GreenMech Chippers Deliver Reliability

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GreenMech Chippers Deliver Reliability: A fleet of GreenMech woodchippers have been fundamental in the successful delivery of large-scale utility arb contracts for South Wales Arborists. Running both tracked and road tow models, Director Stuart Michael and his arb teams are well-equipped to deal with all tree, shrub and woodland projects which ensure the safe management of the power networks.

As approved contractors for Western Power Distribution (WPD), SWA have over 10 years of experience in managing trees in close proximity to overhead lines, both low and high voltage. “Our chippers are the key tools in helping us to deliver the contracts, and the vast array of sites we attend mean we’re often working on a variety of different terrains” explains Stuart. “We’ve used a few different makes of woodchipper over the years but have had various reliability issues and found parts to be expensive so when we made the decision to look around, I got in touch with Julian Cullis of GreenMech.”

GreenMech Chippers Deliver Reliability

“We were immediately impressed with what the GreenMech machines offered and bought our first tracked machine from them roughly 8 years ago.” SWA now have a 9” ChipMaster 220 TMP for large, high-volume projects, two Arborist 150 road-tow machines used predominately on low-voltage street works and, the most recent additions to their fleet, two ArbTrak 150’s for off-road projects and those on challenging ground conditions. Stuart also specified his machines in red livery, the company’s corporate colours.

“These chippers have been brilliant, they’re efficient and chip a range of materials thoroughly and accurately. Though 99% of our workload is utility arb, we have the range of machines now to easily reach a variety of locations and handle material no matter the size.” Stuart is hoping to have fully converted his fleet over to GreenMech machines by the end of this year. “Since the introduction of the first GreenMech chipper all those years ago we’ve never really looked back. We get fantastic support from Julian and look forward to continuing to deliver our contracts, with the help of GreenMech, for many years to come.”

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John O’Conner Trusts In Toro

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John O’Conner Trusts In Toro: As one of the UK’s most successful and reputable grounds maintenance companies, John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance knows that having the best groundscare equipment is vital, which is why they put their trust in Toro to provide their clients with the high-quality service they expect.

Having recently won the Toro sponsored Grounds Maintenance – Limited Public Access category at the BALI National Landscape Awards, and with the companies 50th year coming up in June 2019, senior workshop manager Simon Redhead, who has been with the company for 35 years, tells us how Toro has become an essential equipment provider for the family run business.

John O’Conner Trusts In Toro

“We have a wide range of customers, so we need flexible and reliable machines to deal with them all,” he says. “We look after grounds on the Isle of Wight all the way up to Scotland, so making sure we provide a consistent service no matter where in the country or what kind of client they are is really important and Toro helps us to achieve that.”

With 45 pieces of kit in the company’s grounds maintenance fleet, it’s clear Toro is highly valued.

“We have everything from pedestrian and ride on mowers to tractor drawn gang mowers. In particular the Toro LT3340 heavy-duty triple cylinder mower has been great and has been our front-line machine for many years. For example, when we have long wet grass and difficult conditions, the LT3340 comes into its own.

“The majority of our clients are local authorities and with increasing budget cuts, many of them now need areas to be cut less frequently while still providing the same finish. The LT3340 has proven over the years to be an integral part of our fleet of machines.”

And it’s not just the machines themselves that are highly valued by John O’Conner, but the service from Reesink Turfcare as well.

“Reesink have always been great, especially when it comes to their parts service and training. Anything you need they’ll get to you within 24 hours, which is great because it means we can get machines back in use almost immediately.”

The company is about to trial another Toro machine, the CT2240. “I know that Toro will always deliver durable, reliable, high-quality machines and are always looking at innovative ways to make things better for the operator and customer. They also come with excellent service to back that up.”

He concludes: “Toro fits in very well with what our customers expect with regards to cut, finish and appearance.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Irrigating During Heat

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Irrigating During Heat: Reesink Turfcare’s Robert Jackson discusses irrigating during warm weather.

2018 was certainly the year irrigation systems across the country had their work cut out. It delivered the hottest weather the UK had experienced since 1976 and in some parts of the country months passed without rainfall.

Irrigating During Heat

Many clubs react to extreme weather by seemingly panicking that their irrigation system isn’t up to scratch, and then as soon as the weather’s back to normal quickly forgetting the frustration. My advice would be, don’t! Have an extreme weather programme in place and invest now to ensure that if the same happens again, you’re prepared.

An irrigation system is designed to supplement rainfall, not replace it. Even the most advanced and expensive irrigation systems may have dry and wet areas, particularly during prolonged dry spells. The proper irrigation management goal is to provide water based on the wetter not drier areas. When the system has completed its cycle, and if needed, dry areas can be supplemented with spot or hand watering, typical, for example, with greens and surrounds.

It’s long been recognised that a blanket application of water is not only wasteful, but during a heatwave sometimes not possible, and tackling this in practice is now made easier with improved sensor technology, control software and advanced sprinkler designs. The ability to accurately tailor water application to precise conditions and requirements can help ensure turf will respond as expected in relation to its localised environment.

Measuring changes in moisture, temperature and other variables such as salinity is not new. What modern technology can do is make this monitoring not only easier but integrate it into how the irrigation system is controlled. Take the wireless Toro Turf Guard soil monitoring system. The system employs self-contained sensor units that can be positioned without the need for wiring. Each sensor sends signals to monitoring software, repeaters and a powerful base station allowing large areas to be covered.

Data is recorded and enables more informed adjustments to irrigation schedules to be made. As well as water-saving benefits, accurate monitoring can help alert users to the conditions that can lead to other problems, drainage issues and turf stress. As the wireless sensors are not static, they can be moved around to easily optimise their positioning, taking into account changes in shading on a pitch through to moving to a different position on a green.

Irrigating During Heat

It follows that soil monitoring systems were primarily developed to prevent over- and under-watering. Equally important, information recorded by soil monitoring provides valuable data over extended periods. Using this information can help ensure an irrigation system can be adapted over time to make the best use of applied water, with the potential to decrease consumption and help maintain sward health.

Computer-based software, such as the Toro Lynx system, can be employed to deliver not just irrigation control, but detailed information when it’s in use. With portable tech, it allows the irrigation system to be ‘interrogated’ while other tasks are carried out.

For example, those systems programmed to set off the sprinklers late at night can be monitored remotely, with the software detailing which sprinklers are running and for how long. The system can be set up to work with soil sensors, to include Turf Guard wireless units, providing an alert when the sensor picks up a change in moisture that may need attention. This provides the information to support the decisions required to programme the irrigation control system.

The problem with an outline like this is that it can over simplify what’s on offer. The Toro Lynx programme is advanced enough to provide full mapping of a golf course, but equally at home looking after a single stadium football or rugby pitch. It is designed to fit user needs and be upgraded to take advantages in developing technology.

In conclusion, a modern irrigation system can deliver not just the correct volume of irrigation water to specific areas of turf, but also provide detailed information that can be of great help in monitoring overall turf health. The best irrigation systems optimise available irrigation water to reduce costs and will deliver reliable and upgradeable performance over its lifetime, no matter what the weather!

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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AEA Appoint New President

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AEA Appoint New President: Newly elected President of the AEA, Mr Adrian Winnett, speaks of the need to retain and attract young talent into agriculture and engineering.

The UK agricultural engineering industry needs to continue finding ways to retain and attract young talent, not just from within but also from outside the industry, according to the newly-elected President of the AEA.

AEA Appoint New President

Adrian Winnett, Managing Director of Argo Tractors operations in the UK and Ireland, said: “It is a terrible shame that beyond our own circle neither of the words ‘agriculture’ and ‘engineering’ resonate in terms of a career choice with the majority of young people.

“Yet we all know what challenging, fulfilling and rewarding opportunities there are in agriculture generally and in the agricultural and groundscare machinery sectors in particular.”

Speaking at the annual conference of AEA, the organisation for machinery manufacturers and importers, Mr Winnett suggested that from the outside, agriculture is often thought of as being another world, of being insular and open only to those already in it with personal experience of farming or at least of rural life.

“We must do our bit to help change those perceptions if we are to capitalise on the wealth of talent that, at present, is attracted to other industries and commercial sectors.”

After two years as Chairman of the AEA’s Farm Equipment Council, Adrian Winnett was elected President by fellow members of the AEA’s management board.

“It’s an honour I couldn’t have imagined when I left school and started repairing tractors at my father’s equipment dealership in Towcester,” he said. “And, frankly, it wasn’t something I could foresee at any other time during my career in tractor and farm equipment sales.”

In September 2018, after around 10 years running the Amazone farm equipment business in the UK, Adrian Winnett was appointed Managing Director for the UK and Irish markets by Argo Tractors, the Italian manufacturer of Landini and McCormick products, with plans to recruit a larger team to support an expanded dealer network as a driver for increased sales.

“Dealer networks are restructuring as more manufacturers go ‘full line’ in the hope of securing more business from their dealerships,” he points out. “Argo remains focused on its core products – tractors from 43-310hp – while emphasising its support for dealer independence, which enables them to decide on the other products they sell.”

As President of the AEA, his role will be to lead the management board while the farm equipment and outdoor power equipment councils and specialist groups on manufacturing, training and education, chemical applications, sprayer testing, service management and all-terrain vehicles focus on current issues and initiatives.

“Consultation on proposed legislation as it impacts machinery and helping members interpret and implement new rules when they are introduced remain key functions of the AEA, along with the statistics and export services,” says,” Mr Winnett. “As our relationship with the rest of Europe and the world evolves, I think membership of the AEA by agricultural and outdoor power equipment companies has never been more important.”

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Tributes Paid To Bob Black

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Tributes Paid To Bob Black: Tributes have been paid to a community stalwart who supported football clubs in his area for more than 40 years.

Bob Black, of Evenwood, was a passionate fan of Evenwood Town Football Club and became well known for helping out with everything from fixing stands to painting on the white lines.

Tributes Paid To Bob Black

Mr Black, a factory worker, was established as the voluntary groundsman and never missed a game or training session if he could help it.

When the club disbanded in the early noughties, he offered his skills to Spennymoor Town Football Club before settling at Bishop Auckland Football Club at their Heritage Park site where his grandson Harry plays for the St Mary’s team.

Mr Black met his wife Anne in 1972 and the couple were married in 1974.

They had two children, Michael and Andrea as well as five grandchildren and a happy marriage which often involved trips to the football.

Mr Black retired in August 2016 before being told he had lung cancer in February 2017.

He underwent an operation to remove the cancer and was back to his positive self before being told it had returned about six weeks ago.

“The worst part of him being ill was not being able to go to the football – he was in hospital with a chest infection but was always planning on coming back out,” Mrs Black said.

“He was always so positive and did not give in to it.”

Mrs Black added: “He was easy going and nothing was a trouble. He would help anybody and would not see anybody troubling anyone.”

The couple celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in hospital this year before Mr Black’s death.

However, the family say they have been overwhelmed by the support and good wishes from not just family and friends but football supporters from all over the country who encountered Mr Black at games.

Mr Black was previously named Supporter of the Year at the club.

Mrs Black said: “We are just amazed at the amount of support we have had from everyone.

“We have had messages from those in North Shields, Spennymoor and Darlington and lots of away teams have messaged us on Facebook saying what a lovely man he was.

“We also had cards and flowers from the St Mary’s team.”

A statement on the Bishop Auckland Football Club’s Facebook page also paid tribute to their “programme seller, groundsman, steward, odd job man and very good friend to all of us”.

A spokesman said: “I have personally known Bob for over 40 years from my Evenwood Town FC playing days where he did everything up there and I enjoyed many an hour with him at football games, at St Marys Juniors – for which his grandson plays – and he liked nothing more than chatting about the ex players, showing me photos, sitting with the players after a match and me sneaking a chocolate roll out to him after half time refreshments.”

The club added: “Rest in peace Bob you were, are and always will be a top top man and gentleman to all.”

Mr Black, who was also a keen gardener and stamp collector, died on Saturday, April 20, aged 67.

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