GreenMech service seals the deal

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GreenMech service seals the deal: For Kent-based arb contractors The Living Forest, the quality of the customer service they receive from suppliers is just as important as the quality of the machinery itself.

And that’s why, when it comes to their choice of woodchipper, it’s GreenMech that wins the day. With three tracked and trailed machines currently on the fleet, their reliability – coupled with the back-up support received – sees further investment on the horizon.

GreenMech service seals the deal

GreenMech service seals the deal

Operations Director Michael Lott purchased his first GreenMech chipper, a 16-23 trailed, 12 years ago. “From the very first contact we had with GreenMech, the approach was different – they let the machine do the talking and were invested in finding what was a perfect fit for us, not just what they wanted to sell.” With the 16-23 still out every day, tackling a mixture of domestic and commercial jobs, Michael added a sub-750kg Arborist 150 to the fleet three years ago, followed by a 16-23 SAFE-Trak model last year, supplied by David Guy at local dealer Burden Bros Agri Ltd.

“These machines just don’t miss a beat. The nature of the work puts terrific amounts of stress on the inner mechanics but the GreenMech chippers are built to handle whatever is thrown at them. The Disc-Blade chipping technology for example means that if we’re on-site and debris or stones get fed through accidently, you can simply turn the blades to the next sharp edge and you’re up and running again.” Michael also purchased the dedicated sharpening unit, reducing the cost and downtime associated with getting blades re-sharpened.

As with any large investment, chippers need to be running at full capacity to maximise their return, and not spend costly time side-lined waiting for spares or repairs. “With other chipper manufacturers we’ve sometimes had a three week wait for an engineer visit. On one occasion where we needed a replacement bolt for our 16-23 unit, one call to GreenMech and it arrived the very next day – we couldn’t believe it! Having them on the end of the phone and knowing that any queries can be answered so quickly makes it feel like we’ve got an extra man on our team – and that’s invaluable.”

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S&C Slatter names new Managing Director

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S&C Slatter names new Managing Director: Leading sports construction specialists S&C Slatter have appointed Ben O’Connor as Managing Director, with David Slatter moving into CEO role at The Slatter Group.

The Newbury based company, a leading provider of sports and estate infrastructure for the sports, leisure and education sectors has enjoyed accelerated growth over the last five years.

S&C Slatter names new Managing Director

S&C Slatter names new Managing Director

Ben joined S&C Slatter as Pre-Construction Manager in 2015. Bringing considerable industry experience, including work on the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, he quickly established himself as a key player on the management team and an architect of success for the company.

Ben commented:

“It is an honour to become Managing Director of S&C Slatter; the Company has a market leading position built on integrity and a personal approach.  I’m excited to work with a fantastic team who are determined to keep us at the forefront of the industry.” 

Last year saw the formation of The Slatter Group swiftly followed by the acquisition of soil and water engineering experts, White Horse Contractors. David Slatter, whose father founded S&C Slatter in 1991, moves into the role of Chief Executive Officer at The Slatter Group.

David commented:

“I am delighted to welcome Ben to the role of Managing Director of S&C Slatter. Ben’s commercial experience of the sports construction and surfacing and civils industries as well as his strong sense of integrity mean he is the perfect person for the role.

As CEO I will spend more time on site with customers and construction teams ensuring that we deliver our services to the highest standards in the most efficient, environmentally friendly, and safe manner.” 

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SISIS help deliver award-winning cricket square

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SISIS help deliver award-winning cricket square: Clive Brown, a volunteer groundsman, has praised the SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk. 5 after it helped him pick up an award for the best ground in the Lincolnshire Cricket Premier League.  

“In terms of loyalty, I like to think that I’m old school,” said Clive. “It has always been Bourne for me – I’ve never wanted to play for anyone else and we’ve been through thick and thin together.”

SISIS help deliver award-winning cricket square

SISIS help deliver award-winning cricket square

Clive started playing for his beloved Bourne Cricket Club, who play their cricket on the Abbey Lawn, when he was just 12 years old and continued do so until the age of 41. During his playing career Clive supported the club by becoming a committee member and he also managed / maintained the square for four years. However, when he retired from employment Clive wanted to further extend his support for the club.

It was at this point that he returned to the club and took on the grounds maintenance role once again. He now spends approximately 30 hours a week at the ground and receives help from his assistant Ian Greenfield. The two of them have been working tirelessly on the square for the past five years and were recently rewarded for their hard work.

“When I took on the grounds maintenance role, I set myself a target of achieving the best ground in the Lincolnshire Premier League – which is judged by the umpires. They have a set criteria to follow in terms of the pace, / bounce and other factors which determines its overall playability.

“In my first year we ended up finishing fourth and then gradually we climbed higher each year. In 2018 we were runners up and last year I’m pleased to say that we won it.

“It was extremely rewarding for both of us to be honest.”

After previously using a SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk.4, Clive upgraded to a Mk.5 and claims that it has played an integral role in helping him to keep the square in an incredible condition all year round.

“I needed a machine that could assist with our heavy work load and because the Mk.4 was over 20 years old and as you can imagine, any machinery that old will of course lose some power. We did look at a wide range of machinery, but I was quite keen to stick with SISIS because the Mk.4 served us so well – it was incredibly reliable and did a great job every time.

“My mind was made up after speaking to Keith Exton (former Head Groundsman of Glamorgan CCC) who highly recommended it.”

The SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk.5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf. It features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for a clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. A variety of maintenance tasks can also be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

Clive purchased the verticutting reel, the scarifying reel, and the brush to accompany his Auto Rotorake Mk.5 and believes that it covers all bases.

“These three reels give us a good chance to maintain the square in the conditions that we expect during a season,” he said. “We normally start using it in February and continue to use it regularly throughout the year. It is great at cleaning out any build-up of thatch and the brush will be used prior to cutting, scarifying or verticutting.

“I will also use it to create the seed drill for when I am seeding.

“Since I have had the Mk.5, I’ve been absolutely delighted with it. It delivers exactly what I want, it is comfortable to use and has plenty of power to undertake any of our key maintenance tasks.”

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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