Handy partnership with Cramer Tools

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Handy partnership with Cramer Tools: British garden equipment manufacturer Handy is excited to announce a brand-new partnership with Cramer Tools, a specialist in durable battery-powered tools and professional gardening equipment, to deliver its powerful 82V battery technology for emission-free garden care and landscaping to the UK commercial market. 

To facilitate the partnership, Handy has set up a new team dedicated to the Cramer Tool range.

Handy partnership with Cramer Tools

Handy partnership with Cramer Tools

Featuring over 30 cordless professional outdoor power equipment tools, product offerings include a comprehensive and competitive range of handheld equipment including chainsaws, blowers, hedge trimmers, grass trimmers, brush cutters, multi-tools, and power cutters. Walk behind products include, utility carts, lawnmowers up to 61cm (twin blade) and the new Zero Turn ride on mower.

Moving on from the traditional petrol-powered equipment that was previously the only option for gardening and maintenance of large parks and recreational areas, Cramer 82V battery technology delivers all the power needed for commercial equipment, without the negative effects associated with petrol-powered tools.

Featuring ground-breaking technology, the powerful 82V battery system offers market-leading performance, as well as innovative features such as Magnesium components, fleet connectivity, and ultra-high torque motors to rival petrol performance.

Designed to generate less heat and increase efficiency and battery life, which reduces the risk of sudden interruptions caused by overheated cells and motors, ownership and running costs of tools are significantly lowered.

The 82V battery system also offers additional sustainable, environmental, and safety benefits to the user. With no direct emissions of carbon or high-frequency noise, the ergonomic product design and lightweight structure of tools make handling easy in any situation. Furthermore, with no need for petrol, the risk of fuel spillage is eliminated.

Requiring minimal maintenance, the 82V battery system is also interchangeable with other 82V products in the Cramer Tools range such as lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, and chainsaws.

Brian Pattle, UK Cramer Business Development Manager at Handy comments: “Cramer’s powerful 82V battery technology rivals an equivalent 800cc petrol zero turns yet has significantly lower costs, which makes it an attractive option for any professional user or business. It’s an exciting time for us here at Handy and, with a great team in place, we’re really looking forward to showcasing the range and its capabilities at APF Exhibition on the 22-24th September and SALTEX on the 2-3rd November 2022.

The current Cramer product range is distributed exclusively via specialist dealers. We offer our partners full assistance, from in-person support and sales advice to digital support and comprehensive after-sales service”.

To become a Specialist Cramer Dealer or for further information, please visit https://cramertools.com.

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Mega Twister blows in new era

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Mega Twister blows in new era: Buchanan Castle Golf Club, at Drymen, is within touching distance of Loch Lomond. Twenty miles from both Glasgow and Stirling, the parkland course, designed by the legendary James Braid, lies in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands.

At the start of summer, Buchanan Castle’s well known head greenkeeper, Ronnie Myles, retired after 15 years, and his role has been taken up by two joint Head Greenkeepers, Chris Prior and James Macdonald.

Mega Twister blows in new era

Mega Twister blows in new era

Chris and James have been with the club for 3 years and 4 years, respectively. They share a commitment to present the best course they can for members and visitors all year round.

“Communication is key and, so far, we’re into a good system,” said Chris. “We discuss and agree priorities and projects well ahead. Every morning, first thing, we confirm that day’s tasks.”

“We know what the other is working on,” continued James. “When things change, we keep in touch.”

One of their first decisions was the purchase of a Wiedenmann Mega Twister blower from Scottish dealer, Fairways GM at Inchinnan, Renfrew, when their existing blower started to fail. The Mega Twister offers a 390 m³/minute capacity and a 230° swivel action.

Buchanan Castle’s team of five normally cut grass across the whole course on Mondays and Thursdays during the season, using a blower to tidy loose clippings from the surface.

“This blower has everything we were looking for,” said James. “It’s turning circle comes in very handy. Getting in and around greens and bunkers is a whole lot easier. With our earlier blower you had to drive over greens to blow cuttings and debris out of play. This has extra power, in-cab hydraulic controls and easy rotation. You can park up in one spot yet still achieve more. Making fewer tractor movements ultimately is kinder to the turf and quicker.  The Mega Twister has been here less than a fortnight but already we are saving lots of time on the fairways alone.”

The Mega Twister is the second Wiedenmann machine in the club’s fleet.

“Last season, we purchased a Super 500 primarily for leaf collection,” continued Chris. “When you have as many leaves as we do, there comes a point where collecting them is the only way. Last year the old blower blew leaves into sections and the Super 500 lifted them. That made a real difference. Come this autumn when the leaves start to fall, the Mega Twister and the Super 500 combined, will make the whole operation easier and faster still.”

Fairways GM’s Stuart Cameron, said: “The continuous airflow on the Mega Twister is powerful enough to shift leaves and debris effectively across wide areas, even while damp.

“With the hydraulic ram option, the operator in the cab can adjust the nozzle height up and down as well as from side to side, letting you react to conditions. With all that swivel going on there’s no need to back up or stop. The goose neck nozzle which Chris and James chose, provides even more precision.  The support wheels also protect the turf. It’s a topflight blower.”

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Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

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Overmarking accuracy makes the difference: Five minutes into a demo of the Turf Tank One, Haileybury School Grounds Manager, Andy Richards, knew he needed one.

Andy, who has been at the private school for three years, was sceptical about the overmarking ability of the robot, having looked at alternatives over a three-year period. But, the accuracy, quality of the lines and undulation capabilities sold it to him.

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

With 20 sports pitches split between football, rugby and lacrosse to mark and athletics in the summer, Andy’s primary focus was initial marking. During renovations and changeovers between sports, he found his skilled groundsmen were removed from crucial maintenance for up to two weeks.

To combat that, he had to become over reliant on using contractors. This became a costly exercise and was not as flexible as determining your own pitch line-marking schedule.  So, when Andy weighed up the costs for the initial marking against having the accuracy of the Turf Tank One all year round for consistent and regular over-marking, the robot more than justified itself.

“My main concern has always been overmarking because I never thought GPS robots were accurate enough to overmark. So, when we had the demo from Turf Tank, overmarking was the major thing.

“To be honest, because I’d seen so many other GPS markers, either push ones or robots, I was sceptical. But we within five minutes of seeing the Turf Tank in action on the demo, I said I’d buy it because I was so impressed with the quality and precision of the line.

“I’ve used laser markers in the past, and I genuinely thought we’d still use one on our first team rugby and football pitch. But it would be hard for most people to tell the difference between the two, which has been a massive eye opener for me.”

For Andy, utilising the Turf Tank One is also a direct response to the skilled labour shortage in the turf industry, and it was a primary consideration of the school when weighing up their decision.

“Skilled labour is difficult to get, and line marking is a technical job. So, in some ways, that is what got it over the line with the Bursar because we are short staffed, it’s hard to get labour, and it’s hard to get skilled labour.

“To take out one of your most skilled jobs and give it to a robot is almost a no brainer. I’ve got someone now from a different field of expertise, but very keen to learn, and we can now send him out with the robot, and within two hours, he can mark out a running track, a lacrosse pitch, discus, javelin and shotput before break time. And it’s done accurately and perfectly, and it’s just unbelievable because it would have taken one or even two skilled groundsmen until lunchtime. Now I can use their skills and time to improve other areas of our maintenance programme.”

Since receiving their robot in December 2021, Haileybury has seen the full benefit. For example, marking six rugby pitches has gone from taking three people over two days to one person in two hours. Likewise, facilitating a last-minute request for a lacrosse pitch took 15 minutes to line, whereas before, it wouldn’t have happened.

These advantages, along with the service from Turf Tank’s Alex Robinson and Liam Pindred, have led Andy to give some simple advice to anyone considering GPS line marking: “Buy a Turf Tank. I honestly can’t see a downside of it.”

For more information on the Turf Tank One or to have a demonstration contact alex@turftank.co.uk (southern UK) or matt@turftank.co.uk (northern UK).

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