EGO launches rear roller & mulching kits

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EGO launches rear roller & mulching kits: With the addition of new Rear Roller and Mulching kits, EGO’s landscaping, grounds care and gardening professionals can now look after the health of their lawn and achieve a professional finish with picture-perfect stripes.

Rear Roller Kit (AR1700/AR1900)

Weighing around 8KG and featuring an innovative design that easily clips over the rear wheel axle of EGO’s LM1700E, LM1700E-SP and LM1900E-SP battery powered mowers, the steel Rear Roller Kit provides the ideal amount of power and weight to help achieve pristine and uniform stripes across a lawn.

EGO launches rear roller & mulching kits

EGO launches rear roller & mulching kits

The Rear Roller Kit is available in two sizes and is compatible with EGO’s best-selling LM1700E, LM1700E-SP and LM1900E-SP mowers.

Mulching Kit (ABP1700/ABP1900)

EGO has also released a brand-new mulching kit to help professionals keep lawns healthy.

Featuring a factory-sharpened steel blade and a mulching plug, EGO’s Mulching Kit helps to deliver optimum cutting performance to achieve a reliable, clean cut lawn. Compatible with the LM1700E, LM1700E-SP and LM1900E-SP mowers, the mulching kit is a fantastic way to keep lawns healthy all year round.

The Mulching Kit works by double-cutting the grass, making it easy to create and distribute mulch. Whether professionals are looking to rejuvenate a lawn by providing additional nutrients, or to manage weeds and pests, EGO’s Power+ Mulching Kit is the perfect must-have addition for professional mowing.

Available now, the rear roller (AR1700) retails at £49.99 and (AR1900) at £57.99 with the mulching kit (ABP1700) at £34.99 and (ABP1900) at £37.99.

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City groundsman on Etihad pitch

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City groundsman on Etihad pitch: If all goes well on Wednesday, the only thing Manchester City’s head groundsman will have to keep his eye on during the Arsenal game will be the ball.

When competitive games were suspended in March and the scale of the impact of the pandemic became clearer, the Blues were one of a number of Premier League clubs to bring forward planned summer work to their pitch.

City groundsman on Etihad pitch

City groundsman on Etihad pitch

Lee Jackson, the head groundsman who has been working at the club since Peter Reid was manager, oversaw the work on the pitch at the Etihad that should see it new and improved for when Mikel Arteta brings his Gunners side up for Wednesday’s clash.

The work was not without complications due to the weather, but when the players next step out of the tunnel they should not notice a difference under their feet even if the stands around them are empty.

“We reseeded and it was quite a hairy few weeks initially because of the cold temperatures,” Jackson told M.E.N Sport.

“We had a few frosts going into April and it was scary at times if I’m honest but these last four or five weeks it has really come through with the weather picking up and we’re in a really good place at the moment to be fair so we’re very happy with it.

“I think we’re in a good place. It may be that at the end of the season we do a little bit more work on it, not to the extent that we did at the end of March but at the moment in the short term this pitch will be ready for the remaining Premier League games and any Champions League games.”

The testing done on the pitch has been promising and the players have already had a chance to get accustomed to playing in their new surroundings, while the timing of City’s games should counter any potential problems caused by warm weather; five of City’s six scheduled home matches so far are in the evening, which should help keep the pitch watered.

One thing Jackson and his team will have to adjust to though is the lack of ball boys in the stadium.

The restriction on numbers for matches behind closed doors means that in addition to their work on the pitch around a game, the ground staff will be responsible for keeping balls circulated and disinfected during the 90 minutes.

“Whether there is a crowd in the stadium or not is irrelevant to us because we’ll just prepare it the exact same,” he said.

“The only difference, certainly with the new Premier League rules for this season, is because there is no crowd there we now have to become ball boys during the game, which has been quite an interesting topic among groundsmen to discuss!

“In the seriousness of the issue, there is quite strict guidance. Because during the game we are literally on the sidelines, we have to disinfect the balls, place them back on the cones around the pitch. As funny as it sounds when talking about it, it is actually quite a serious thing to do so it is going to be interesting doing that.

“We’ve all got our wipes, our face masks, our gloves ready and it is a different culture we have to adjust to because even before kick-off and at half-time we have to disinfect the goalposts and the corner flags so on that side, the pitch aspect remains the same but there are just a few bits thrown in there as part of the new regulations as part of the Covid situation.

“If that gets football back on again in a safe environment, then fine.”

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Foamstream wages urban war on Covid-19

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Foamstream wages urban war on Covid-19: Little did we know back in March how long the lockdown was going to last or what lay ahead in our fight to contain the life-threatening virus, Covid-19.

And although lockdown continues, there have been relaxations in the restrictions which means an increase in the movement of people through urban and public places. This has made it more important than ever to ensure that public spaces are safe, with governments doing everything possible to prevent the transmission of the virus.  This is what will keep the R rate down and ultimately help us defeat the virus.  It is known that the Coronavirus can live on some surfaces for up to nine days and municipalities, landowners, and their contractors, need to take this into account when planning their sanitisation programmes. Unless public spaces are sanitised regularly, then transmission of the virus will continue as long as people continue to use them. The big question is this: how do we keep public places safe for people to use and enjoy once again, without using harmful toxic chemicals?  To avoid a second wave of the virus, it will be imperative to get this right.

Foamstream wages urban war on Covid-19

Foamstream wages urban war on Covid-19

British company Weedingtech offers a solution with Foamstream, a thermal system originally developed to kill weeds. Foamstream is now also widely used internationally to maintain & decontaminate public places by deep cleaning and sanitising them, effectively neutralizing viruses and preventing their transmission in the process. In 2019 Foamstream was tested and approved for controlling viruses (inc. Hepatitis C) on outdoor surfaces, with testing following PREN 16777:2014, the European standard with which all biocides have to comply. Foamstream proved to be a very effective way to neutralise Hepatitis-C, preventing its transmission. Given its mode of action, the science indicates that Foamstream is equally effective in neutralising Covid-19, thus reducing its transmission, making public places safer for us all.

Consider the places that need to be sanitised so they are safe for public use. Everywhere from parks to playgrounds, schools to sports facilities, hospital and universities, city centres to cemeteries and any other outdoor areas that may experience high levels of human contact. Authorities and municipalities need to be certain that any method they chose to clean and sanitise these public areas, will help in preventing transmission of the virus, without exposing people to harmful chemicals.

Weedingtech’s Foamstream technology emits near-boiling water (98°C) covered by an insulating biodegradable foam made from natural plant oils and sugars.  The foam retains the heat in the water so, the heat can work effectively to neutralize its target. The Foamstream process can be used on all kinds of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, funghi and non-sporulating bacteria. It’s safe for the operator, who needs only basic training and minimum safety wear, and safe for use in public places around people animals and water. The systems offer a variety of attachments making them suitable to carry out cleaning tasks on any surface.

Foamstream has been shown to work significantly faster than many manual sanitisation practices currently being used. Furthermore, it solves the virus problem without causing another problem downstream by exposing people to harmful chemicals.  Approved for use as an organic biocide, Foamstream is used by local authorities and contractors all over the UK, mainland Europe, North and South America and Australasia. There is a new virtual demonstration platform available for those interested to understand more about the process and Weedingtech urge authorities to see and consider the Foamstream route as their first line of defence against Covid-19 (and other viruses like hepatitis-C, norovirus and influenza) in public spaces.

Foamstream is already used by councils around the UK including Hammersmith and Fulham, Manchester City Council and Southwark as well as by some of the nation’s biggest contracting companies such as idverde and Urbaser.

https://www.weedingtech.com/applications/sanitisation/

In the US it is used in the Cities of New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle and Baltimore.  The process can be seen on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV97mq6e_-E&feature=youtu.

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Industry praises decision to move SALTEX

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Industry praises decision to move SALTEX: The recent announcement that SALTEX will be rescheduling from November 2020 to Spring 2021, has been met with enthusiastic support from both exhibitors and visitors.

The Grounds Management Association (GMA) Board of Directors said that the unanimous decision was based on ensuring the safety of everyone connected with the event and to provide the respite required to readjust to changing professional and personal circumstances. Furthermore, the GMA Board, believes that by acting now, it will allow everyone to plan as effectively as possible and help the industry to regroup and recover.

Industry praises decision to move SALTEX

Industry praises decision to move SALTEX

The announcement has been well received by exhibitors and those working in the industry who have praised the timing of the decision.

“We are pleased to see the GMA take decisive steps to deal with the growing doubt and anxiety about SALTEX going ahead in November. It would have been a difficult decision for a variety of reasons, but for us the right one to remove uncertainty and replace it with a forward date that we can look forward to with optimism. Early March keeps us in the ‘pre-season’ window to be able to give focus to the exhibition before the pressures of the season takeover,” said David Cole, managing director of Reesink Turfcare.

David’s views are echoed by Caroline Shaw, European marketing manager for Trimax Mowers: “The decision to postpone the largest show of the year couldn’t have been easy but the decisive action, coupled with the determination to put the health and well-being of our industry professionals first, is something we are proud to support.”

Roger Moore, sales and marketing manager for Dennis and SISIS said: “At Dennis and SISIS we agree with the decision. In these difficult times the industry will need its trade show and we believe that the postponement until March 2021 is the right decision for both exhibitors and visitors.”

Tom Shinkins, operations manager at GKB Machines, believes that the new dates could be advantageous: “It’s a great decision to move SALTEX to March 2021. The GMA has had to think about people’s safety and the government restrictions put in place but I believe the new dates will actually be more beneficial because we’ll be able to arrange demonstrations with prospective new customers straight after the show.

“With the show previously in November, we would meet lots of visitors on our stand but quite often we would not be able to carry out demonstrations for them until the new year due to the unpredictable weather. Now we will have the whole of Spring to visit SALTEX customers.”

Social media channels and online forums were flooded with industry professionals who also welcomed the announcement:

“It’s a sensible decision which allows everyone to concentrate on the here and now and then focus for 2021,” said Neil Stubley, head of courts and horticulture at the All English Lawn and Tennis Club, Wimbledon.

Karl McDermott, head groundsman at Lord’s, said: “Sad news but the right decision. I always see SALTEX as a great way to finish off the cricket season but now it is going to be a nice warmup for next season. I’m looking forward to March 2021.”

Landscaper Greg Francis was also positive about the decision: “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a much better time of year for the gardeners because during the months of October/November it is non-stop leaf clearance,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the GMA Board, Geoff Webb, CEO at the GMA commented: “We would like to thank our exhibitors, visitors, partners and suppliers for their support and patience during this challenging time. It has been highly encouraging to see the industry come together and support the GMA’s decision.

“We feel we have acted quickly, working hard to secure these new Spring dates, in order to deliver the event the industry deserves.”

Early indications for SALTEX 2021, the show’s 75th anniversary, are extremely positive after show organisers reported a record-breaking loyalty period, stand upgrades and an influx of debut exhibitors. It comes off the back of the most successful SALTEX to date which saw a record breaking 9,104 visitors attend the 2019 event.

SALTEX will take place on 3 and 4 March 2021 at the NEC, Birmingham.

For more information visit www.gmasaltex.co.uk

To view further industry support and quotes visit – https://www.gmasaltex.co.uk/industry-shows-support-quotes-for-new-saltex-dates/

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @GMA_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/GMASALTEX

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