Ruud Francissen: The Big Breakthrough
Ruud Francissen (90), together with Cees de Bree and Arie‑Jan de Ridder, was one of the driving forces behind the success of the Verti‑Drain. The former commercial director looks back on Redexim’s pioneering years. A time when the world was introduced to this revolutionary machine.
Ruud Francissen’s life brings to mind the adventures of Tintin. Armed with a briefcase full of documents, he flew around the world on behalf of Redexim during the 1980s and 1990s. His mission was to introduce the Verti‑Drain to as many dealers as possible and, hopefully, to get them to buy it. That turned out not to be so difficult. The Verti‑Drain was a game‑changer. It fully transformed turf maintenance across the globe, from the US to Indonesia and from Malaysia to Poland. The man who gave the Verti‑Drain global fame shares his story one last time.
A Great Adventure
At home, Ruud keeps an archive full of Redexim memories. Photos from old Sinterklaas parties with Cees de Bree. A letter from 1980 from the Royal Dutch Football Association praising the “unique versatility in the applications of this new device”. A timeline full of major events. It’s a time packed with significance. He looks back on the founding of Redexim with a broad smile.
“It all started in the late seventies. Arie‑Jan de Ridder was looking for a more efficient way to aerate football pitches instead of going at them with pitchforks,” Ruud says. “He was inspired by the Tortella spading machine and developed the concept for the Verti‑Drain; a machine with a lever mechanism that could punch holes in the turf automatically and at great speed.”
After the first concepts, drawings and calculations, things moved fast. Cees focused on the business side. “He arranged the technical specifications and patents and visited factories that could build the machine.” That’s how Redexim was born. In 1980, the first Verti‑Drains came off the line. Cees asked Ruud to join as commercial adviser and salesman. “I spoke several languages. I’d lived in Africa for a few years and spoke decent French. That’s quite handy in a role like this,” Ruud explains.
“But more than anything, it seemed like a great adventure. I truly believed in it. The Verti‑Drain was unique. It turned out to be a fantastic success, for me and for the company.”
“Conquering” Europe
The first demonstrations took place in November 1981 in Germany. “At Carl Friedrich Meier GmbH in the town of Braunschweig, we showed for the first time what the Verti‑Drain could do,” says Ruud. “It was incredible. No one had ever seen anything like it.”
More talks and demonstrations soon followed in Germany. Belgium, Switzerland and England came next. All of Europe showed interest. Surprisingly, another market emerged as well.
Ruud: “In the Netherlands, the machine was used on football pitches. But in England, there was interest in using it to maintain golf and cricket grounds. A new market was born.”
Redexim decided to focus on the United Kingdom. That choice paid off. “Demand in England grew so quickly that Cees said: we need to be careful not to rely on a single country and make sure we spread our markets.” That’s how the United States came into view, says Ruud. “Where else in the world has so many golf courses? We decided to demonstrate the Verti‑Drain at the largest golf trade show in the world, the GCSAA show in the US. It was held every February. We had to be there.”
On a Global Stage
Said and done. In 1984, Ruud represented Redexim with the Verti‑Drain at the GCSAA show in Atlanta. A year later, they were back again in Washington. Interest in the machine at booth 1408 was extraordinary. It marked Redexim’s major breakthrough. “Some dealers were so enthusiastic that they flew to the Netherlands after the show to visit Arie‑Jan. They wanted to see with their own eyes how the machine was built.” After the show in Washington, Ruud decided to organise a demo tour in the United States. He started on the East Coast, followed by the West Coast in 1986.
“It was a fantastic time. I still clearly remember one of the first demonstrations in Florida. On the fairway, part of a golf course, there was a massive puddle of water. Just beneath the surface was a layer of clay. One of the staff, Marinus, ran the machine across the turf. Visitors saw with their own eyes how tiny holes were punched into the grass at lightning speed. Plop, plop, plop, that’s what we heard all around us. In no time, the water was gone. I’ll never forget the look on those men’s faces. It couldn’t have been better. That day, four machines were ordered. They wanted them flown out immediately from Schiphol. It was fantastic publicity for us. From that moment on, we were on the global map.”
A Clever Move
Another milestone for Redexim was the meeting with the renowned Scotsman Walter Woods. He was the greenkeeper at St Andrews, one of the oldest and most famous golf courses in the world. Walter was the man every greenkeeper wanted to meet at the time.
Ruud: “He also heard of it at some point. If you want a proper golf course, you need a Verti‑Drain. To see what the machine could do, Walter took it out in the middle of the night and drove it across the course. After that, he told anyone who would listen about this invention.”
Ruud later made a masterful move: during one of the GCSAA trade shows in the US, he had a birthday cake delivered to Walter. “I knew he was turning fifty, so I treated him to a big cake with the text: ‘Happy 50th Birthday Walter!’” Ruud received a thank‑you note in return: “Dear Ruud, thanks so much for the cake.”
It turned out to be one of the most important moments in building recognition for the Verti‑Drain. “Back then there was no such thing as marketing, let alone social media”, Ruud explains. “You built awareness in a different way. That birthday cake meant a great deal for Redexim. It was a wonderful moment for all of us.”
New Markets
After Europe and the US, Redexim turned its attention to Asia. Ruud and Cees flew to places like Japan and Singapore to introduce greenkeepers to the Verti‑Drain. “The greenkeepers working there were all British or American. They told their bosses: you want one of these Verti‑Drains. For a salesman, there’s nothing better than offering a product that’s completely new.”
So, it was anything but hard to sell the thing, says Ruud, clearly pleased. “Wherever I went, people were thrilled. Though holding a sales conversation in Asia wasn’t always easy. We didn’t speak the same language. Fortunately, there was always a geisha nearby who spoke good English.”
Ruud looks back on his career at Redexim with a big smile. “The time I spent selling the Verti‑Drain was the best time of my life. I got to travel the world and saw Redexim grow into a mature company. I’m proud to have contributed to that success.”