SISIS Quadraplay helps new groundsman

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SISIS Quadraplay helps new groundsman: Lawrence Brown may have only just embarked on a career in groundsmanship (2 months in fact) but he’s already chosen the perfect partner to help him at Ilford Rugby Club in the form of a SISIS Quadraplay.

Ilford Wanderers Rugby Football Club has been established since 1896. The club has a sense of belonging and community, with families getting together to support players of all different ages. “We play together, we win together; we lose together, we stay together,” is the club’s motto.

SISIS Quadraplay helps new groundsman

SISIS Quadraplay helps new groundsman

It is easy to see why Lawrence wanted to work for a club such as Ilford Wanderers.

“This is my first job in groundsmanship and I love it,” he said. “The club is fantastic; I always liked the idea of working outside – especially on pitches; I like using machinery and I really enjoy driving tractors. The groundsman job came up, I really wanted it and fortunately I got it.”

Lawrence was straight to work and is slowly but surely developing the skills required to maintain sports pitches. He admits that it will take time but claims that equipment such as the SISIS Quadraplay is certainly making his first taste of groundsmanship enjoyable.

“It’s such a joy to use and it does everything we need,” said Lawrence.

The SISIS Quadraplay has now progressed into one of today’s most useful pieces of kit in the groundsman’s armoury. One SISIS customer once even compared the Quadraplay to a Swiss army knife – compact, versatile, and utterly useful.

It is a multiple-purpose, single-pass maintenance system which incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, spikers, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect. Compact, robust, versatile and with the ability to carry out up to four operations simultaneously – the Quadraplay makes life a lot easier for many groundsmen as Lawrence explains.

“I use the slitter regularly because it really helps with surface drainage and with aeration,” he said. “On the pitch we do get quite a bit of surface water, especially when it rains, so I run the slitter over it, and it makes a huge difference.

“The brush I tend to use after a cut. Just recently, for example, the grass had got long before I Joined so I used the brush to sweep all the cuttings to the side of the pitch, which made it easier to clear. The brush also massively helps with presentation.

“The roller is also very beneficial. Naturally, the turf gets torn from the players so I use the roller to level out any divots. Also, when it comes to presentation then you cannot beat the roller.

“The players have commented that the pitch looks great,” concluded Lawrence. “At the end of the day my job is to make the pitch better for them and the Quadraplay is helping me to achieve this.”

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 and 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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JCB creates 75th birthday artwork

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JCB creates 75th birthday artwork: A huge ‘75’ artwork visible from outer space was carved into a Staffordshire stubble field to mark JCB’s impending 75th birthday.

The giant logo was cultivated in a field eight miles away from the company’s World Headquarters at Rocester and covered almost eight acres – equivalent to four football pitches. The birthday tribute was so distinctive is could be seen by imaging satellites orbiting high above the earth.

JCB creates 75th birthday artwork

JCB creates 75th birthday artwork

The special artwork was created ahead of JCB’s 75th anniversary on October 23rd by one of the company’s most famous products – the Fastrac tractor, which was equipped with a hi-tech precision guidance system.

A team of JCB employees was behind the larger-than-life creation which was close to the market town of Uttoxeter, where the late Joseph Cyril Bamford founded JCB in a lock-up garage on the same day as his son Anthony, now Lord Bamford, was born.

The team comprised Fastrac Sales Engineer Peter Williams, of Acton Trussell, near Stafford; Senior Fastrac Sales Engineer James Coxon, of Marchington, near Uttoxeter; JCB Agriculture Product and Marketing Manager David Timmis, of Haughton, Stafford and Fastrac Product Specialist Tom Mowforth, of Stafford.

David Timmis said: “Seventy five years is a big milestone to reach and we wanted to mark it in a big way with a product which has played a significant role in JCB’s success. Using the JCB Fastrac to create a giant JCB logo in a field which could be seen from space seemed the perfect idea and the whole team was delighted with the result.”

The Fastrac was the perfect tractor to undertake this task; with its all-round suspension, four-wheel steering, multiple implement mountings and high road speed. The distinctive tribute was created by uploading a digital version of the artwork to the Fastrac’s automatic steering system, which then calculated the guidance paths. The Fastrac is manufactured at JCB’s plant in Cheadle, Staffordshire.

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TYM apiece for Palace

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TYM apiece for Palace: In its biggest deal with distributor Reesink Turfcare yet, Crystal Palace Football Club has chosen TYM tractors for grounds maintenance at both its Selhurst Park stadium and training grounds in Bromley, South East London.

The deal, which includes Toro machinery, comes as the club works toward becoming one of the country’s leading academies. As part of this, the club has invested in its Academy site, expanding its football facilities to include a full-sized pitch and nine additional pitches of varying sizes.

TYM apiece for Palace

TYM apiece for Palace

Bruce Elliot, head of grounds and estates, explains: “The club is investing a lot in its facilities at the moment, with a new stand being built at the stadium and the academy training ground expanding. It made sense, therefore, that with this development and improvement of the facilities, we would upgrade and expand our turfcare machinery, too.

“We first added Toro and TYM to our fleet in 2016 and have been consistently impressed by the work they’ve done, so we decided to make our biggest purchase yet at the end of last year,” continues Bruce. “We needed to replace some older machines at the academy and we also wanted to expand the fleet at our main training ground and stadium.”

And it’s certainly a large investment, with the club having purchased a TYM T293 tractor and the Toro ProCore 648 for the stadium and TYM T393 tractor, alongside two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers and a tractor-mounted ProCore 864 which will be used on the T393 for aeration at the main training ground. A Toro Reelmaster 3575-D mower and Workman MDX utility vehicle for the academy grounds are included in the deal.

Having seen TYM and Toro in action at the club for several years already, the combination of the two was the first choice for Bruce when looking to expand the fleet: “We’ve always found TYM tractors to be reliable and adaptable, with a definite bonus being that they have such an extensive range. The fact that they work so well in conjunction with Toro for things like aeration is a winning combination.”

With the new machines in use across the grounds, now, Bruce is looking to the future: “We’re confident that we’ll be able to rely on TYM and Toro to provide the excellent standard of turfcare maintenance we need and it’s highly likely we will be investing in more Toro and TYM as the club’s facilities expand.”

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A wildflower makeover in the Peak District

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A wildflower makeover in the Peak District: Hampshire-based Wildflower Turf Ltd continue to partner with luxury lodge holiday specialists, Darwin Escapes, and have created a stunning wildflower haven at the newly opened Rivendale Lodge Retreat.

Set in the heart of the Peak District with views overlooking the Alsop Dale, the luxurious new lodge resort is situated within acres of Derbyshire countryside.

A wildflower makeover in the Peak District

A wildflower makeover in the Peak District

With conservation a key component of the resort’s development strategy, Wildflower Turf Ltd was commissioned by Landscape Architects and Environmental Consultants RPS Planning & Development to lend their extensive wildflower expertise to the redevelopment project.

Consideration of the natural setting was of upmost importance, and the addition of extensive wildflower meadows around the site has significantly enhanced both the aesthetics and biodiversity credentials of the holiday park.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, during spring and summer of this year Wildflower Turf Ltd provided the project with 8,800m2 of a modified mix of their Landscape Wildflower Turf alongside a further 3,500m2 of a bespoke Wildflower Turf blend. The bespoke mix turf was carefully designed by the Landscape Architects in discussion with the Peak District National Park Authority ecology and landscape teams. The bespoke calcareous grassland will serve to enhance the botanical interest of Rivendale by adding locally common, UK-native colour and diversity to the landscape as well as providing a habitat for bees and other local wildlife.

As well as considerable wildflower plantings, the location also includes a number of new wildlife ponds, hundreds of native trees and a new “bat barn” to further conservation and protection of the local wildlife.

Since opening in mid-September, Rivendale has already proven extremely popular with holiday makers and is a welcome new addition to the Peak District.  The self-contained luxury lodges are particularly well-suited to meeting the increased appetite for UK ‘staycationing’ whilst reducing COVID-19 risks.

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Aspen Fuel boosts the H&S credentials

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Aspen Fuel boosts the H&S credentials: Health and safety is at the heart of operations for Halifax based Green Valley Arborists (GVA).

Working on commercial vegetation clearance and landscaping projects, including some in environmentally-sensitive areas, requires Director Luke Kendall to look at all elements of operations – from the safety of their operators to the impact their equipment has on their surroundings. That’s why 12 months ago GVA made the switch to Aspen Alkylate Fuel across their entire range of petrol-powered equipment.

Aspen Fuel boosts the H&S credentials

Aspen Fuel boosts the H&S credentials

“As the company grew and work for associations including The Environment Agency started coming our way, it became apparent that the benefits of Aspen Fuel aligned more and more with our approach” explains Luke. Being virtually free from sulphur, benzene and solvents, Aspen Alkylate Petrol is 99% cleaner than regular pump fuel when comparing the level of hazardous hydrocarbons. With these ingredients removed, the odour and infamous ‘blue haze’ produced is minimal, reducing the impact the machinery makes on both the operator and the environment.

“Previously we would have to send one of our team to the petrol station to fill up a drum which is all time, labour and expense. When you then factor in that it needs to be mixed with 2-stroke oil, and the hazards associated with that, the costs begin racking up. Being ready mixed, Aspen 2 is quicker, easier and safer for our operators to use and gives us consistency in performance, helping our equipment to run more efficiently.”

Together with Aspen 2 in their smaller tools such as chainsaws and brushcutters, Luke and the team also use Aspen 4-stroke petrol in some larger equipment – eliminating the usage of pump fuel completely. “We purchase Aspen by the pallet, in 5L containers, which is delivered directly to our site where it can be safely stored, and its usage better monitored. When this runs low, we order more, and it will arrive in 48 hours which couldn’t be easier.”

The convenience and safety element extends to the day to day usage for the operators also. “Not having to mix the fuel reduces the risk of spillages, contamination or harmful exposure to the skin. The operator can open the container, pour the fuel using Aspen’s spill-free cap and put the lid back on. Once the can is empty, as these are made from the same type of plastic as regular milk cartons, they can simply and safely be recycled.”

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