STRI Awarded Stowe Golf Project

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STRI Awarded Stowe Golf Project: Top independent school Stowe has appointed STRI Group to design and build its new flagship nine-hole golf course in Buckinghamshire.

STRI has worked closely with Stowe School, over recent years, to create and develop the golf course layout and undertake ecological and environmental surveys for the planning process.

STRI Awarded Stowe Golf Project

Golf has been played at Stowe School since 1923, and their current course sits within an historic deer park. Working closely with the National Trust the opportunity arose for the school to close the existing golf course and reinstate the land to its former condition.

This also presented the opportunity to create a new golf course in a larger, more open landscape, which would provide a more challenging course with a less compact feel.

The location of the new golf course is on a very special site.  The rolling landscape provides superb natural features for golf and the land lies adjacent to the earthwork remains of Lamport Village. It also sits among other historic features including Lord Cobham and Gibbs’s Bourbon Tower (c1740) and Bridgeman’s 1720’s Bycell Riding which lies to the south of the site, adjacent to Gibbs’s Stowe Castle (c1740).

The design process was extensive and intricate, with STRI’s golf course architect, Jonathan Tucker, creating a course that avoided areas of historic value, and the many ecological and environmental sensitivities on the site.

The course development gives the opportunity to recreate historic features on the site, including a c.650m deer fence, positioned in a manner which matches historic records, and several bespoke tree plantations.

Andrew Hancox, Head of Golf and PGA Professional at Stowe School, said: “Stowe really is synonymous with the game of golf and with such a fine and distinguished golfing history, it is only right that we embark upon a new and exciting journey by opening our new golf course and launching the Stowe Golf Academy.

“With significantly longer and more challenging holes, along with greens constructed in accordance with USGA guidelines, I genuinely believe that our new golf course will present itself as one of the finest school golf facilities in the country.”

Project Director for STRI, Richard Stuttard, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to create an exceptional golf course within beautiful surroundings. STRI’s teams have relished the challenge of creating and implementing a design that is sympathetic to this unique environment and I’m confident that the end result will be something very special.”

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Ariens Appoint Masport

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Ariens Appoint Masport: Ariens Company has announced the appointment of Masport to represent the company and the Ariens and Gravely brands in New Zealand, Australia and Oceania countries. Ariens is a family owned business manufacturing snow blowers, lawn tractors and zero-turn mowers for commercial and high end consumer markets. The US company, which has been manufacturing since 1933, acquired the Countax and Westwood garden tractor business in the UK in 2010 and formed a UK and European base.

“Ariens are delighted to secure this new partnership with Masport in the Australia and New Zealand territories,” says Darren Spencer, Ariens Company Vice President EMEA and Asia, “during our discussions it quickly became apparent that Ariens Company and Masport Ltd’s principles of doing business are well-aligned, both companies share a commitment to forming long-term partnerships and creating responsible and sustained business growth.”

Ariens Appoint Masport

The Masport business began in New Zealand in 1910 and became an iconic New Zealand brand that is renowned in both New Zealand and Australia for being a leader in lawn mowers and barbecues. Masport also supplies under its Masport and Morrison brands’ other products such as ride-on mowers, various other outdoor power equipment and barbecues.

“Masport is excited about this new relationship with Ariens to distribute and provide after sales service for their products in our home region.” says Steve Hughes, Managing Director of Masport Ltd. “We see the Ariens and Gravely brands to be a perfect match with our current portfolio of quality products and this will allow us to offer an extended and wider product line to our specialist dealer base.

“Masport are proud to be commencing a partnership with a company that is aligned with Masport’s values and we see tremendous future growth opportunities in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island region for their quality line of Zero Turn machines”.

In 2017, Masport became part of the AL-KO Gardentech Group based in Germany, which enabled them to add to their product offering with items such as water pumps & robot mowers. The company has offices in New Zealand and Australia and distributes to over 45 countries worldwide.

“Masport is a highly respected distributor of high-quality power equipment with an outstanding reputation within the local dealer network for exceptional service and support,” adds Darren Spencer, “I have no doubt that Masport will provide exceptional representation of the Ariens and Gravely brands.”

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Training For Success At John Deere

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Training For Success At John Deere: A total of 54 young service technicians are being trained in this year’s John Deere Ag Tech, Parts Tech and Turf Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes, run in partnership with national training provider ProVQ – a increase of just over 60 per cent on the previous year’s intake.

John Deere has also been listed for the second consecutive time in 2018 as one of the best 100 employers for school leavers in the UK, the only agricultural and turf machinery company to be so recognised. The AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk’s Top 100 Employers for School & College Leavers rankings are based entirely on the opinions of apprentices and school leaver trainees from hundreds of UK organisations.

Training For Success At John Deere

John Deere’s and ProVQ’s successive annual awards were made in recognition of their programmes’ quality and the opportunities they present to young people working productively in the agricultural and turf sectors.

“We have beaten some very strong competition from other household names, coming first for an engineering and manufacturing company and third overall in the Best Intermediate Apprenticeship Programme category in 2017,” said ProVQ managing director Julian Lloyd.

“We’ve also been recognised in the Advanced Apprenticeships and Engineering categories this year. To be recognised as one of the country’s top 100 employers for school leavers, as judged by the apprentices themselves, makes us all very proud of our achievements.”

Even more recently John Deere and ProVQ have won the Manufacturer Excellence Award for Training in the 2018 Agri Machinery Trade News Awards. The award judges commented that “the enthusiasm and encouragement of the trainers shone out in the nominations” and that John Deere and ProVQ were “exemplars of what it takes to deliver world class training”.

ProVQ’s Ag & Turf Tech apprentice assessor Simon Seago was specifically mentioned in one of the nominations from a John Deere dealer, who said: “Simon’s enthusiasm and encouragement transfers to our apprentices, enabling them to reach their potential during their initial industry training.

“Our industry depends on a constant input of quality young people who train to become the agricultural and turf technicians required to service and repair past, current and future technologies. People like Simon make this possible.”

Training For Success At John Deere

Julian Lloyd added: “This was just one of a number of general nominations from dealers who praised the John Deere training programme. The award is truly excellent news and reflects extremely well on the changes implemented within the programme over the last few years, and the efforts of all our front-line staff involved in implementing these changes. As an award voted for by the dealer network, it has significant currency.”

John Deere’s three-year Ag Tech and Turf Tech and two-year Parts Tech apprenticeships lead to IMI Level 2 & 3 Diplomas in Landbased Engineering and Vehicle Parts Competence, and registration at LTA Intermediate level in the industry’s Landbased Training Accreditation scheme. In subsequent years qualified technicians undergo further education and adult training within the John Deere University programme, on a career path that can ultimately lead to the highest possible LTA Master Technician accreditation.

 Now in its 26th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. Since the first programme started in 1992, well over 700 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.

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

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