Pellenc power for Inverallan Landscapes

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Pellenc power for Inverallan Landscapes: Inverallan Landscapes, a gardening and grounds maintenance contracting business in Stirling, claims that Pellenc battery powered equipment is playing a big part in the company’s decision to be more environmentally friendly.

In 21 years of business, the family run company has acquired a glowing reputation for its highest level of service and attention to detail by its fully qualified staff. The company also boasts ISO 14001-2015 Environmental Management and ISO 9001-2015 Quality Management Systems certifications.

Pellenc power for Inverallan Landscapes

Inverallan Landscapes success can also be attributed to managing director John Maxwell’s forward thinking, who is of the opinion that battery powered equipment is the future of ground care.

“In my opinion, battery equipment is the way forward and we have made a big conscious decision to be greener,” he said.

“We run quite a variety of battery equipment and Pellenc is a big part of that – it’s easy to use, you don’t have any maintenance and there is a huge saving on fuel.”

Light, odourless, relatively noise-free, with no starting problems and no refilling the fuel tank – it’s no wonder more and more people like John are turning to the innovative technology of Pellenc. In recent years, Pellenc has gained market recognition by offering a unique range of ‘zero emission’ battery-powered handheld tools, thanks to the development of Lithium-ion ultra-high performance batteries. This technology, which is exclusive to Pellenc, guarantees non-polluting with quick start-up and long lasting battery life – something which John is particularly impressed with.

“They are great for the run time and you can use it with the confidence knowing that you are not going to run out in an hour’s time which is thanks to the Pellenc ULiB battery we use.”

The team at Inverallan Landscapes have reported fantastic results from using the Helion 2 Compact hedge trimmer – which is the lightest battery-powered hedge trimmer on the market. Designed to meet the needs of professionals in terms of power and trimming quality, the Helion hedge trimmer allows the user to work comfortably when trimming hedges, ornamental trees and can also be used for pruning. By using the 4-speed selector switch, you can adapt your tool to the type of cut required.

Furthermore, to reach areas that may be a stretch, John and his team rely on the Pellenc Helion extendable pole model.

“These two models give us the flexibility for effective hedge cutting and the extendable pole saw allows for long reach. They are so much lighter than their two-stroke equivalents and are a joy to use.”

John also revealed that his most recent Pellenc addition, the Cleanion battery-powered brush, proved to be the town’s saviour when the Beast from the East struck last year.

“Here in Stirling we have the National Wallace Monument and there is a steep road leading up to it in which a mini bus transports tourists so they can walk round and view the monument. When the Beast from the East came, the tourists couldn’t get up there because the road was covered in snow. I therefore needed a machine to clear it and decided that the Cleanion looked ideal.”

The Pellenc Cleanion battery-powered brush is ideal for removing debris from natural and artificial grass and other hard surfaces. With the attachment of a snow blade, the Cleanion also proves to be effective in clearing snow from streets and paths. However, in John’s case, he didn’t have the snow attachment at the time so he proceeded in clearing the snow leading up to the monument with the standard brush.

“It actually worked out very well and cleared the way which enabled the mini-bus to get up the hill. We have since purchased the snow blade attachment but haven’t had a chance to use it yet, so I’m hoping that it snows soon purely so I’ve got an excuse to use it!

“It was the battery factor which attracted me to the Cleanion and the fact that I can use the same battery on this machine as well as other tools in the Pellenc range.”

Pellenc products are exclusively distributed in the UK by Etesia UK

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

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

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Sherriff taking Bovey Castle back to the top

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Sherriff taking Bovey Castle back to the top: Scott Duff, head greenkeeper at Bovey Castle in Devon, is using a range of Sherriff Amenity products to help the club get back into the Top 100 Golf Courses.

Designed in 1926 by J F Abercromby, one of the finest British golf course designers of the last century, Bovey Castle’s 18 hole championship golf course is challenging and surrounded by the natural beauty of the Dartmoor.

Sherriff taking Bovey Castle back to the top

Scott, who has been at Bovey Castle for four years, started his turf career in football at Torquay United FC before switching to greenkeeping. He admits that it was somewhat of a challenging transition but claims that he has no regrets.

“When I was in football groundsmanship, I had always wanted to try greenkeeping but to be honest I was always worried that I would be out of my depth,” he said. “I went from looking after just one surface which had a fairly consistent maintenance regime to suddenly looking after a multitude of different areas – each with their own requirements. It was the biggest challenge in my career but also the best because I can confidently say that I love my job.”

Scott excelled in his new role and was rewarded two years ago when he was promoted to the position of head greenkeeper. Now, alongside Sean Bennett – course manager, the two of them have a very clear goal.

“We are a championship course which used to be in the top 100 but not anymore unfortunately. Quite simply our goal is to get back in there. I think with Sean’s knowledge of managing a course, his drive and his passion, along with the improvements he wants to make, I think it is very realistic.

“We are not a million miles away but we still have a lot of work to do and with people like David Chammings from Sherriff Amenity on-board then this will only boost our chances. David has really changed the way we approach our feed programmes and also some of the work we do out on the course because he draws up management plans which concentrate on what we should be doing throughout certain periods of the year.”

After consultation, David recommended a tank mixture consisting of iNTrench fertiliser 15.0.9 and GoGreen Energy bio-stimulant for the greens – two products which perfectly complement one another.

iNTrench is a controlled uptake nitrogen fertiliser designed specifically for the needs of professional sports turf. It gives up to ten weeks of improved blade colour and a higher quality turf with 66% the nitrogen rate of leading competitors. Its tank-mix partner, GoGreen Energy, is a concentrated bio-stimulant, formulated to assist plant health and relieve stress symptoms.

“Every course is different and you have to work out what is best for your site,” said Scott. “With iNTrench and GoGreen, we find that if we go at half rate (20 l/ha) every two weeks, then the greens seem to hold the nutrients a lot better. By applying it like this we notice healthier greens and also better longevity out of the products. This tank-mix has worked really well for us and there has been a big improvement in the greens.

“In fact, we also use this mix with the addition of seaweed on our tees if they need some instant colour-up.”

Scott also reported excellent results from Sherriff Amenity’s Aqua-Zorb 45 – a unique wetting agent, which helped him through a somewhat difficult summer last year.

“Last year, Aqua-Zorb was a real saviour for us. I would say that at least 90% of courses in the UK would say that the disease period for golf was horrendous last year and a good wetting agent could have saved money on fungicides and relieved the drought stress.

“We had such intense heat last year and Aqua-Zorb still worked incredibly well considering we were frequently seeing temperatures of 30°C plus.

“I feel we have been going through a massive transition period and this year we will see even more improvements to the course. The Sherriff Amenity products have played a big role in the success over the past couple of years and I can’t fault the service from David whatsoever.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity

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AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

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AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal: Chichester based AMS Contractors Ltd were the first to invest in the latest machine from Lincolnshire based drainage experts Shelton Drainage Ltd after a visit to the BTME in January where Shelton launched the machine onto the market.

The 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper has been designed to give the ability to backfill either gravel or sand at the flick of a switch, therefore reducing manual handling of the hoppers and giving improved efficiencies as the backfilling operation is much quicker and can keep up with the trencher, reducing downtime.

AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

AMS Contracting offer a range of service in the amenity, groundworks and landscaping sector and already had a Shelton 3 Tonne Fast Flow in their fleet prior to purchase. AMS Director Myles Strange explained why they chose to invest and how the machine is performing: “We were looking for a machine that would allow us to do as many jobs as possible using one operator and one tractor, allowing us to reduce haulage and machinery costs associated with each job. Every job is different, you never know when you can backfill behind the trencher or use the central feed hopper following behind, so having a machine that does both was a no brainer! The machine also doubles up as a material handler which is very helpful with secondary drainage jobs. We opted to have the spreaders fitted on the back of ours which worked very well. We were previously using a 3T Fast Flow, which is a great machine on single pitch applications, but longer runs meant more fill ups and did take a bit more time, none the less, it’s great if you don’t have a bigger chassis tractor available. The machine was very easy to use, far more nimble than we expected as it is quite a large machine. The control box is very straightforward, with a lot of fine adjustments so you can get the machine to do exactly as you want. We were very impressed with how easily you could swap between gravel and sand, just one adjustment in the hopper which takes 2 minutes and you’re away. We opted for the sand spinners and stainless hopper extras on our machine.

All of our Shelton products have been excellent and I would recommend to all companies in sportsturf. Richard is always at the end of the phone if you have any questions and is very helpful at all times! This machine cut out a lot of hire, operator and haulage costs and we look forward to doing more business in the future.”

AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

The unique design of the Universal means customers can choose from a number of different combinations: A stand alone Universal base unit or with the addition of any or all of the following options: A Gravel Cart (Side Discharge Unit), Sand Spreader or 6 Tonne Fast Flow (Centre Fill Unit).

Shelton will be on stand B112 with the Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper at IOG SALTEX.

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AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation

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AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation: Advance Grass Solutions Ltd is pleased to announce it has recently been awarded ISO 9001 accreditation.  Certified by UKAS, the new 2015 standard places significantly higher requirements on companies than previous versions of the standard.

ISO certification is based on international quality management principles including strong customer focus, motivation and implication of top management, the process approach, and continual improvement and review. The goal is to ensure customers receive consistently high quality products, support and services.

AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation

“Being ISO certified means our customers can have confidence AGS is committed to quality and outstanding customer service” says Jamie Bennett. CEO “We are extremely proud of our team and their efforts to attain the ISO 9001 certification. It means that quality is not just a concept, but a reality and proves that we don’t just talk about quality, we live by it every day.”

Sam Honeyborne. MD added “The decision to certify AGS once again underlines our positioning as a premium supplier and certification reflects our commitment to our customers.”

Accreditation lasts for 3 years with annual audits. AGS is committed to delivering continuous improvement and ultimately providing our customers with an outstanding level of service and support.

For more information on AGS or to enquire about ongoing opportunities to join the team  please call 01183-914540 or email info@advancegrass.com.

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SISIS the choice for Warwick School

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SISIS the choice for Warwick School: Duncan Toon, Grounds Manager at Warwick Independent Schools Foundation, believes that both his new SISIS Flexibrush and SISIS TM1000 have helped produce significant improvements to the schools’ sports surfaces.

Duncan is nine months into his new position after joining the Foundation from Birmingham City FC and is responsible for the grounds at Warwick School, Warwick Junior School, King’s High School and Warwick Preparatory School – which all fall under the Warwick Independent Schools Foundation umbrella.

SISIS the choice for Warwick School

The schools are justly proud of their sporting success, including national awards, and ability to provide all its pupils the opportunity to play their chosen sport.  Essential to their achievements are high quality and well-maintained sports pitches.  The appointment of Duncan was part of the Foundation’s commitment to improve the grounds at its schools, alongside making additional investment in its grounds equipment.

“We have a great team in place now and we have started to build a fantastic line-up of maintenance equipment. Personally, I was looking for reliable and trusted machinery and that is why I chose the SISIS Flexibrush and the SISIS TM1000,” Duncan said.

The SISIS Flexibrush is a tractor-mounted brush which is equally effective at dispersing top dressing, removing excess material on natural turf and synthetic surfaces, dew dispersal and improving presentation. It has a 5.35 metre working width, its brush sections float to follow ground contours and the outer sections fold for transport and storage.

“For us it has eliminated the previously time-consuming task of dew removal,” said Duncan. “Everything gets a bit hectic here on a school day but the Flexibrush gives us a big head start because we can start nice and early at 7am and knock all the dew off the grass before the children start classes. It has helped us to reduce disease and I also use it for presentation.”

The SISIS Rotorake TM1000 is a tractor-mounted heavy-duty scarifier and linear aerator and is unrivalled when it comes to removing and controlling thatch. It includes a collector box and floating unit to follow ground contours and its contra-rotating reel throws debris forward ensuring a clean, consistent groove resulting in an excellent finish. The TM1000 also features interchangeable blades and a quick, simple depth setting without tools.

“We mainly bought the TM1000 for in-house cricket renovations but it is also used for regular maintenance work on the squares,” Duncan explained. “It is great for verticutting and we also have the 2mm scarifying removal reel and the brush reel which we use for cleaning up. It is such a simple, yet effective piece of equipment – in fact I would say it is a must-have tool for any groundsman to have in their armoury.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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