Innovation Success For EGO

Innovation Success For EGO: A new cordless line trimmer from EGO has claimed two awards for innovation at top European trade exhibitions.

The technology was awarded with GaLaBau’s Innovation Medal in Nuremberg, and a Technology Innovation Award at Bologne’s EIMA exhibition.

Innovation Success For EGO

The cordless outdoor power equipment specialist received the coveted accolades for its ST1510E – Power+ Line Trimmer featuring POWERLOAD™ technology; the industry’s first line trimmer tool with a fully automatic line re-loading system.

Entering the European market in 2019, POWERLOAD™ removes the need for the fiddly and frustrating process of loading new line – a problem that anyone who has used a garden line trimmer is all too familiar with.

To load the ST1510E – Power+ Line Trimmer featuring POWERLOAD™ technology, users simply insert the trimmer line through the head of the tool. After a push on its green activation button, the automatic re-loading system then perfectly winds the line onto the spool in less than five seconds… and it’s ready to go!

After beating 105 unique entries for the Innovation Medal award, The Federal Association of Garden, Landscape and Sports Facilities presented EGO with the Innovation Medal at GaLaBau – Europe’s leading exhibition for the design, construction and maintenance of urban, green and open spaces.

Innovation Success For EGO

Similarly, the line trimmer technology will be recognised in November at EIMA as winner of its Technology Innovation Contest. The competition acknowledges genuinely innovative machines, accessories or components capable of improving productive procedures and the quality of the work of operators in the sector.

Like all EGO products, the ST1510E – Power+ Line Trimmer featuring POWERLOAD™ technology uses a 56 volt Arc Lithium battery, engineered to match or surpass the performance of petrol powered outdoor power tools.

The unique battery technology has an innovative design to maximise battery cooling and in turn provide users with the industry’s highest energy capacity in a hand held battery. This allows users to complete jobs with less noise, less fuss and no harmful fumes.

 Vince Brauns, European Product Manager at EGO, said: “Since the line trimmer was invented in the 1970s, gardeners, landscapers and consumers have all been continuously plagued by the difficult task of re-loading new line.

“Our POWERLOADTM technology truly is a first of its kind and will finally put an end to these frustrations. We are delighted to have won the GaLaBau Innovation Medal and EIMA Technology Innovation contest and will continue to develop our cordless outdoor power products and make the lives of our customers easier and easier.”

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Intelligent Marking At SALTEX 2018

Intelligent Marking At SALTEX 2018: Danish company, Intelligent Marking, is ready to introduce the world’s most advanced robotic line marker and it’s PROSTRIPE line of field paint to the sports turf industry at Saltex 2018 on stand CO10 and at the Live Demonstration area.

The Intelligent One (IO) has led the field in accuracy, reliability and ease of use since being released in 2016 and was awarded the Saltex Innovation Award in 2017 when it was first presented to the UK market. Since then it has seen further advancements to its GPS system and software to maintain its industry leading specification.

Intelligent Marking At SALTEX 2018

 

The PROSTRIPE field paint has been carefully formulated to match the requirements of every type of customer, including Premier League venues. It is currently being used to great effect by our American customers, including grass-root clubs, professional sports teams and universities. It comes as a ready-to-spray (RTS) paint in three variations: permanent grass paint, semi-permanent for artificial grass and easily removeable chalk-based paint. Each variant comes in white, blue, yellow and red as standard, with other bespoke colours on request.

The robots unrivalled accuracy comes from the base station. Intelligent Marking is the only company to provide an optional base station which allows the machine to be operated without a costly annual subscription and without cellular or real time kinematic (RTK) connectivity and coverage. Using the closed system means the machine can be used anywhere with unprecedented reliability whilst matching the marking speed of every robotic line marker on the market.

The accuracy of markings is millimetric and makes overmarking lines quick and easy with no external signal factors able to impact the performance. The Intelligent One comes with several pre-loaded templates including UEFA regulation football pitches, NFL pitches, track and field marking, rugby union and league, lacrosse and many more. Customers can also request custom templates from Intelligent Marking which can be made within a short timeframe ready for use.

Massive savings in paint cost and manpower are being seen by current users of the IO, including Paul Floyd, Facilities and Operations Manager for the City of Decatur, Alabama, Parks and Recreation Department.

Before using the robot, Paul would use 60 litres of 50/50 mix (28 litres paint) to mark two full-size soccer fields with a three-man crew, taking 30-45 minutes per pitch and one hour starting from scratch.

With the IO these figures reduced dramatically. Up to 34 minutes were saved marking per pitch and 26 litres less paint was needed, figures that Paul thought would be unattainable before using the robot for himself.

He said: “Obviously, everyone paints fields with different paint rates, various numbers of crew and time – but there is clearly a huge cost saving. I know these numbers may seem unbelievable and I was sceptical myself, but we have been using this machine since March 2018 and these are our numbers. We are estimating a savings of £15,500 in just paint cost – not including manpower time savings and less time correcting mistakes. The paint is lasting after multiple mowing sessions and longer than the paint we used previously. We like it so much, we plan to buy a second machine this fall.”

Visitors to Saltex can see the Intelligent One in action at the Live Demonstration area located outside the main building and have any questions answered about the robot and paint at the Intelligent Marking stand.

For further information please visit the website: www.intelligentmarking.com

Or contact:

Intelligent Marking
Ian Robson, Sales Manager, England
ian.robson@imr.eu
07779 270501

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MM60 A Success At George Heriots

MM60 A Success At George Heriots: Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed mix has been delivering excellent results at George Heriots School in Edinburgh, reports head groundsman Simon Theurer.

Originally founded in the early 17th century to provide an education to ‘fatherless bairns’ in the city of Edinburgh, George Heriots School now flourishes as an independent co-educational day school for children aged between 3 and 18.

MM60 A Success At George Heriots

The school provides an exceptional academic education for all pupils, as well as superb extra-curricular activities – which is where Simon comes in.

Simon, who has been at George Heriots for an incredible 23 years, is the man tasked with maintaining the school’s grounds which includes 3 full size rugby pitches, 3 junior rugby pitches, 5 grass hockey pitches, 2 cricket squares as well as facilities for athletics and tennis. The school has a long history of successful sporting activity and currently boasts some of the strongest sporting sides in Scotland’s education system.

“We have top quality sports teams hence the reason we only use top quality products such as Limagrain’s,” says Simon. “Whenever I have been looking for grass seed Limagrain has always been highly recommended. Therefore, I chose MM60 for the rugby pitches and I’ve had a lot of success from using it towards the end of July.”

Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed is renowned for producing excellent playing surfaces and is ideal for winter sports pitches. It is a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination – which is boosted by the inclusion of Headstart® GOLD. Developed using the latest scientific findings and field experience, it is a natural revolutionary grass seed treatment that ensures rapid germination and is perfect for enhancing performance on grass seed coatings for sports fields, golf courses, lawns and amenity turf

“I’ve noticed that MM60 germinates very quickly at that time of year and I get good growth and good coverage,” says Simon. “It fills in the areas that were not really taken in the spring, so for quickness of cover I think it is very good. I can’t get an awful lot of water to the pitches but I would say that MM60 is one of the better, more drought resistant species for that time of year.”

Simon applies MM60 at anywhere between 30g – 35g per square metre and says that it gives him full confidence in his rugby pitches over the winter period.

“We have such a high footfall here and we need tough grasses that are proven – Limagrain’s MM60 has certainly passed the test.

“Over the winter it keeps its colour very well and is very disease resistant. At the back end of the summer it’s good to have that peace of mind that you know you have a grass seed that is going to grow fast and well.

“I would certainly recommend it.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm

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New Bobcat Loader Developments

New Bobcat Loader Developments: Auto Ride Control, Heated Cloth Air Ride Seats are just some of the new developments announced by Bobcat regarding the company’s compact loader range for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The new developments provide an increased choice of features for the Bobcat skid-steer, compact track and all-wheel steer loader ranges.

Complementing this, Bobcat has also launched the S100E model for EMEA, an updated version of the company’s popular S100 skid-steer loader that meets Stage V emissions regulations. Like the S100, the new S100E skid-steer loader meets customer requirements for manoeuvrability, size, weight, uptime protection, lift capacity and push force for this loader class. In addition, customers benefit from improvements Bobcat has made in operator comfort, ease of operation, noise levels, running costs and asset management.

New Bobcat Loader Developments

These new advances come in the year that Bobcat celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the loader, forming part of a 60 year legacy in compact loaders that is second to none in the worldwide construction equipment market. Over the last 60 years, the same outstanding quality, workmanship and innovation have helped to maintain Bobcat’s market leadership, so that one in every two skid-steer loaders sold today is a Bobcat machine.

New Developments in Bobcat Loader Range 

The improvements in Bobcat compact loaders include:

  • Auto Ride Control (Factory Option and Kit)
  • Heated Cloth Air Ride Seat (Factory Option and Kit)
  • Cloth Suspension Seat (Factory Option and Kit)
  • Cushioned Cylinders (Standard)
  • Auto Reversing Fan (Factory Option and Kit)
  • LED Side Lights (Kit)
  • Rear Camera (Kit)
  • Deluxe interior foot-pad (Standard)

 Available as a Factory Option or as an Aftermarket Kit, the new Auto Ride Control system improves operator comfort when driving with a load in the bucket especially on rough terrain. This feature lets the operator lock in travel at a speed of their choice, so that they only have to think about where they are going without feeling the need to avoid bumps or any other surface level obstacles.

Benefits include reduced spillage caused by vibrations due to an uneven operating speed and/or irregular surfaces; more stability when moving up and down with a load/weight and the ability to drive faster on rough terrain. It is also an intelligent system, providing increased efficiency, performance gains and a more comfortable ride with fewer bumps, simply through the flick of a switch.

The new Heated Cloth Air Ride Seat is available on the Bobcat 600, 700 and 800 Series compact loader models. This is an alternative to the previous Air Ride Seat with a vinyl surface and further enhances operator comfort with the move to the cloth surface. It is designed to enhance comfort and productivity, particularly for customers operating loaders in cold weather.

On the 400 and 500 Series models, Bobcat has also introduced the Cloth Suspension Seat, again replacing the Air Ride Seat with a vinyl surface. The cloth surface improves the operator’s comfort all year round − in both cold and hot weather − and provides more comfortable seating on slopes and inclines.

The Air Ride Seat with vinyl surface remains available for Bobcat loader customers through the company’s Aftermarket service.

Cushioned Cylinders as Standard

 The incorporation of Cushioned Lift and Tilt Cylinders as standard offers advantages when the loader’s lift arms are lowered and/or the Bob-Tach system tilted, and the cylinders move towards the end of a stroke, by restricting the hydraulic fluid from flowing out so that the cylinder is slowed down before it fully retracts.

This slowing − or cushioning − effect increases overall performance and improves comfort, because the operator does not need to slow down the motion themselves when approaching the end of the stroke. In addition, cushioned cylinders soften the impact when the lift arms contact the mainframe − reducing noise in the workplace.

As well as being a standard, free of charge feature for the customer, this system allows the operator to work faster, with softer impacts, reducing spillage while tilting and ensures that the machine feels more stable when in use.

 The Auto Reversing Fan helps to keep the grill clean and to clear out dust that can clog the cooler. This helps improve machine uptime, reducing the need to clean so frequently and it is an automatic feature, ensuring the operator does not have to leave the cab as often.

Available in Kit form, the LED Side Lights improve the operator’s all-round visibility from inside the cab. The lights − solidly incorporated in the cab structure to ensure high reliability − help the operator work more safely and efficiently, in all environments, in minimal visibility conditions. In extremely dark conditions, and especially in tight spaces, the LED Side Lights enable the operator to see how close they are to an obstacle.

To further enhance visibility to the rear, Bobcat has introduced the new Rear Camera Kit, with the basic system combining a 4.3 inch display and a 118° tail-gate mounted camera.

The Deluxe Interior Foot-pad provides an improved foot area in deluxe interior versions of Bobcat loaders. This offers a fit and finish improvement, enhances cleaning ability and offers increased operator sound insulation.

New S100E Skid-Steer Loader

Compact dimensions – a height of 1878 mm, length without attachment of 2262 mm and width over the tyres of 1182 mm – allow the S100E to manoeuvre efficiently in confined spaces even in bad weather. Despite its smaller dimensions, state-of-the-art engineering has ensured that the S100E loader offers the power and performance expected of a bigger machine.

This is combined with the durability of a strong frame design, increased operator comfort and easy serviceability thanks to a transverse-mounted Stage V compliant Kubota V1505-T4FST5 diesel engine providing 18.2 kW of power at 2300 RPM. The S100E offers a rated operating capacity of 457 kg and a tipping load of 915 kg.

The low operating weight with bucket of just 1860 kg allows for easy transportation of the S100E on a trailer.  The engine power and hydraulic flow on the S100E are suitable for operating over 30 different Bobcat attachments.

As well as the full-comfort cab, designed to enable operators to work all day long for optimal productivity, the S100E has the most advanced electronic controls and instrumentation for this size of machine on the market, providing a new level of diagnostic capability and control.  The instrument panels and gauges are placed in convenient locations in the top left hand and top right hand corners at the front of the cab.

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