New Sales Director At MTD

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New Sales Director At MTD: MTD have announced the appointment of Tony Whelan as the new Director of Sales and Marketing for their Specialty Turf Products division. The new role will see Tony grow the specialty turf sector of the business, working on both the golf and sports turf sectors.

Tony has worked in the industry for a number of years holding both domestic and international roles in sales and marketing, previously spending 15 years at Rain Bird.  Here he was also responsible for working with key accounts including Pebble Beach. Tony also enjoyed over 4 years as Sales Director at Jacobsen where he was involved with distribution, before taking responsibility for the running of the factory-owned stores in the US. As the Director of Sales and Marketing at MTD Specialty Turf division, he will be looking to develop the current products as well as exploring new opportunities in the market.

New Sales Director At MTD

Commenting on his appointment, Tony adds “I was approached for this position and it was the product range that really sold the job to me. I spoke to some contacts in the UK about the Cub Cadet INFINICUT® and ATT TMSystem™, as well as getting feedback on the Cub Cadet RG3 in the States, and everyone said how truly fantastic the products are. Joining a company is about more than just good products though and after spending time at the MTD facilities it was clear it operated with a good organisational culture, supported by some great individuals. Having people like John Coleman and Vinny Tarbox driving the products forward is a great plus.”

“I’m really excited to leverage my passion and understanding of the industry with a company that are investing in advanced technology and techniques to improve efficiency for the users. As the INFINICUT® brand continues to grow in the US, we’ll be looking to explore new opportunities, especially in the baseball market.”

As a self-confessed ‘golf fanatic’, Tony spends a great deal of his time away from work enjoying the sport and when not on the course he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters.

For more information, visit: www.cubcadetturf.com

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New Allett C34 At Girton College

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New Allett C34 At Girton College: Steve Whiting has been Head Groundsman at Girton College, Cambridge, for nineteen of his thirty years in the industry.

Girton’s main site has the best on-site sports facilities of any of the University of Cambridge colleges with fifty-five acres of sports and formal grassed areas that cared for by Steve’s team of two Groundsmen and five Gardeners. He describes himself as having: ‘always been an Allett man’. The grass sports catered for at Girton College range from football to rugby, cricket, tennis and croquet, as well as hard courts for basketball, netball and tennis. The College has recently purchased a new Allett C34 Cylinder mower from the professional mower range, to add to their ‘Allett fleet’ which includes two RM34’s, a Tournament 20 and two ‘vintage’ Regals.

“I’ve done many, many miles on an Allett,” says Steve, “and purchasing the C34 was an easy choice to make. You know with an Allett they will never let you down. I have never had one breakdown in all these years. They are easy to use, reliable, professional, and we have a great relationship with Allett.”

New Allett C34 At Girton College

The Allett C34 mower features the ‘Quick Cartridge’ cylinder, with interchangeable cartridge heads for a variety of turf maintenance tasks. There is the choice of six or eight blade cylinder and the machine can swiftly convert to a turf rake, powered scarifier, verticutter, brush and sorrel roller. Power comes from the Honda GX200 engine, the working width being 86.4cm/34” and the handlebars are adjustable with anti-vibration mountings. The cut height is adjustable between 8mm/0.32” and 55mm/2.17”

“We use the C34 on all the grass pitches, football, cricket, and formal lawns. The finish is brilliant and the turf rake is great for cleaning up.” Steve adds, “it’s exactly what we want, all in one mower.”

New Allett C34 At Girton College

Sport plays an important part in the life at Girton. The College fields men’s and women’s teams in football, rugby, hockey, cricket and tennis and the facilities are also hired out so it’s especially important to maintain these to the highest standards. Steve Whiting and his Alletts are ensuring that remains the case.

Allett Mowers 01889 271503

For more information, visit: www.allett.co.uk

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New Kubota Utility Tractor

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New Kubota Utility Tractor: Leading groundcare machinery specialist, Kubota UK, has released its latest high performance L1361 Compact Utility Tractor, which offers unrivaled versatility, productivity and efficiency. 

For those looking to complete a wide range of maintenance tasks with ease, the 36.6 HP machine is a flexible choice, featuring a powerful three cylinder Kubota D1803-M-E2 engine, manual or three range speed hydrostatic transmission and a 38 litre capacity fuel tank for extended periods of use.

New Kubota Utility Tractor

The new L1361 also includes 4WD and live, continuous-running rear PTO exclusively available on the HST model. The frequent and alternating use of various implements are supported by the machine’s three-point hitch and impressive lifting capacity, for easier and flexible use.

By featuring a quick detach front loader, the model allows for easier and quicker use of implements, including the new Kubota LA525 front loader with a curved boom design, for easy completion of the biggest of tasks.

The bevel gear front axle has also been designed to deliver an extremely tight turning radius, with full power transfer to the wheels at every steering angle. This enables greater traction across all terrains for secure high performance.

However, productivity and performance aren’t the only key benefits of the machine. Ergonomics have also played a significant part in the L1361’s refreshed design, with a spacious operator deck and slanted front bonnet for greater field of vision when handling front loader operations to ensure maximum safety.

Speaking of the latest L1361 tractor, Adrian Langmead, Business Development Manager for Groundcare, said: “As a market leader in the manufacture of high performance solutions, Kubota is dedicated to developing machines that combine innovation and technology together to constantly improve the way in which the industry works.

“Regardless of terrain or job requirement, the L1361 allows operators to get the job done better and faster, all with greater comfort, performance and ease.”

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

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SALTEX Winners Six Nations Trip

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SALTEX Winners Six Nations Trip: After claiming the SALTEX College Cup title for the second year running, students from CAFRE College in Antrim, Northern Ireland, enjoyed an unforgettable experience of helping with pitch preparations at the 2018 Six Nations Championships at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland.

The SALTEX College Cup, sponsored by Ransomes, and organised by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG), is a national student-led sports-turf challenge. It is an academic test of turf management knowledge for student competitors who are enrolled at colleges throughout the UK on relevant courses of study. Launched at the show in 2016, CAFRE was the first college to have its name engraved on the trophy and as part of the prize, the winning students were part of the Wembley grounds team at the 2017 FA Cup Final.

SALTEX Winners Six Nations Trip

CAFRE returned to SALTEX 2017 where they saw off competition from four other colleges to reclaim the trophy. As well as receiving a £500 cheque and £50 Amazon vouchers for each student, the CAFRE team was presented with another prize that money can’t buy – preparing the pitch at the 2018 Six Nations Championships for the Scotland vs England game.

The CAFRE team arrived at BT Murrayfield on the Friday afternoon before Saturday’s match and were soon mowing the pitch – firmly cementing the students’ names on the very small and exclusive list of people to have cut the BT Murrayfield pitch.

After a 7am start on the big day, the CAFRE team were part of the busy yet meticulously planned pitch preparations, and it would not be long before their work would be broadcasted to millions worldwide.

Commenting on the day, CAFRE student Matthew Barr said: “I found the whole experience incredible and one that I will never forget. I also learnt a lot of new techniques that I will be able to implement in my own work.

“My personal highlights of the weekend were being part of the grounds team and watching Scotland beat England for the first time in 10 years – the atmosphere was fantastic! Everyone was so welcoming and friendly.”

Alex Latto, assistant head groundsman at BT Murrayfield, was delighted to have the CAFRE students working alongside him: “Hosting the winners of the SALTEX College Cup was something we were really keen to do. Having the opportunity to help develop further some of the most promising students the turf care industry has to offer was a great experience for us.

The lads demonstrated good knowledge and practical experience and were willing to muck in with the unglamorous jobs associated with event set up. They left us with the assurance that they’d had an educational and enjoyable experience and we enjoyed working alongside them.”

Dan Prest, the IOG’s head of membership services, felt honoured to see such a finely tuned grounds team at work and was quick to thank everyone involved.

“I was amazed by the willingness of the BT Murrayfield grounds team to be here, there and everywhere for the greater good. It really was a case of all hands to the pump but they still gave the CAFRE students the best possible experience.

“Many thanks to Ransomes for their continuing support of this competition, Garry Blackadder, Jim Dawson, Alex Latto and Joanne Laing at BT Murrayfield for their support, work ethic and good nature in allowing the winners of the SALTEX College Cup to assist in a Six Nations’ match that will go down in history.”

All colleges interested in participating in the 2018 SALTEX College Cup should email Dan Prest at dprest@iog.org for more details.

To view show highlights and key interviews please visit www.youtube.com/MyIOG

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

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