Gerry Brouwer Kesmac/Brouwer Turf

“I like creating things,” says Gerry
Brouwer, president, Kesmac/Brouwer Turf
Industry Innovator:
Gerry Brouwer
Kesmac/Brouwer Turf
By Lynn Grooms
Managing Editor
Turf News
“E
very cloud has a silver lining.
If you recognize challenges,
there are always going to
be opportunities. The key is to take
opportunities and run with them,” says
Gerry Brouwer, president, Kesmac/
Brouwer Turf, Keswick, ON. This
is exactly what Brouwer has done
over his years in business . . . seeing
opportunities and running with them.
Brouwer is a fitting subject for this,
the first in a series of articles on the
turfgrass industry’s innovators.
From designing the first mechanical
sod harvester in 1966 to developing a
PTO-driven mowing system to helping
set up turfgrass sod farms in Russia,
Brouwer is an innovator.
What motivates him? “I like creating
things,” Brouwer says. He thrives
on problem solving, but does not
necessarily stop at just one solution.
“There’s always more than one way to
go to New York,” says the Canadian
innovator.
A turfgrass producer himself in the
1960s, Brouwer experienced a serious
labor situation in the summer of
1965. He and other producers lacked
laborers and could not cut sod fast
enough for the growing demand.
At that time, many producers were
cutting sod by hand with Ryan sod
cutters and then hand stacking it onto
pallets or trucks. They could not keep
pace with delivery schedules.
Deciding to do something about it,
Brouwer and his friend K. Ousorem
got together in January 1966 with a
welding shop at J. Vandyk to make a
machine that would facilitate cutting,
rolling and loading sod. They became
partners and in May 1966, took the
machine to the field where one person
would operate the machine which
cut sod and brought it up a conveyor.
There, another worker would roll the
sod and a third person would stack it.
They made another prototype that
was belt-driven. “We tried to get
Ryan and Sodmaster interested. But,
because it did not roll up sod, they
weren’t interested,” Brouwer says.
The partners lost interest so Brouwer
bought their share. He continued to
improve upon the unit, inventing the
rollup system. He then decided to
begin manufacturing and selling the
sod harvesters himself.
Brouwer demonstrated his harvester
in Ontario in the summer of 1967, and
sold 12 units with a plan to deliver
them the following spring. “When
Ryan heard this, it became interested,”
Brouwer recalls. Brouwer made a deal
with Ryan, which took over the orders
for the spring 1968 deliveries.
But, Ryan made some changes to the
machine’s design, which Brouwer says,
did not satisfy turfgrass producers.
Ryan gave the machine back to
Brouwer in 1971, and he built another
new prototype. He demonstrated it in
Ontario and Michigan that November
and got some orders for delivery the
following spring.
Brouwer built those first machines
at his sod farm in a new building and
delivered the first unit in February 1972.
That July, the American Sod Producers
Association (now TPI) held its first
Summer Convention and Field Day
in Canada. Brouwer Sod Farm hosted
the field day where 10 sod cutters and
harvesters were demonstrated.
The Brouwer Sod Harvester
became an immediate success. It
sold for $9,600 and replaced about
eight workers. “Today, it takes over
$200,000 to eliminate one worker,”
Brouwer says.
32TPI Turf News: September/October 2013
Gerry Brouwer served on the board of
the American Sod Producers Association
(1972-1975). This photo shows Brouwer
(second from right) in the early 1970s
along with (from l to r): Jack Kidwell, Dale
Habenicht, John Nunes, Ted Bosgraaf,
(Brouwer) and Charles Davis.
Builds Factory
in Keswick
Brouwer soon decided to expand
into a more complete line of turf
equipment. He later developed a PTOdriven reel mower that used a great
deal less horsepower than hydraulicdriven mowers. By 1974, Brouwer had
built a factory in Keswick.
The Canadian started thinking about
the next generation of harvesters and
a mechanical means of installing sod.
In the mid-1980s, he developed a selfpropelled harvester (Model 1600) for
small rolls, slabs and big rolls. He also
developed a system that allowed big
rolls to be harvested and installed with
the grass on the outside of the roll to
reduce transplant shock and improve
turf establishment.
Company Transitions
In 1986, Brouwer was approached
by OMC (which manufactured Ryan,
Cushman Lawnboy and Steiner) to
join the company. This also resulted
in a sale to OMC. But three years
later, OMC sold its green equipment
companies, and the Brouwer line was
sold to Ransomes UK, which later
became a part of Textron. Brouwer,
who had been working with OMC, left
at this time.
The management of Ransomes made
only standard sod harvesters, and did
not continue with new innovations,
Brouwer says. “This is when Gary
Dover picked up the ball and made his
own Big Roll Sod Harvester (Dover’s
company is now known as Bucyrus
Equipment Co., Inc.).
In 1993, Brouwer Turf Equipment was
moved to Ohio. As a result, the Keswick
factory was abandoned and employees
lost their jobs. Seeing this, Brouwer later
bought back the factory and started
Kesmac with his son Eric. In 2006, the
Brouwers repurchased the Brouwer
product line, and began producing it
again at the Keswick factory.
International Startups
Over the years, Brouwer has helped
Gerry Brouwer showcased the 1966 mechanical harvester during the 2012 TPI Field Day
at Turf Mountain Sod, Hendersonville, NC.
TPI Turf News: September/October 2013
many growers start turfgrass sod farms
in China, Greece, Israel, Japan, Poland
and other countries. And in 1998, he
was asked by the Russian Minister of
Agriculture to become a consultant to
help “green up” Moscow. At that time,
the city’s streets and boulevards were
full of weeds and not level, Brouwer
recalls. Today, the Kremlin is sodded
and landscaped. Brouwer helped set
up turfgrass sod farms and landscape
companies near Moscow. Several new
sod farms have been established since
then.
Today’s Company
Today, Kesmac/Brouwer Turf,
which employs about 65 people,
manufactures standard and automatic
small roll and slab harvesters;
installers; reel mowers; vacuums; turf
rollers; sod cutters; pest controllers;
and forklifts. The company sells to
customers in more than 40 countries.
Brouwer also owns a lumber mill,
producing red pine timber, mulch,
shavings and chips. Brouwer Wood
Products has 22 employees. Three
Brouwer companies combined have a
significant impact on employment in
the Keswick area.
His experience as a turfgrass
producer certainly has helped Brouwer
design new turf equipment over the
years. In fact, the Brouwer family
still farms 2,000 acres on which they
produce 1,400 acres of turfgrass sod
(down from more than 1,600 acres
years ago).
Continued on page 34
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Continued from page 33
Automation in Every Aspect
of Equipment
In the future, Brouwer expects there
will be automation in every aspect of
equipment. “Just think about combines,
for example. They have changed
dramatically over the last 20 years.
Automation will just get more and more
sophisticated,” he says. “We’ll also see
higher capacities, more equipment and
more automation.”
Brouwer also predicts that more warmseason producers will harvest rolls rather
than slabs. Rolls are quicker to handle
all along the chain – from the harvester
to the consumer, he says. Reducing the
number of slabs will reduce the amount
of seams, which will help keep newly laid
sod from drying out, he adds. “Producers
should be looking at warm-season grasses
that will harvest in small rolls.”
In addition to advances in equipment,
Brouwer thinks that plant growth
regulators, fertilizers and new production
methods will continue to evolve and help
turfgrass producers grow grass more
quickly.
Brouwer Family
Over the years, Brouwer has been
greatly supported by his wife, Jane. The
Brouwers have four sons. Eric is the
general manager of Kesmac/Brouwer
Turf. “We are very fortunate to have a
son with the enthusiasm, ability and
interest in the equipment business.”
Son Gerald takes some of the load
off his father by having a managerial
role at the sod farm and lumber mill,
“I have experienced
a lot, traveled a lot, and
have met a lot of great
people from different
areas and countries.
I thank God for being
healthy and able to do
all of this.”
and assisting in the development
and testing of new turf products.
Meanwhile, sons Henry and Mark both
work in the high-tech engineering
industy. “I am truly blessed with a
great family,” Brouwer says.
“The last 40 years have been a great
journey. Nevertheless, it has also been
a lot of hard work,” Brouwer says. “But,
I have experienced a lot, traveled a lot,
and have met a lot of great people from
different areas and countries. I thank
God for being healthy and able to do
all of this.”
“We have had and still have a lot of
great people working with us. They
have helped make our company
successful,” Brouwer adds. “Many
people still tell me that the Brouwer
Sod Harvester made the greatest
change and improvement in the sod
industry. “We have enjoyed what we
have been able to do for the turfgrass
industry and have always appreciated
the support of producers worldwide,”
Brouwer says. “We’ll continue to
pick up the challenges and take care
of the opportunities as they present
themselves.”
TGIF
Key Words: Gerry Brouwer, innovator,
harvesters
Category Codes: CP, EQ
34TPI Turf News: September/October 2013