breeder rights of the Australian lawn developers.

The UAE is experiencing a property boom that involves construction of the The Palm Islands projects.

Each of these island complexes is a man-made archipelago that extends several kilometers out to sea, with their blooming palm tree shaped layout evident only from the air.

Each of the Palm Island archipelagos is linked to the shore by a causeway.

Nothing like these man-made structures exists in Australia, not even off Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Boulders and rocks for their sea floor foundations are shipped from others parts of the Middle East and southern Asia to form the massive pads upon which each island is constructed by laying soil and gardens.

And extensive lawns on the man-made islands need to be planted.

The UAE’s non-oil sector annual growth rate has averaged nearly 10 per cent per over past three years.

Leading WA gold miner, Ron Manners, said he had visited Dubai in June and was surprised to learn that more than 14,000 Australians were currently working across the UAE.

“There’s a huge Aussie community there, with people working in all sorts of professions and occupations,” Mr Manners said.

But he was less surprised at Mr Parker’s assessment of future aggregate demand for the greening of public open space, sporting facilities and residential and commercial properties.

“We in WA simply have no comprehension of what’s happening across the Emirates,” Mr Manners said. “It’s simply stunning.

“Currently, 24 per cent of the world’s high cranes are operating on construction sites across the Emirates.

“Dubai is constructing a complex of 44 huge hospitals, side by side.

“One will be managed by the famous American Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota, another will be under the aegis of the George Washington Hospital, and a third, Johns Hopkins Hospital.

“What’s envisaged for Dubai is that it becomes a modern medical hub employing the world’s best doctors and medical researchers and experts, with people needing specialist medical attention flying in from Europe, America, and South and East Asia.

“Undoubtedly all these medical and other complexes will need surrounding grounds to be greened.”