New role to advance Export division

New role to advance Export division: It has been announced that Tom Challinor will succeed Peter McDonald in the role of Export Manager for Agrovista, combining this with his current position within the Amenity sector.

Tom has been working for the company for over a decade and started as an amenity Sales Advisor. Even back in 2012, when the amenity export operation was of a humble size, Tom had his eye on international markets.

New role to advance Export division

New role to advance Export division

“We were receiving a few international calls and enquiries but due to the size of the team and other commitments, we were unable to prioritise this area of the business.

“We discussed this internally to look at ways to improve the handling of our international enquiries.  I got the go ahead to take this on as a part of my role and this has developed over the years to become my full-time focus.”

By nurturing relationships with key customers and seeking out new partners in new territories, Tom has worked hard to grow the amenity export side of the business. Agrovista’s products have made a lasting impression in various European markets and further afield.

Last year Tom was instrumental in Agrovista becoming a corporate member of the Institute of Export & International Trade – a move which helped to boost the company’s export potential even further. He also recently achieved a diploma in International Trade – a four-year course which is provided by the Institute.

“I am, of course, over the moon to be presented with this new opportunity,” he said. “The processes are essentially the same but on the agricultural side there are more high-volume sales in comparison to the smaller, more frequent orders on the amenity side. With the unique, and highly successful Discovery agricultural range of products there is a lot more regulation, registration, and legislation required.

“Currently, the Discovery products are popular with big agrochemical companies in countries such as Turkey, Slovakia, Romania, and Slovenia, whereas the amenity products have more of a presence in central Europe and the Middle East. I believe this presents some opportunities to crossover and the growth of both could go hand-in-hand.”

Tom will divide his time between the company’s offices at Allscott and Rutherford House, and believes his colleagues, and Agrovista’s ever expanding networks will be integral.

“We have a fantastic technical department that is extremely helpful and always answer any technical questions I have.

“Everything is in place to succeed – the support I have around me is superb.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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The “Why” of Trimax Genuine Parts

The “Why” of Trimax Genuine Parts: When it comes to maintenance or repair, choosing genuine parts is the only way to guarantee the performance and life of your mower, explains Robert Todd, European Service Manager for Trimax Mowing Systems.

At a glance, genuine parts and pirate parts may appear to be similar; but scratch the surface and the issue becomes clear.

The “Why” of Trimax Genuine Parts

The “Why” of Trimax Genuine Parts

The Case for Genuine Parts

Genuine parts are exactly the same parts used to build the original machines. Years of research, development and testing have gone into them. They are made from high quality materials and in some instances individual parts perform more than one function.

Take the blades on a Trimax mower as an example. Primarily meant to cut grass in diverse types of terrain, they also direct airflow ensuring the cutting chamber remains unobstructed and clippings are well distributed.

Beyond this, Trimax quality control ensures the blades are flawless – they can encounter obstacles like small logs and rocks without shattering and exiting the mower as a deadly piece of shrapnel. Safety and quality are integral parts of the Trimax design, ensuring the whole machine meets or exceeds all regional safety standards.

Ongoing Improvement

Continuous improvement is the cornerstone of companies like Trimax. Ensuring the pedigree means always having the latest technology and where possible new advances are designed to fit older models. Customers choosing genuine parts will have the safest, most efficient machines, and access to expert advice from the people who designed and manufactured the parts.

The Pirate Way

Pirate part vendors profess to make parts that are “just as good” as the real thing but cost significantly less. Really?

It is impossible for pirate parts to out-perform the original items and cost less because pirate parts are produced as a separate, profit-making exercise.

To maintain profit margins, pirates cut corners, lower specs and alter or delete pesky design details (remember the blades and flails), which might complicate manufacture.

For manufacturers like Trimax, parts are integral to their primary business – producing high quality machines. Parts are not produced as a stand-alone enterprise.

Other Factors For Consideration

Aside from the physical design and cost, there are some other important elements to consider before deciding between genuine or pirate parts.

  • Safety – genuine parts have been tested to comply with safety regulations for maximum protection of machine and operator. Lower risk, greater peace of mind.
  • Warranty – using non-genuine parts often voids manufacturer warranties, particularly if they go on to cause issues with the rest of the machine.
  • Downtime – genuine parts are guaranteed to fit your machine first time, every time. Maximum uptime and performance.
  • Expertise – only with genuine parts will you get expert advice from the people who designed, tested and manufactured the machine.

Where do You Stand?

It’s worth noting that genuine parts often aren’t as expensive as you might expect. Most manufacturers will price their parts competitively, meaning you can still get a good price: and in some cases, genuine parts can even be cheaper than pirate elements! It’s definitely worth checking with the original manufacturer before even considering going for a non-genuine part, as you may be surprised by how little real replacements actually cost, explains Robert Todd.

For more information or to find out more about genuine parts, give us a call on 01933 652246 or parts@trimaxmowers.co.uk. Alternatively, please visit www.trimaxmowers.co.uk 

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Glyphosate: no change proposed to hazard classification

Glyphosate: no change proposed to hazard classification: RAC has concluded that the existing classifications for glyphosate as a substance that causes serious eye damage and is toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects should be retained.

The committee found that the available scientific evidence did not meet the criteria to classify glyphosate for specific target organ toxicity, or as a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substance.

Glyphosate: no change proposed to hazard classification

Glyphosate: no change proposed to hazard classification

The committee assessed glyphosate’s hazardous properties against criteria in the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation. They considered an extensive volume of scientific data and many hundreds of comments received during consultations when forming their opinion.

The new RAC opinion is consistent with the proposal of the four Member States currently assessing glyphosate: Sweden, France, Hungary and The Netherlands as well as with RAC’s 2017 opinion.

The adopted opinion will be published on ECHA’s website and sent to the European Commission and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) by mid-August. EFSA will carry out its risk assessment of glyphosate, with this expected to be ready in July 2023.

The European Commission will analyse EFSA’s conclusions and the renewal assessment report that was prepared by Sweden, France, Hungary and The Netherlands. The Commission will then put forward a renewal report and a draft regulation to Member States on whether the approval of glyphosate can be renewed or not.

Background

Harmonised classification and labelling

Together with the Commission and the Member States, ECHA implements the harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) process for hazardous substances. The aim is to protect people’s health and the environment from those hazards that matter the most.

Harmonised classification and labelling focuses only on the hazardous properties of the substance: its potential to cause harm. It does not assess the exposure of people or the environment to glyphosate. This will be part of the peer review of the risk assessment done by EFSA.

Committee for Risk Assessment, RAC

The Committee for Risk Assessment is made up of scientists nominated by EU Member States and appointed by ECHA’s Management Board in their personal capacity. The committee has observers from different EU organisations representing civil society, academia and industry. Together, they are responsible for making scientific opinions that are then used by the European Commission and EU Member States when deciding how chemical risks need to be controlled.

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Rain Bird add Dryrun

Rain Bird add Dryrun: Dryrun is the latest addition to Rain Bird’s IQ4 Central Irrigation Control Platform. It enables users to see in advance what performance to expect from an irrigation system. Dryrun’s visualisation capability takes away the need for painstaking manual recalculation of irrigation schedules and programs.

It especially offers major benefits for professionals involved with more complex systems, typically larger commercial applications or sports turf installations, where multiple programs and large numbers of sprinklers are involved. Users can see immediately the effect of making adjustments to irrigation times, watering delays and switching stations on or off.

Rain Bird add Dryrun

Rain Bird add Dryrun

Once the irrigation controller has been programmed and control valves have been set up, along with other features including Cycle + Soak and Flo-Manager, Dryrun can be employed. The predicted performance of the irrigation system can be examined over preset periods of one, three or seven days as well as over a customised timeframe from one to thirty one days.

Dryrun will show in detail how the installation will operate minute-by-minute in that period, including when individual sprinklers will start and stop, their sequence and water usage. It will display maximum flow rates in advance to check that the capacity of the system will not be exceeded any time. It will indicate when particular programs and stations will be functioning, what the flow rates will be for each one and the total water usage. The user will be able to determine in advance how long an entire cycle may take and make any necessary adjustments for water savings and optimum irrigation scheduling.

Dryrun gives the user different forecast display options. These include a simple lists of stations, projected and scheduled start and end times as well as detailed graphs with easy to view click and zoom details of programs, stations, times, flow rates and water usage totals.

With Dryrun, Rain Bird is adding a free of charge off-line tool for users of the versatile browser based IQ4 platform. With today’s focus on water savings and the environment, it will be most valuable to irrigation system designers, contractors and managers.

For more information, contact Peter Longman, Rain Bird Europe, plongman@rainbird.eu  www.rainbird.eu

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Waterscapes keeps Triplets Park pristine

Waterscapes keeps Triplets Park pristine: Waterscapes Limited, the UK’s leading water feature and irrigation specialist, is playing an important role in maintaining the landscaped areas at the Triplets Park and Viaduct development, Kings Cross.

The company provides on-going maintenance of the irrigation system on behalf of the estate’s landscape maintenance company. This includes attending the site weekly during the main season to carry out inspection and preventative maintenance work which ensures the continuing efficient operation of the Rain Bird irrigation system.

Waterscapes keeps Triplets Park pristine

Waterscapes keeps Triplets Park pristine

Designed to create a diverse public realm landscape, Triplets Park features borders with a wide array of plants, shrubs and trees as well as lawns, pathways and seating areas. The landscaping was completed as part of the project which included the regeneration of the original iconic Victorian gasholders, that were moved alongside the Regent’s Canal, and the re-erection of the historic columned triplet frame around a series of apartment buildings.

Waterscapes originally completed the extension of the site-wide irrigation system in several phases. Rain Bird irrigation products were specified to meet the diverse watering requirements of the site. These included flexible XFD surface Dripline for borders and narrow planting areas, 1806 Pop Up Spray Heads and PGA Series Control Valves. These were all connected to an existing Rain Bird ESP-LXD two wire controller with remote access through IQ Central Control.

Triplets Park and the Viaduct areas border the Coal Drops Yard boutique shopping destination and foodie hotspot. The main logistical challenge for Waterscapes was the implementation, timing and coordination of the underground services including pipework and control cables, to enable each area of the development to progress smoothly and on time.

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