Makita’s Powered Wheelbarrow Leads To Medals

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Makita’s Powered Wheelbarrow Leads To Medals: The Makita 18v LXT Brushless power-assisted wheelbarrow has taken some of the back-breaking labour out of Landform Consultants inspirational garden builds at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018.

Mark Gregory, managing director of award winning Landform Consultants Limited, together with his talented team, designed The Welcome to Yorkshire Garden in Main Avenue.  It was justifiably awarded the Gold & Best Construction medals as well as winning the People’s Choice Award.  Landform also designed and constructed The Seedlip Garden in the Space to Grow area of the Show which was awarded a cosseted Gold medal.

Makita's Powered Wheelbarrow Leads To Medals

“Chelsea garden show builds are always an enjoyable challenge and we take them extremely seriously so any help from Makita is very welcome,” says Mark Gregory, now a twentyone-time Gold medal winner.  “This labour-saving powered wheelbarrow has helped to reduce much of the pushing of a fully laden wheelbarrow.  This is a very impressive piece of kit and a fine match for the greatest flower show anywhere in the world.”

Designed principally to reduce the physical demands in the construction industry the new Makita DCU180Z is proving popular in many operating fields including commercial gardens.  Capable of carrying 130kg of blocks on the tubular frame, or similar amount of ballast in the barrow bin option, this power-assisted wheelbarrow has the Brushless motor integrated into the front wheel to ensure the maximum possible traction to the heavily ribbed agri-tyre.  This barrow has two forward speeds: Hi up to 3.5 km/h, Lo 1.5 km/h; powered reverse of 1.0 km/h and will climb a 12° maximum incline.  Main braking is provided by the front disc brake controlled by the hand lever on the steering handles. The wheelbarrow weighs just 32.5kg, is ready to work with handles that can be adjusted to three height levels for operator comfort and also fold for easy storage.  The detachable rear trailing wheels with kick down brake can be adjusted from a width of 480mm to 760mm which further improves stability and reduces operator effort.

The Welcome to Yorkshire Garden, sponsored by Welcome to Yorkshire, is inspired by the picturesque Yorkshire Dales, world famous for its dry stone walls, buttercup meadows, wild woodland, tumbling becks and artisan Wensleydale cheeses.  The Landform team made cheese in the stone dairy during the show and served it in the traditional Yorkshire way – on fruit bread.  “This is a celebration of Yorkshire’s stunning scenery and it is hoped that the garden will inspire visitors to experience Yorkshire’s captivating and serene beauty first hand,” continues Mark.  “And we are proud to have been awarded Best Construction too.  After breakdown everything in the garden will either go to charity, be recycled or reinstated, and even taken back to Yorkshire.”

The Seedlip Garden, designed by Landform’s senior designer Dr Catherine Macdonald, is sponsored by Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit.  Inspired by the humble pea the garden was a first for Chelsea Flower Show as all the plants were from just one family – the pea family. “It’s a wonderful feeling to be awarded Gold for something I thoroughly love doing, and it’s even more special when you think the design is centred around the humble pea,” comments Catherine.

Compatible with any of the Makita 18v LXT Lithium-Ion batteries used to power Britain’s number 1 professional power tool range, the new Makita DCU180Z power-assisted wheelbarrow has soft start to ease the load away; constant speed control; twin LED driving lights and locking brake lever for maximum site safety.  For site security an individual ignition lock key is provided.  Previous walk-behind powered site platforms can cost several thousand pounds but the new Makita powered wheelbarrow will prove particularly attractive in relation to price competitiveness and rugged performance.

The DCU180Z is a body only machine which is available with a choice of optional accessories which can include the pipe frame set or bucket frame option.

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John Deere At Flower Show

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John Deere At Flower Show: As well as a show garden celebrating 100 years since the company entered the tractor business, John Deere has a trade stand at RHS Chatsworth showing its latest range of ride-on, robotic and walk behind lawn mowers and a Gator utility vehicle.

The new X100 Series of lawn tractors features six models designed for lawns of 3,000 to 6000m2. This range of robust and versatile mowers offers a choice of deck widths from 92 to 122cm and either side discharge or rear discharge and collection. A high capacity 300-litre collector means fewer stops and faster work and the new Side-by-Side pedals allow the operator to control direction and speed without raising a foot. Adjusting the height of cut is easy: simply move the lever that’s conveniently located alongside the seat. Prices for the X100 Series start at £2329 incl VAT.

John Deere At Flower Show

New ZTrak ride-on mowers

Three new models join the line-up for 2018: the Z345M and the Z345R both come with a 107cm deck and the Z535M has a larger 122cm deck. The Z345M is suitable for areas of grass up to 8000m2 (about 2 acres); the more powerful Z345R and Z535M are for larger areas. ZTrak zero-turn mowers deliver fast efficient mowing and exceptional manoeuvrability using easy to operate control levers. Prices start at £3977 incl VAT.

Walk-behind mowers

John Deere’s extensive line-up of walk-behind mowers offers a wide selection of size, power and type, all designed for top performance and reliability. Cutting widths range from 40cm up to 54cm with a choice of petrol, electric and battery powered models plus the option to collect clippings or to mulch. Prices start at £314 incl VAT.

TANGO E5 Series II robotic mower

John Deere’s TANGO E5 Series II robotic mower features a big display screen and
smart navigation technology; it’s simple to set up and produces consistently excellent
results. TANGO’s powerful Lithium-Ion battery enables it to cover grass areas up to 2200m2 (about half an acre), mowing in a random pattern within an easily installed concealed boundary wire. There’s no noise and no mess – just an effortlessly perfect lawn. Price £2130 incl VAT.

XUV 865M Gator utility vehicle

Fun to drive and practical to use, John Deere Gators have earned a reputation as dependable and reliable work vehicles. The latest additions to the Gator family are the brand new petrol XUV 835M and diesel XUV 865M models. The 54hp XUV 835M and 23hp 865M offer power steering, a CVT transmission and a top speed of 37 or 31mph (60 or 50kph) respectively, plus a tight turning circle and optimal weight distribution for superior off-road performance.

The versatile and durable cargo box has a load capacity of 454kg, while towing capacity has been increased by a third to 907kg and total payload capacity is 680kg.
There’s ample room for both driver and passengers. An enclosed cab and efficient heating system maximise year-round comfort and productivity. For extra versatility, these Gators can be fitted with a wide range of over 90 attachments from snow blades to winches, and feature a large 42-litre fuel tank to keep the vehicle running longer between fill-ups.

100 years of tractors

Blacksmith John Deere founded the company that bears his name in 1837 in Illinois USA but it was 1918 when the company entered the tractor business with the 25hp Waterloo Boy. A century of tractor innovation has followed, including the launch in 1963 of the company’s first lawn tractor, the 7hp 110, drawing on the experience and technology of its larger agricultural cousins. John Deere has grown to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural, turf and lawn and garden equipment with an outstanding reputation for quality and reliability.

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.com

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SALTEX Registration Open

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SALTEX Registration Open: Event organisers have announced that visitor registration for SALTEX 2018 is now officially open at www.iogsaltex.com.

SALTEX 2018, Europe’s largest annual event for groundscare professionals, takes place at the NEC, Birmingham, on 31 October and 1 November and visitors can now register their attendance for free via the newly-designed website.

SALTEX Registration Open

The new website has been built to provide the ultimate user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality throughout, allowing both visitors and exhibitors to access all the information they need in preparation for SALTEX 2018.

The site is compatible with many browsers and all mobile devices meaning that visitors and exhibitors alike will have easy access to the site and stay informed with the latest show news and exhibitor event previews. With over 230 exhibitors signed up to date, visitors to the website will see an extensive exhibitor list complete with individual profiles – each containing relevant information on products, services and show offers.

SALTEX Registration Open

Visitors will also be able to find out more about new and exciting show attractions as well as popular features such as Learning LIVE – SALTEX’s free and all-encompassing education programme; Outdoor demonstrations – which take place directly outside the SALTEX halls 6, 7 and 8; the SALTEX College Cup – a national student-led sports-turf challenge; Pathology & Soil Science LIVE – allowing visitors to look in detail at the symptoms of some common turfgrass fungal disease problems; Ask the Expert – a team of 10 IOG regional pitch advisors providing free pitch care advice; the Job Clinic –  a chance to receive specific career advice and find out all the latest job opportunities from industry expert Frank Newberry, and the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) 10th annual Industry Awards celebration.

SALTEX exhibitors will notice some improvements to the portal, which is an indispensable tool for maximising event presence and making connections with potential customers in advance of the show. All of the exhibitor forms, such as the Health and Safety Declaration and the Risk Assessment Form, have now all been digitalised, meaning that exhibitors can fill out the relevant forms online without having to print them off.

Visitors can register to attend SALTEX via the website – www.iogsaltex.com. Visitors will receive a confirmation email with their badge to print and take along to the show, to gain free entry.

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OARS PS Used At Le Golf National

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OARS PS Used At Le Golf National: AQUA-AID EU’s OARS Penetrating Surfactant (OARS PS) has been extensively used at Le Golf National as the club in Paris gets ready for the 2018 HNA Open de France and the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Golf courses and estates manager, Alejandro Reyes, was appointed to his position in 2013 and was tasked with creating a Ryder Cup landscape using the 7,331 yards of The Albatros course, and extensive product testing was carried out to find the best programme possible.

OARS PS Used At Le Golf National

Following recommendations from those within the industry Alejandro was supplied by his local dealer Jacques Laborier of Celtic France and tested the OARS PS for himself and has been using it ever since as part of a programme that had the course in spectacular championship condition through 2017.

“I first heard about OARS PS in Spain, but I didn’t use it until I came to Le Golf National,” Alejandro said. “I’d had good feedback about OARS PS from different colleagues and had quite few telling me to test it because it was working very well for them.

“With OARS PS we saw a reduction in dry patches and what I really liked the most was that I had the feeling, and still have the feeling, that it works and the water moves better throughout the profile, and for me, that’s the key.

“We use it every other week all around the course. We have two kinds of tank mix with a pure foliar, so we have all the package we need to give to the plant. Then on the alternate weeks to that, we are spraying an irrigated mix where we are using bio stimulants that we are mixing with the OARS PS.

“We have very little issues with dry spot on the course now but if we do we’ll use OARS Pellets for hand watering to fix local dry spots.

“We’ve been testing many different products and 2017 was the last year for us to test anything, and it was a very good year for us when it came to maintaining the golf course. We were very happy with the condition, and how it was looking at the end of September was awesome. I have the confidence that we had found the winning formula and we need to stay with it, to maintain continuity of the condition of the course. We had a great 2017 HNA Open de France and really within this year it’s just about replicating those standards.”

OARS PS is a combination of the university researched, field proven and patented organic acid redistribution system, OARS, and multi-branched penetrant chemistry. OARS PS controls soil water repellency while providing uniform soil moisture for a longer period of time, providing a firm, fast surface.

The OARS pellets used at Le Golf National to combat localised dry spots work as a corrective approach and remove the build-up of organic acids that coat the surface of sand particles, which cause water repellence and localised dry spot conditions.

For AQUA-AID EU managing director Hans de Kort, having the opportunity to work with Alejandro alongside distributors Celtic France is a fantastic chance to see OARS PS in use.

“It is great to have professionals like Alejandro in the industry,” he said. “When it comes to products like surfactants you have to be able to judge it on its functionality, and Alejandro has done that with great success.

“We are very proud to support the green-keeping staff at Le Golf National in the lead up to this year’s golf events and like all golf fans we look forward to watching the 2018 Ryder Cup in September.”

Whilst Le Golf National, owned by the French Golf Federation, is no stranger to hosting major tournaments with 25 French Opens already played on the course since 1991, the scale of the Ryder Cup challenge is massive. The regular team of 30 increases to 80 for a French Open but for the Ryder Cup it will grow to 180 with the full support of Official Ryder Cup Supplier Ransomes Jacobson.

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Amenity Forum Speakers Named

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Amenity Forum Speakers Named: The Forum has recently opened for booking for its popular annual conference and exhibition. This year it will be held once again at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton upon Trent, on Tuesday, October 9th. The conference will be entitled ‘Change, challenge and opportunity’.

Once again it has an impressive range of speakers and the full programme can be found at www.amenityforum.co.uk The speakers include Professor Michael Eddleston from the University of Edinburgh who is set to provide an entertaining and informative presentation on Human Health issues and Francesca Baylis from Royal Holloway who will report on her ongoing research into biological control for weed, pest and disease control.

Amenity Forum Speakers Named

There will be updates on policy matters from senior staff from both the Environment Agency and the Chemicals Regulation Directorate. These will be followed by a series of leading speakers looking at the current issues within their own areas of amenity. During the conference category winners for the Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year Awards will be announced.

To book your place, contact Admin@amenityforum.net Delegate places are competitively priced thanks to our supporters who will be exhibiting throughout the event. For non-members, the rate is £85 + VAT or £75 + VAT if you book before September 1st. Member organisations receive a £10 discount on the above rates.

Professor John Moverley, Independent Chairman of the Amenity Forum, said ‘’This conference has attracted an enviable reputation for the quality of its speakers and the opportunity to network with the key people in our sector. Early bookings are recommended.”

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