Experienced grower Jason Colin joins ICL technical sales team

Skilled grower and sales professional Jason Colin has joined ICL Professional Horticulture as an Technical Area Sales Manager, covering the Northern Home Counties (Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire).

A third-generation grower with dual South African / British nationality, Jason grew up working on his family’s sizeable ornamentals nursery – supplying wholesale bedding, perennials and nursery stock to garden centres in and around Pretoria and Johannesburg.  Heavily reliant on manual labour, the nursery employed 25 permanent staff and 60 casual workers during the peak season. While the growing conditions were largely favourable to a wide range of plant species, the short-lived cold season often saw temperatures dip to minus 5°C and below.

Having visited the UK in the 90’s, Jason moved here in 2015. Working as a grower manager for Plants Galore, he oversaw production of bedding, perennials and nursery stock, before joining Woodbridge-based Growing Plants4U – where he also gained first-hand experience of tree production.

Jason joins ICL from Natura Grow, the organic fertiliser and soil improver company where, as national commercial sales manager, he worked with vineyards and top fruit producers.

“Jason’s broad practical experience, together with his genuine enthusiasm for the industry and drive to find workable solutions to production issues, makes him a welcome addition to our skilled technical team,” says ICL Sales Manager Adrian Thirtle-Watts. “He began working with ICL controlled release products on his family’s South African nursery, and since settling in the UK has gained first-hand knowledge and experience of our full portfolio of products.”

A keen gardener and healthy eater, Jason grows his own vegetables at home. At weekends he likes to pursue an outdoor lifestyle – cycling, kayaking and running, before indulging in the odd glass of red wine!

Jason Colin can be contacted on 07388 969031 or jason.colin@icl-group.com