INFINICUT Launch SM34 Rotary

INFINICUT Launch SM34 Rotary: At the first in a series of launch events, Groundsmen and Greenkeepers were invited to Tottenham Hotspur FC’s training facility to see the new INFINICUT® SM34 Rotary Mower.

Using the very latest design technology, MTD design engineers have produced a machine that has unsurpassed rotary cut quality to ensure the best possible results regardless of turf conditions.

The SM34 follows the same design philosophy as the rest of the INFINICUT® range, offering best in class performance with an emphasis on a modern, clean power source. It takes its mode of traction from the INFINICUT® reel mower, renowned for its durability, paired with a deck designed on the back of MTD’s considerable years of rotary experience. By utilizing expensive stamp tooling, users can be confident that airflow is optimal when compared to other fabricated decks. The culmination is a machine that ensures ‘fit-for-purpose’ application, but also necessary safety compliance that comes with rotary decks.

INFINICUT Launch SM34 Rotary Mower

Designed for professional users, the INFINICUT® SM34 can be used to mow grass in the traditional sense or used as a stand-alone vacuum. In cut mode, the new rotary offers a striping effect usually only achieved with a professional reel mower. The 34” cutting width combines better productivity and lightweight design, which negates the issues of tire rutting and wear of a larger ride on mower. The blades are made from premium-grade, high carbon steel for better performance and extended life, and come pre-balanced to exhibit less vibration.

As with the rest of the INFINICUT® fleet, the machine offers the operator a number of parameters which can be tailored to their particular requirements. With the extreme accuracy of HOC that users often work to in mind, the SM34 has paralleling and deck pitch adjustment features as standard. It can be specified with either an engine generator or lithium battery as a power source. In battery mode the SM34 is quieter in operation, environmentally friendly and can provide significant fuel cost saving when compared to other rotary mowers.

INFINICUT Launch SM34 Rotary Mower

Commenting on its launch John Coleman, Head of MTD Specialty Products UK, added, “The INFINICUT® Rotary was a natural product progression from our well recognised INFINICUT® cylinder mower range. The design of this machine is a combination of our own concepts and ideas but at the same time we’ve listened carefully to our customers feedback. The culmination is a machine that takes a known concept and places it firmly in the modern era by introducing wireless parameter adjustment via our proprietary InfiniApp®.”

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Carbon Gold Seek Strategic Partner

Carbon Gold Seek Strategic Partner: Carbon Gold, the world leader in carbon-rich soil amendments, is seeking investment from a strategic partner to accelerate growth in new and existing markets.

Carbon Gold, founded by Craig Sams, founder of Green & Blacks Chocolate and former chairman of the Soil Association, has pioneered and commercialised the use of proprietary carbon-rich soil amendments, proving the benefits of biochar and establishing its product range as commercially viable in the global tree care, commercial crop growing and sports turf industries.

Carbon Gold Seek Strategic Partner

Now the company is seeking a strategic partner who can offer the resources and efficiencies to scale up operations and maximise potential in this fast growth market.

Simon Manley, CEO of Carbon Gold, says: “The market for carbon-rich soil amendments is at a tipping point. We have a proven product range in markets that offer significant scale and regulatory drivers are furthering demand.  We are now seeking a strategic partner that shares our mission to support sustainable agriculture and combat climate change.”

Carbon Gold’s products contain biochar – a high carbon form of charcoal that improves the structure, aeration, water-holding capacity and nutrient retention of all soil types and provides a permanent refuge for beneficial soil microbiology, supporting plant health.

Biochar’s role in achieving the UK’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 is recognised as critical by the Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineering, and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have described biochar as an important Negative Emissions Technology.

Manley continues: “Carbon Gold is a first mover in this market; we’ve proven the concept in key sales channels and we are now ready to expand into this exciting opportunity. Sustainable agriculture and climate change have never been more front and centre in the news agenda and, with so many chemical pesticides, fungicides and stimulants being removed from the market in horticulture and sports turf, an established, well-known brand with a proven organic alternative presents a fantastic opportunity for a potential partner.”

Carbon Gold’s products are enriched with fungi, beneficial bacteria and trace minerals. Treated plants have been shown to have increased tolerance to pests and diseases including ash dieback, honey fungus, horse chestnut leaf miner in trees, fusarium in turf and root mat in tomatoes, and environmental pressures including drought and transplant shock in third-party controlled trials.

The company’s products are approved as organic in the UK and other European markets. They are FSC certified and approved for use in biodynamic systems by Demeter and the UK’s Biodynamic Association.  This year Carbon Gold’s Soil Improver received B-Exemption for use in Dutch Horticulture from the RHP.

To find out more about biochar, visit www.carbongold.com.

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Hinckley Finds Finance Value

Hinckley Finds Finance Value: Founded in 1894, Hinckley Golf Club is one of Leicestershire’s finest parkland courses and is now looking to build on its reputation as one of the ‘must play’ courses in the Midlands, after investing in a new John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet supplied by local dealer Farol Ltd.

General manager John Prior and course manager Adam Castle opted for a new approach to financing the package deal, which brought their first ever John Deere machines to the club. These include mowers for the tees, fairways, approaches and greens, an aerator and a compact tractor plus ancillary equipment. The deal was also the first by Farol’s newest golf & turf area sales manager Jacob Shellis, who worked as a greenkeeper at The Belfry before joining the dealership.

Hinckley Finds Finance Value

“A big selling point for us was that the John Deere Financial offer was very flexible, so we were able to structure the deal around what suited us best financially,” says John Prior. “We chose a mix of operating lease and hire purchase to deliver best value for the club, with machines that will still be in good condition at the end of the deal bought on HP, and going down the lease route for the kit that will run up longer hours.

“After an initial meeting to discuss the options, Adam and I were really impressed with the whole set-up at John Deere as well as the Farol dealership process. The fact that John Deere has its own bank for example proves it is a very robust business, and everyone involved worked really hard to put the deal together.

“Once we saw the overall levels of dealer service and back-up, the speed of parts delivery and efficiency of repairs and maintenance, it gave both Adam and I, and ultimately the club’s board, the confidence that this was the right approach. Then after having the machines on demonstration for a couple of months, we quickly saw improvements in the course condition and aesthetics and decided there was no reason to look elsewhere.

“We wanted to establish a foundation for the next deal and the one after that, giving us more consistency and productivity – if it’s successful, it provides the club with a blueprint going forward. Seeing the results was justification of the expenditure to the board, and I have no doubt this process has helped us to attract new members and retain existing ones.

“It’s not just about the machinery either, it’s the whole package of product support, training and the relationship that’s been established between the club and our new partners that’s making a big difference.”

Course manager Adam Castle put the package together with Jacob Shellis’ assistance and presented the deal together with John Prior to the club board for their approval. “The overall message was that we were looking for greater efficiency and cost savings, particularly by reducing the expensive downtime that we had been experiencing with our previous fleet.

Hinckley Finds Finance Value

“Since the new machines arrived we’ve become more efficient and productive, we’re getting jobs done more quickly and cost-effectively and we’re using less fuel – that’s all we could ask for. The three A Model mowers we have bought can be set using the advanced TechControl feature, so we get the speed settings we want and everything clearly and easily set up on the dashboard, for better, more consistent cutting across the course.

“You always get niggles with new machines, but the speed with which any service issues have been dealt with has been notable right from the start. We did have a problem with a greens mower early on, but the dealer sorted it out within four hours – this is one of the main reasons we chose Farol and John Deere. The greenkeeping team is enjoying using the new machines and you can clearly see the results of this out on the course, which is looking better than ever.”

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