ISEKI UK to distribute Raymo

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ISEKI UK to distribute Raymo: ISEKI UK & Ireland are pleased to announce that they have been appointed as the exclusive distributor for Raymo products throughout the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

Commenting on the appointment David Withers explained; “over the last few years there have been several manufacturers that have wanted us to distribute their products for them but in each instance we decided that it might distract from the core mission of growing the ISEKI customer base and delighting existing ISEKI customers. In the case of Raymo though, the product offering was so unique and so different to anything in the ISEKI range and so ‘absolutely of the moment’ that we have decided to enter into this distribution arrangement.”

ISEKI UK to distribute Raymo

ISEKI UK to distribute Raymo

ISEKI UK & Ireland have had great success with the large National grounds maintenance contractors and a large majority of them using ISEKI tractors and mowers today.   Following numerous discussions and feedback from their customers ISEKI noticed a gap in the market where contractors are being asked by their customer base for all-electric options for their grass cutting needs and that as of now there were no products available that could meet that need. One of the problems with electric mowers is that the weight of dragging an operator (and all the associated hardware) around really negatively impacts on the run time that you can get from the batteries, by taking the operator off of the machine and making it remote control the Raymo products can give unrivalled run times from its Lithium battery pack.

The Raymo mower offers a variety of advantages:

  • 104cm (41”) cutting width, rear discharge full floating deck
  • Small compact machine that is only 51cm (20”) high
  • No oil, fuel hydraulics just clean Battery power
  • Established remote control system
  • Easy change from Battery to hybrid as needed
  • Low noise level ~68dB
  • ZERO Operator vibration level
  • Safe to 35 degree slopes
  • 4 Wheel Drive and Zero Turn
  • Light footprint allows for mowing in really wet and soft conditions

The Raymo electric, zero-emission, remote controlled mower is a unique product that with the ability to swap power packs, offers you a versatile multi-use mower.  Whether you need to cut grass in noise sensitive areas, gain access under low objects such as solar panels or trees, or need to meet the needs of the customer with growing concerns of carbon emissions this mower will exceed your expectations whilst tackling lush dense grass growth with ease.  Visit www.raymoelectric.co.uk for more information.

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

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Inspirational Dennis & SISIS Seminar

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Inspirational Dennis & SISIS Seminar: The aptly named Storm Dennis certainly didn’t prevent the annual Dennis and SISIS groundcare seminar from going ahead, and by all accounts it once again inspired, educated and offered real solutions. 

Hosted at the Durham County Cricket Club’s Emirates Riverside Stadium on 18th February, over 150 volunteers and professionals representing schools, sports clubs, local authorities and contractors from all over the UK experienced a truly memorable day.

Inspirational Dennis & SISIS Seminar

Inspirational Dennis & SISIS Seminar

Marcus North, Durham Director of Cricket and former Australian batsman, kick-started the event much to the delight of the attendees. The left-handed batsman, who played 21 Tests for his country and played for five counties in England, proceeded to offer a unique insight into all the various pitches he has played on throughout the world. Not only did his talk offer a glimpse into an international cricket player’s perspective but it also offered an interesting insight into a club’s relationship with the groundstaff.

Iain James from TGMS Ltd followed with a plethora of advice on the construction and maintenance of a cricket pitch. No stone was left unturned as Iain went through every stage of a construction process offering some valuable tips to those who carry out the work in-house but also presented the questions one should be asking of a contractor. Lots of notes were taken as Iain covered the six key stages of construction – planning, design, build, grow-in, preparation and play.

Seminar delegates were then pleased to hear from the Institute of Groundsmanship’s Ian Powell who provided a number of helpful tips in his presentation entitled ‘Principles of decision making for pre-season preparations’. Ian discussed the utmost important aspects of pre-season preparations including seeding, rolling, scarification and nutrition.

Rounding off the morning in style, delegates had a rare opportunity to listen to and question an incredible line-up of some of the industry’s finest groundsmen. Hosted by Vic Demain (Durham CCC), this new feature entitled Groundsmans Corner, saw a panel of experts including Keith Kent (Head Pitch Advisor for Rugby Groundsmen Connected), Jim Dawson (Head Groundsman at BT Murrayfield), Karl McDermott (Head Groundsman at MCC Lord’s), Sean Williams (Head Groundsman at Gloucestershire CCC) and Gordon Gill (Former Head Groundsman at Bath CC). An interesting range of topics were explored and, in particular, the use of social media in the industry sparked an informative debate.

A complimentary lunch signalled the halfway point, and attendees got the chance to network with one another and gain even more groundcare advice from event sponsors – Limagrain UK, Boughton Loam, Thomas Sherriff, Stuart Canvas, Fleet Line Markers, Cricket World, SIS Pitches, Poweroll, Facility and Sports Club Development and Headland Amenity.

Upon settling down after lunch, Barry Glynn hilariously reflected on his career in ‘Frustrations of a Groundsman: Part 2’ before the legendary Keith Kent proceeded with a presentation entitled ‘Winter Sports Pitches to Cricket Outfields – what do we need to do?’ Delegates were thrilled when Keith drew on his wealth of experience as a groundsman to explore the transformation of winter sports pitches into cricket outfields.

Inspirational Dennis & SISIS Seminar

Inspirational Dennis & SISIS Seminar

In his presentation, Keith described the groundcare industry as a brotherhood; a family in which everyone should be supporting their colleagues and the general consensus in the room at the end of the day was that this event was an exemplary demonstration of camaraderie – no matter what your title or position.

One delegate, Derek Traill of Cricket Scotland, said: “The key message coming out of today’s event is that it is all about communication and to strive to learn off one another – we learn from one another’s experiences, failures and successes and from these we can build on them and improve as one.”

For Ben Weatherall, a young Assistant Groundsman at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, the event was inspirational which will serve him well in his career path: “It was great to get the opportunity to listen to guys like Vic, Keith and Jim. Listening to their stories, their experiences and where they came from was hugely inspiring. In my up and coming career, events like this will help me get to where I want to be.”

One such groundsman who has found exactly where he wants to be is Karl McDermott and he was encouraged to see so many young people in attendance. “Sometimes you go to these kinds of events and it is mostly retired groundsmen that are helping out their local clubs – which is fantastic because they benefit a lot from the advice they receive. However, there has been a real good mix today and we need to look to the future and keep on trying to get the younger generation into this industry.

“Events like this Dennis and SISIS seminar will only help,” he continued. “This is a great chance to network and to chat to people and actually discover that no matter what level you are at, club or recreational to test match level – we all have the same problems.”

Robbie Thackray, Groundsman at the University of Leeds, certainly felt relieved to find out that he is not alone when it comes to certain issues: “I have found it extremely reassuring that everyone is in the same boat,” he said. “We all have the same struggles no matter where we work or what our job title is. Today has been brilliant and offered so many solutions.”

Further information about the range of maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

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

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Nurture Landscapes win BALI award

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Nurture Landscapes win BALI award: It’s a nurturing hand that sees Nurture Landscapes win its fourth Grounds Maintenance Limited Public Access award at the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) National Landscape Awards.

The award, which is sponsored by Toro and Reesink Turfcare, the exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for Toro groundscare machinery, recognises all sorts of grounds maintenance, and the project that won is not only a vertical space in the form of one of Europe’s largest living walls but has the added challenge of being alongside the Metro viaduct wall next to Snow Hill Station in Birmingham making access somewhat tricky!

Nurture Landscapes win BALI award

Nurture Landscapes win BALI award

Matt Monckton, regional manager at Nurture Landscapes, says: “This site is incredibly challenging with the green wall running just a few metres adjacent to the Metro line. Our planned overhaul visits can only be carried out in the small hours when the live lines are powered down which happens on just two weekends a year and we have to bring in free-standing artificial lights, which in itself is a major task.”

At 220m long and 7m high with 604m2 of plants, it’s an eye-catching feature. As well as plants, the living wall incorporates decorative perforated aluminium panels designed to capture artificial and natural daylight. Programmable uplighters bring the wall to life at night and create constantly changing patterns and the illusion of depth and movement.

Matt continues: “The whole feature has moisture sensors built into the green wall which are internet connected and alert us quickly to any irrigation issues across the face of the whole wall. In the evening a cutting-edge LED lighting system operates to create waves of coloured lights across the wall which, when combined with the interspersed, undulating perforated steel panels really does make for a unique flowing green space.”

So what does Matt attribute the company’s continuing success to in the awards which in 2019 had record entries, record first-time entries and record international entries and makes receiving one even more of an achievement? “Where we can we try and partner with our clients and this site is a case in point,” he says. “We have built up a wonderful working relationship with the building management team who take a genuine interest in making this location a vibrant local landmark.”

It’s for all these reasons and the fact that Nurture Landscapes achieves great and beautiful results, that makes it a worthy winner of the award, says Reesink’s Alastair Rowell, who presented the award to the company in front of an audience of over 1000 BALI members and guests at the 43rd annual awards: “It’s a fantastic feat of grounds maintenance skill that Nurture Landscapes not only win this award, but win it for the fourth time. It’s grounds maintenance that creates a work of art and provides pleasure to so many commuters as well as being progressive and cutting-edge in its execution too.”

Paul Bean, sales director at Nurture Landscapes, says: “To be recognised again is testament to the enthusiasm, passion and skill of our teams. We invest in training our people well and creating strong business-to-business relationships. This award reinforces we’re doing the right thing and we’re generating the kind of success we’d always hoped for.”

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Campey’s zero emissions mowing

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Campey’s zero emissions mowing: Campey Turf Care Systems now provide zero CO2-emissions mowing on areas ranging from regularly managed turf to overgrown vegetation using the 100% electric AllTrec Tool Carrier.

Being environmentally responsible is an essential cause of many companies and councils. By August 2019, more than half of councils in the UK had committed to cutting carbon emissions, with many of them setting 2030 as the date to reduce carbon emissions to zero as part of the UK governments plan to deliver the net zero target by 2050.

Campey's zero emissions mowing

Campey’s zero emissions mowing

Using the AllTrec allows regular maintenance to be completed with zero emissions, minimal noise output and massively reduced vibration for operators, all of which help to improve green spaces without damaging the wider environment.

The machine has been designed by Dutch manufacturer, WeedControl B.V., to be the perfect solution for zero-emissions commercial mowing. The powerful cutting decks are available in 130cm or 180cm width of cut with the height of cut adjustable from 30-110mm. Electric motors directly power the three blade 130cm deck and four blade 180cm deck with an adjustable speed between 2000-3000rpm.

With its zero turning capabilities, it is agile enough to work in small enclosed spaces while also having been designed to work on large areas with a long-lasting battery to match its versatility. The running time is entirely dependent on the circumstances, but when cutting with the four-blade 180cm deck, the battery will typically last for 6-8 hours and 7-9 hours using the three-blade 130cm deck.

All batteries come with a three-year warranty and have a lifetime of + – 2500 charge discharge cycles. The 48VDC battery uses LifePO4 technology with a capacity of 20kwh or an optional 30kwh, with onboard charging taking 4-8 hours.

The AllTrec unit can also be used with a number of other attachments including the Air E-Variator, weed brush, and hedge cutter. The electrically driven hedge cutter can be fully operated using a joystick, making it easy to use for a day of work, while the E-Variator Weed Burner can be used alongside the weed brush to control weeds in a variety of locations. The weed brush can be hydraulically adjusted to any angle and used for a full day without any worry of batteries running out.

A large-action radius and highly efficient attachments combined with low operation and maintenance costs make the AllTrec perfect for use in urban environments, sports complexes, holiday resorts and parks by contractors, local authorities and landscapers.

For more information on making your mowing operation 100% electric and emissions free, contact Campey at info@campeyturfcare.com.

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Extended collections from DLF

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Extended collections from DLF: To meet the increasing demand for conservation mixtures and environmental areas within both sports venues and amenity land, DLF have expanded their range of wildflower mixtures.

The Pro Flora collection, each designed to recreate a particular habitat or suit specific site and soil conditions, now contains 14 UK native mixtures thanks to the addition of Pro Flora 13 and Pro Flora 14 for 2020. The non-native Colour Boost wildflower range has also been extended, from three mixtures to six.

Extended collections from DLF

Extended collections from DLF

As demand for improved biodiversity on all major landscape projects grows, Pro Flora 13 species-rich lawn and landscape mixture has been developed to contain 20% native origin wildflowers with 80% fine-leaved, low-growing grasses. This mixture massively increases the species count and diversity per m2 compared to a standard lawn mix. In addition, the flexibility of maintenance makes it suitable for more intensively managed areas, as well as conventionally managed grasslands that receive just one or two cuts a year. The greater amount of time between cuts sees a greater number of species flower, providing additional benefits to pollenating insects.

Also new for 2020, Pro Flora 14 – tall herb and tussock mix – uses species with varying heights and structures to create habitat for a wider range of insects, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Tall herb grassland provides a vital pollen and nectar source late into the year to sustain invertebrates, in turn providing a food source for birds and predators higher up the food chain. These taller growing species can help to visually blend more traditional parkland/meadow mixtures with woodland and natural scrub and should be maintained in sections, to retain the essential habitat that has been created.

DLF have also added three new mixtures to the popular Colour Boost range. Originally introduced in 2018, the collection is specifically designed for maximum floral impact, incorporating cultivated flowering species to deliver a colourful long-lasting display. The collection provides an essential food source and habitat for many species of animals and invertebrates, especially pollenating insects.

With a focus on a specific colour palette, Colour Boost 4 provides a warm mix of flowers from pale pinks through to deep reds, flowering from late spring through to late autumn. Over the same flowering period, Colour Boost 5 delivers yellows in every shade, including California Poppy and Tickseed. Finally, Colour Boost 6 is a true ‘chameleon’ – a diverse mixture of over 40 species and sub-species that changes in colour throughout the growing season.

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