In Conversation with Dave Roberts from our Complete Weed Control Manchester team

Dave Roberts is the director of our Manchester operations and is the latest sponsor of Derbyshire and Cheshire Cricket League. His team specialise in delivering fine turf management and gritting services, complete with a fleet of eight gritters.

We recently spoke to Dave to find out more about his journey with us so far and the projects he’s currently working on:

How did you get started in the industry?

Dave: “Before joining Complete Weed Control, I worked in transport and haulage, but I was actively searching for a career change. I’d known our MD, Ian Graham for many years, when he bought his franchise in 1999, I saw him create a business that I could see myself running and having helped him with some jobs I found I actually really enjoyed the industry.”

“A year or so later Ian said that a franchise had become available in Manchester, I took the leap, and the rest is history, I’ve been running the Manchester area for 23 years now.”

And what’s the support network like when owning a franchise?

Dave: “When I first took the step into owning a franchise I was still employed at my old job whilst I grew the business, I started picking up more contracts and not long after business was booming, so made the jump to full time leaving my old job.

“During this time having the network around me was invaluable, when it was too busy I could ask for help from other franchisees, often getting Mark Perrin who runs our East Cheshire and Staffordshire area in to help. In the early days Alan Abel, who was then working in a franchise support role, was great too, coming up to assist when I needed it. Being able to rely on each other was and still remains such an important benefit of being in a franchise network.”

What does your team specialise in?

Dave: “Our team mainly carry out fine turf management on golf courses, football pitches and cricket grounds. We work in a highly regulated industry which requires that our operation is fully compliant with stringent regulations surrounding the use of professional products. In the light of the new OCR regulations, it is particularly important for customers that they engage with competent professionals.

“We get to know the ground by working collaboratively with the groundsman, asking the important questions, which enables us to put together a tailored program to keep the turf looking and performing at its best.”

“But our expertise extends further than fine turf to include winter maintenance such as gritting commercial premises with our fleet of eight gritters, including one that’s 18 tonnes, and more recently long-term projects tackling Japanese Knotweed with large commercial building firms.”

You’ve recently supported your local community; can you tell us more about that?

Dave: “We are proud sponsors of Derbyshire and Cheshire Cricket League this season. We carried out work at a number of clubs in the league and heard about the opportunity to support the sport through a friend who’s an umpire. While we were searching for a league to sponsor, this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“We are delighted to be sponsoring the league this season supporting our local community and the talent within it, which is something we value deeply at Complete Weed Control.”