Compact Tractors Combat The Cold

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Compact Tractors Combat The Cold: After successfully dealing with last winter’s heavy snow across the Tayside area of Scotland, Tayside Contracts has added seven new John Deere 2026R compact tractors to its existing fleet, supplied by local dealer Double A based at Cupar in Fife.

The ‘footpath gritter’ tractors, as they are known, are chiefly used for winter maintenance of public footpaths. For this task they are equipped with industrial tyres, a 54in front blade and Kuhn 360-litre rear-mounted spreaders. These feature one of three hopper types suitable for spreading salt or brine or spraying fine salt, to combat frost and ice. They are also specified with fully heated John Deere cabs, which incorporate a demister – vital for efficient and weatherproof operation on cold winter mornings.

Compact Tractors Combat The Cold

Tayside Contracts is a commercially based local authority contracting organisation providing catering, cleaning, roads and winter maintenance plus vehicle maintenance to the councils of Angus, Dundee City and Perth & Kinross. It reports to a joint committee representing the three councils and has an annual turnover of around £70m.

Tayside Contracts Construction Division, within which the transport unit sits, is the largest civil engineering construction organisation in this area of Scotland, employing over 400 people and with a turnover of almost £40m.

Purchasing decisions are based on an established tender process using the Scotland Excel collaborative procurement framework, which is designed specifically for the local government sector. This service is funded by Scotland’s 32 local authorities and is designed to ensure the sustainable delivery of the services that the community needs, while also helping councils meet the twin challenges of reducing budgets at a time of growing demand.

Transport services manager Bob Ritchie is responsible for overseeing the purchase and operation of the compact tractor fleet. This currently numbers 65 in total, including 40 John Deere models that also include the 2026R’s predecessors, the 2025R and 2320. Unusually for John Deere machines, they sport Tayside Contracts’ corporate colours of golden yellow and aircraft blue, and the latest models have been supplied with a three-year warranty.

“We have been buying compact tractors from Sandy Armit at Double A since 2012,” says Bob Ritchie. “The evaluation process is based on a 70/30 cost/quality equation, which means the lowest cost equipment doesn’t necessarily make the best choice – our experience of John Deere machines and the Double A dealer service that supports them has proved over time that we get tractors that do the job they are required to do reliably and efficiently, and work well in the conditions that they are faced with each winter.”

Tayside Contracts carries out all its own maintenance in three workshops based in each council area’s larger towns, so around 20 or so tractors are normally kept at these ready to go out over the winter when required. The councils dictate when this should be, usually based on when gritters are being used on the roads and the weather forecast is for ice to form on pavements.

“Typically we run the tractors up to around 200 hours a year depending on the winter conditions, but we’ve known years when this figure can be as low as 50 hours per machine in a mild winter,” says Bob Ritchie. “This can also depend on the routes the tractors take and the windows available for the work to be done. As with the road gritter crews, we try to focus on schools, main routes and public areas where you can have the biggest impact.

“GPS is used on every tractor to give us essential information, basically where they’ve been, what they’ve done and what speeds they’ve been working at. Being able to react quickly to public concerns is also very important – we’re now developing a live website that will show exactly where the tractors have been working, which will hopefully help to address these issues.”

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

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Factory Visit For Pellenc Dealers

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Factory Visit For Pellenc Dealers: Twenty Pellenc dealers from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland recently headed to Pertuis, France for a visit to Pellenc’s state-of-the-art facilities, as a reward for being the best performing dealers for the range of environmentally friendly battery-powered equipment.

After arriving in Marseilles, the delegates were driven to Pertuis and given a presentation of the company and told how Etesia UK, the exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, and Pellenc had come to work together ten years ago before they set off on a tour of the impressive R&D department, which has seen 844 patents registered. Next up was a tour of the factory including production, assembly line and distribution centre. Key statistics about Pellenc include:

  • 1500 staff worldwide
  • 18 subsidiaries
  • 7 industrial sites
  • 50,000+ customers

Factory Visit For Pellenc Dealers

The second day gave everyone the chance to test out the latest equipment ahead of its 2019 launch before departing for a sight-seeing tour of Marseille.

The trip was rounded off with a presentation to the best overall and best new Pellenc dealers of the year, which were won by RT Machinery (best overall Pellenc UK dealer) and Myrddin Garden Machinery (best new Pellenc UK dealer).

Pellenc’s zero emission concept offers a full range of truly professional handheld power tools are powerful, silent and emission-free thanks to the lithium-ion technology and ‘brushless’ electric motors which are patented to the company.

Pellenc tools can be seen in every major city, as well as the majority of national trust sites around the country.

Scott Reynolds of RT Machinery said: “It was very interesting and surprising too – I never realised just how big the Pellenc operation was. It was also fantastic to pick up the dealer of the year award, which rewards the efforts of the whole RT Machinery team.”

Matthew Clark of South East Groundcare Machinery also commented: “I was amazed at the sheer scale of the operation – from the R&D department, which invests a considerable amount of profit back into the development of new products, to the assembly line. It has given me a greater insight into product development and to test the new products ahead of their launch was very interesting.”

Factory Visit For Pellenc Dealers

Etesia UK Managing Director Les Malin said: “To get feedback from Pellenc dealers on new products ahead of their official launch is invaluable. Our customers now acknowledge that battery products are here to stay and can see the benefits of this technology, so it’s vital that our dealers see what our future plans are. We are very proud of our relationship with Pellenc and have gained recognition with local authorities, landscapers, contractors as well as groundsmen and greenkeepers who are now looking at environmentally-friendly products as a real alternative to petrol machines.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc UK on Twitter and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Bobcat Products Star At EHS

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Bobcat Products Star At EHS: Doosan Bobcat is exhibiting on Stand I40 at the 2019 Executive Hire Show in Coventry, England from 6-7 February 2019. The company will be showing the very popular market-leading Bobcat E10 zero tail swing mini-excavator, now renamed the E10z, which this year has passed the landmark of 10,000 units sold around the world, the majority of which have been in the rental sector. Alongside the E10z will be the 7/31G+ compressor generator from Doosan Portable Power, which incorporates an 8.6 kVA generator and is aimed at the utilities industry and rental companies serving this sector.   

Tenth Anniversary and 10,000 Units Sold

As well as passing the milestone of 10,000 units this year, 2018 is also the tenth anniversary of the E10. Its launch in April 2008 was a landmark moment in Bobcat’s history and in the development of the company’s compact excavator range. The E10, along with the smaller E08, were the first excavator models designed and built from start to finish in Europe.

Bobcat Products Star At EHS

The goal was to replace and greatly exceed previous models by meeting the expectations of customers in Europe and beyond. The 10,000 plus sales and the reputation the E10 has earned over the last 10 years confirm that this objective has been more than achieved.

The E10 is now called the E10z to reflect that it is a zero tail swing mini-excavator with a maximum digging depth of 1.82 m and a machine weight of 1066 kg. Bobcat’s E10z is designed and engineered to provide the best combination of high performance, stability, operator safety, ergonomics and durability in this segment of the mini-excavator market and offers the ability to retract itself to easily pass through standard 80 cm door openings.

The main feature which differentiates the E10z from other machines on the market is the patented side adjustable consoles which accommodate hydraulic pilot pressure controlled joysticks. This design is unique in its class, allowing the operator to enjoy the comfort and feel of much larger machines, while being able to adjust the width of the consoles for easy passage through narrow openings.

The E10z is part of the market-leading range of compact equipment from Bobcat that as well as compact excavators, also includes skid-steer and compact tracked loaders and telehandlers. The impressive selection of Bobcat attachments for use with these machines includes wheel saws, trenchers, planers, hydraulic breakers and graders, saving time, effort and costs in carrying out an increasing range of applications.

Meeting the Needs of the Utilities Market

Compressor generators from Doosan Portable Power are aimed at the utilities industry and rental companies serving this sector. The larger 8.5 kVA generator option meets a specific requirement in utility work to meet the demands of the latest fusion welding equipment, providing electrical power that can also be used for lights and tools together with compressed air for powering breakers and other pneumatic equipment.

The generator option is available on two machines – the 7/31+ model, providing a free air delivery of 3.0 m3/min at an output pressure of 7 bar and the larger 7/41+ portable compressor, supplying 4.0 m3/min of compressed air at 7 bar output pressure.

Another option on these compressors is the ‘Tough Top’ polymer canopy combining durability with aesthetic design, making it an especially attractive investment for everyday applications in the toughest working conditions. In addition to its outstanding durability, the Tough Top canopy is also non-corrodible. It can be supplied in customer colours and retrofitted to existing Doosan compressor units.

Like all Doosan compressors, the modular design of the 7/31+ and 7/41+ ensures that a wide range of optional equipment can be added easily. As well as the polymer canopy, they can include LED lights, a Heavy Duty light grill, a number plate clip, wheel nut indicators and a ‘bunded base’.

The bunded base option for environmental safety is available on most of the models in the Doosan range, providing a fully contained base to ensure that all operating fluids (fuel, oil and water) stay within the compressor.

Doosan Portable Power offers a comprehensive range of portable compressors, generators and lighting products for the plant and tool hire industry. Completing the line-up are construction tools such as air-powered chipping hammers, pickhammers, jackhammers and paving breakers for work in demolition, utilities, quarrying and industrial markets.

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GKB Expand BTME Stand Size

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GKB Expand BTME Stand Size: After successful shows in recent years, GKB Machines have taken a larger stand in one of the new halls at this year’s BTME to display more of their machinery range. The new Topair 120 being introduced at the show is based on the popular Topair 160 model, offering a smaller machine for use on the golf course with compact tractors. A robust and reliable combined aerator/roller its GKB developed Evolvente® blades minimise upper layer disturbance to leave a smooth, levelled finish when used in conjunction with the water-filled roller. The two operations can also be done separately. The machine features optional cutting discs to leave a continuous slit to aid surface water drainage and the slicing of grubs.

In areas on the golf course where surface water and moss formation are a problem, the GKB Sandfiller goes to work offering a fast solution for drainage and intensive aeration. Top layer treatment is environmentally friendly and cost-effective with its all-in-one combination of aeration and sand filling. Intensive aeration of the grass leads to quicker recovery, greater green longevity and faster drainage of surface water, without the need for complete renovation.

GKB Expand BTME Stand Size

Meeting top dressing requirements for golf courses and all types of sports pitch the GKB SP100 Spreader has been developed on the back of the success of GKB’s trailed versions and to meet customer needs with easy mounting onto turf trucks, such as the John Deere Gator and Toro Workman. Mounting is straightforward with a simple bolt-on system and stand legs allow the SP100 to be quickly set up or removed. With its 1m3 hopper capacity the machine suits a variety of purposes, evenly distributing materials, such as sand and mulch, with variable spread widths and depths. It’s easily fitted with electro-hydraulic controls and runs directly off the hydraulics of the chosen turf truck.

The GKB Combiseeder offers a fast, efficient way of seeding and surface aerating with virtually no surface disturbance. Creating over 1500 holes per m² the Combiseeder provides accurate seed application at various rates to suit different seed mixes, with drag brushes to incorporate seed and topdressing. The Combiseeder can be used for overseeding and initial seeding and features two spiked rollers that open up the soil for the seed to then be spread accurately across the full width, in and around the holes. Two drag brushes incorporate the seed into the holes and this method results in minimal surface disruption.

GKB Expand BTME Stand Size

The latest GKB Vstrong improves on already proven technology to offer the professional a robust and reliable scarifying machine that swiftly deals with the problem with the minimum waste flow. Operating speeds up to 7.4mph/12km/h mean you can quickly cover a lot of ground for maximum productivity. At the heart of the Vstrong is the CombiRotor with generically developed 3mm carbide scarifying blades. The blades, in turn, are attached to the rotor by means of the QuickLock system which allows you to attain a depth of 5cm. In combination with the reversed rotation direction you’re guaranteed you don’t miss an inch.

There is also the option of 2mm or 4mm blades and you can alter the centre-to-centre distance of the scarifying blades. For added benefit a collection system can be used to catch the dispatched material.

GKB Machines at BTME Hall:Purple; Stand: 406.

For more information, visit: www.gkbmachines.com

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St Andrews Unveil New Short Game Area

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St Andrews Unveil New Short Game Area: A major revamp of the short game facility at the St Andrews Links Golf Academy is almost complete.

The project, which aims to further enhance the facilities at the Home of Golf, has seen the golf and greenkeeping team at the Links work closely with award-winning Golf Course Architecture firm Mackenzie and Ebert.

St Andrews Unveil New Short Game Area

The work began at the end of October and with the project nearing completion, excitement is now building for March 2019 when the area will open for golfers to enjoy.

Director of Golf John Grant said: “We are very passionate about our work and being able to offer golfers great practice facilities where they can work on improving their game. In recent years we felt the short game area didn’t offer enough variety or replicate the conditions and types of shots golfers experience across the seven courses at the Links.

“We were delighted to be able to work with Martin and the team at Mackenzie and Ebert and believe we have been able to redesign the site and create something that reflects the world class quality of our courses and facilities, enhancing the services we currently offer at the Golf Academy and improving the overall experience.”

Renowned Golf Course Architect Martin Ebert added: “It has been very fulfilling to have contributed to the Short Game Area at St Andrews Links. The beautiful undulations which are present throughout all of the courses at St Andrews have served as the best possible inspiration for the design and shaping of the greens and surrounds which have been created.

“Formerly, the large flat green with the five bunkers on one side was disappointing in terms of the short game shots on offer. This has been replaced with four new greens, three of which have been raised and shaped to replicate shots which might be found around the greens on the courses at St Andrews. The fourth green has been kept at ground level to allow pitch and run shots and flat putts from off the green to be practised and the five bunkers have been shaped and located in positions to allow all different types of bunker shots to be practised.”

With the Old Course regularly hosting Major events, including the 150th Open in 2021, the design also took into account the infrastructure requirements, retaining some flat areas to accommodate a grandstand as well as ensuring an existing putting green – Harry Colt’s wonderful old 2nd green of the Eden Course – remains an integral part of the short game area.

Work began in October 2018 with Director of Instruction Steve North, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove Course Manager Kevin Muir and his greenkeeping team working closely with Mackenzie and Ebert throughout all aspects of the project.

The new design has also freed up some additional space, which will be utilised to increase parking provision to cater for the increasing number of golfers visiting the Eden Clubhouse and Golf Academy all-year round.

Elsewhere on the Links, winter projects are continuing apace, including the creation of a permanent catering facility at the rear of the 9th green of the Old Course.

Previously a mobile catering unit has serviced the needs of golfers on both the Old and New Courses, however renovation work has now begun to extend the footprint of the toilet block and shelter to include a dedicated catering facility.

Director of Operations Ewen Bowman said: “We have long held ambitions to find a more permanent catering solution, both for our staff and golfers, as we strive to deliver a five-star experience.

“The new Halfway House will enable us to provide a great facility for golfers to pick up a selection of fresh snacks and refreshments before taking on the challenge of the back 9.”

Finally, work will continue over the winter to improve access routes around the Old Course with a new road routing taking shape between the Old and New Courses. This work has involved moving an existing track several yards away from golf as well as creating better screening to ensure the safety of golfers and staff.

The road, which is predominantly used by greenkeeping team and golfer’s assistants will be completed in the new year with tarmac treatment whilst the former track will be backfilled and turfed.

To keep up to date with all the latest news at the Home of Golf visit standrews.com for regular updates, blogs and insight into these winter projects and many more.

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