About
An international soil conspiracy is born.
This conspiracy reaches all the way to the White House. The year was 1982. Despite the excitement of a new decade, our country was facing growing environmental distress. Former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson addressed this distress with a powerful question: how can we protect our natural landscapes and native plants?
Lady Bird challenged the country to improve conservation efforts through projects like the Highway Beautification Program. While supplying seed for this program, Jon and Jim Hubbs, owners of a native seed company, noticed some conservation efforts were actually destroying these natural landscapes. While enjoying the Arizona outdoors, the brothers realized nothing was more out of place than an asphalt pathway forcing its way through a valley of hundred-year-old saguaros. Instead of discovering what was around the next bend, the brothers hurried off the scorching asphalt just before their shoes melted. This pathway was meant to connect these men to this landscape, but why didn’t it? The asphalt was paved right over the natural surroundings, imposing itself upon nature, rather than within it. An idea emerged – Could natural soil be used for pathways and driveways in the same way concrete and asphalt were used? Soil is everywhere. It has always been everywhere and will continue to be everywhere long after we are gone. Maybe with a little help, soil can be better for things like scenic desert pathways. Putting their knowledge of native seeds to work, the Hubbs brothers conspired to help soil retake the Earth. Several practical jokes later (ask about the jokes), the brothers discovered Stabilizer® -The Original Natural Binder. But our story doesn’t end there.
The conspiracy reaches professional sports.
The brothers’ don’t just love the outdoors, they love outdoor sports. Jon, a former collegiate baseball player and softball coach, immediately experimented with Stabilizer for baseball and softball fields. It quickly became one of America’s most trusted infield amendments. The trust built by Stabilizer opened the door for many major league teams to rely on a new kind of soil: Hilltopper®- the most advanced playing surface on the planet. Jim, being a former collegiate football player and current football coach, had other ideas. Game after game, practice after practice, the turf was taking a beating. Could they stabilize the soil underneath to strengthen the turf on top? Alas, StaLok® Fiber was born and applied not only to football, but soccer, horse racing and even turf parking and fire lanes.
The conspiracy goes global.
The brothers’ enjoyment of sports and the landscape, guided them to spread these ideas to their other interests- Jim’s golf obsession (obsession to find a quicker way out of the bunker) and Jon’s fondness of equestrian sports (a fondness of anything to get him out of the office). They also spread those ideas to new interests- joint sands for paver applications and the development of pavement alternatives. Over 100,000 projects later, Advancing the Evolution of Soil, still motivates Stabilizer Solutions to improve upon the same ideas cultivated in 1982, and with help from our friends, spread those ideas to new applications across the world. Friends like: Danny in Canada, Robert in Australia, Hans in Europe, and the dealers, architects, contractors, groundskeepers, bartenders and coaches that help develop these products, make it easier for those ideas to spread.
So how can we protect our natural landscapes and native plants? Helping soil evolve is a step in the right direction, learn more about our technology or explore your application now.