Royal Reesink’s New Partnership

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Royal Reesink’s New Partnership: Royal Reesink has joined forces with Vincent Achten to create TurfTroniq, a company that will develop and deliver the technology for automated steering of Toro mowers to the UK and Ireland.

The collaboration with Vincent, who has more than a decade of experience in robotising mowers, is in response to customer interest for automated steering for Toro. TurfTroniq has developed two types of system, both have been supplied to customers in Europe and ongoing  trials continue: the Assisted Mowing System (AMS) is an advanced mowing aid and the Robotic Mowing System (RMS) is a fully automatic system which enables the machine to mow independently.

Royal Reesink's New Partnership

David Cole, managing director of Reesink Turfcare UK, says: “We’ve watched with interest the progress of this technology so far and it’s ever-evolving. TurfTroniq has developed a real understanding for where GPS control technology is, how it works and what needs to happen to deliver a reliable, safe and quality product to our customers.”

AMS automatically lowers the mower units and follows the pre-programmed mowing lines. All the operator has to do is turn the machine in front of the cutting line and the system takes over. There are several potential benefits to this approach, says David, predominantly that it can be used for training operators and eliminating ‘fairway creep’, raising the standard of the operator, their productivity and enhancing course presentation.

“AMS can be set-up by an experienced operator for a junior member of the team to complete the mowing to an extremely high standard,” David explains. “It gives the operator mowing experience, allows for machine familiarisation and helps with training. The skills of the more experienced operator can then be redeployed to more challenging and technical work rather than time consuming wide area mowing. And because the machine can follow exactly the same route each time, it eliminates ‘fairway creep’ and ensures the definition of the fairway remains the same cut after cut.”

The RMS meanwhile is a fully automatic system to enable the machine to mow independently using 3D camera technology to quickly detect obstacles in its path. David says: “This is a technology some of our customers tell us they are interested in and want to understand more about in terms of its potential place within their own particular maintenance regimes. With a focus on increased productivity through minimal overlap and repetitive mowing results, there’s no doubt a role for it in the turfcare maintenance of tomorrow. We look forward to engaging with customer opinion to understand further what place this emerging technology has for them in a practical sense and that’s where TurfTroniq is right now.”

Over the past several years, the systems have been installed on Toro fairway mowers and have been extensively tested and, according to TurfTroniq, proved to be very reliable. Systems are working in the field and continue to undergo rigorous testing in daily maintenance operations. Both systems are easy to use, and the progress of the machines can be monitored live with any smartphone.

This collaboration to develop GPS mowing technology for Toro mowers with Vincent’s experience supported by Reesink’s distribution network for the UK and Ireland, will ensure that Toro customers will soon be able to benefit from assisted and automated steering. Roon Hylkema, director of Royal Reesink B.V, concludes:” The market is ready for this innovative technology and we are delighted to be able to make it available in the UK and Ireland.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Landform Consultants & Makita Join Forces

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Landform Consultants & Makita Join Forces: The 10th Welcome to Yorkshire garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019, designed by award-winner Mark Gregory, features an authentically built canal with flowing water and genuine canal lock gates. 

A massive volume of water will be circulated by several Makita submersible water pumps that will ensure the towpath, lock keepers lodge and, importantly, RHS Chelsea’s Main Avenue remains safe, dry and disaster-free for the anticipated 157,000 annual visitors and members of the Royal family. 

Landform Consultants & Makita Join Forces

This atmospheric garden is inspired by Yorkshire’s proud history of industry, manufacturing and innovation and the county’s unrivalled natural environment and green spaces.  The working canal has two gates and a bypass sluice system that runs alongside a perennial meadow and the planting will celebrate the rich diversity of native flora typically abundant in Yorkshire. 

“I’m honoured to be involved yet again on the Welcome to Yorkshire’s garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea show,” comments Mark Gregory, the 22-time Gold medal winner and Managing Director of Landform Consultants.  “The scale of this project is huge and complex but, as last year, I hope it will be effortless and flow beautifully, just as the canals did centuries ago.”  Mark has taken inspiration for his design from a narrow canal in Huddersfield and has enjoyed the adventures and discoveries of recreating this historic vista.  This will be the 99th garden Mark has worked on at this prestigious, internationally renowned show. 

No less than ten Makita PF1110 submersible pumps will push the flow of water in the Welcome to Yorkshire garden.  Each pump will deliver a minimum of 250 litres of water per minute from a submersion depth of 5m, to a max head height of 10m.  These pumps have a stainless steel body making them suitable for draining muddy water, wells and tanks and are also ideal for lifting water for irrigation.  Each pump weighs 7kg, has an input wattage of 1100w and is available in 240V only. 

“Submersible pumps are among the most efficient options available when it is necessary to pump liquid from a large body of water,” says Mark Earles, Business Development Manager OPE, Makita UK.  “Whereas most water pumps are positioned outside a body of water and pull water to the surface, submersible pumps are submerged within the water and push water to the surface.  Our pumps will do a great job pushing almost 150,000 litres of water per hour throughout the duration of the five-day Show in what we hope will be another huge success for Landform Consultants.”

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Polaris Release Ranger Stories

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Polaris Release Ranger Stories: The Polaris RANGER is one of the bestselling utility side-by-sides across the globe and has earned its reputation as the ultimate utility vehicle with over one million vehicles built to date.

To showcase the versatility of the RANGER and the diversity of its customers, Polaris have embarked on a journey across Europe, Middle East and Africa to discover and film how customers are using the Polaris RANGER in their day-to-day lives. The initiative, called Ranger Stories, is set to demonstrate the many ways in which the RANGER line-up is servicing customer lives worldwide, over and above utility use.

Polaris Release Ranger Stories

Episode 1 – Norway

Life can be tough for a resident in the northernmost part of Norway and getting around can be very difficult, although not for Sven – a Polaris RANGER 570 owner – who uses the off-road vehicle to carry on with his day-to-day life, even in the harshest conditions.

Kicking off the first of the Ranger Stories series, Polaris filmed with a customer in Alta, Norway, who uses his Ranger 570 for daily travel when conditions are too treacherous for a conventional car. Sven lives in Alta, a town known for its spectacular views of the Northern Lights and home to the beautiful Sorrisniva Ice Hotel, which is on the northern coast of Norway and only around 1,400 miles from the North Pole. The winter conditions can be extreme; temperatures can drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius and the landscape can be completely covered in deep snow in every direction.

With its dependable 44 HP Prostar® engine, the RANGER not only delivers reliability when it’s needed the most, but also has excellent fuel efficiency and ease of maintenance for everyday use. For driving in thick snow and ice, the RANGER 570 has on-demand all-wheel drive that means all four wheels engage automatically when the vehicle needs more forward traction and reverts back to 2WD when it doesn’t. Paired with handy accessories like the built-in winch mount, easy-to-install Lock & Ride Glacier Plow system, and weatherproof Pro Shield Cab system to keep the elements out, the RANGER is the ideal vehicle for an unforgiving climate like Norway.

Catch the first episode of RANGER Stories in Norway across Polaris Off-Road social media channels, or watch and download the video here.

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Toro’s World Cup Prep

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Toro’s World Cup Prep: As one of just ten venues in the country selected for the 12th ICC Cricket World Cup next year, Somerset County Cricket Club is relying on Toro to ensure its outfield is ready for the eyes of the cricketing world upon it.

The club, based in Taunton, is in good company as a World Cup host with Lord’s and The Oval, but as one of the smallest and newest in the line-up, the benchmark is high, says head groundsman Simon Lee.

“Our trajectory of growth over the last five years has been huge. As part of our categorisation in to group B we received some funding so for the first time in 100 years we could improve our drainage system. This completely changed the way the outfield grew. What had previously been more like a recreational surface was suddenly more like a sports surface, with thicker, denser grass.

“This has meant a lot more work in terms of cutting and maintaining the area. We’d been using a 20-year old Toro Reelmaster 2300-D, and while that machine has been a fantastic workhorse and we’d never had a problem with it, the time had come to upgrade to a newer model to help cope with the change in the turf’s characteristics.”

A demo, organised by Devon Garden Machinery, saw Simon and the team trial a seven-year old Toro Reelmaster 3100-D, which, says Simon, “set the bar high for everything else that followed.”

He continues: “Whatever machine followed the RM2300-D had its work cut out. We think so highly of it that if its successor is even half as good as it’s been, that will be enough”. And it’s so far so good with the new Toro RM3100-D the club ultimately opted for. Only time will tell if its longevity matches up to the formidable RM2300-D, but in terms of performance, Simon is impressed.

“Mechanically its all the same – an engine and bottom blade – but my goodness the way it chews effortlessly through the grass is really impressive. It takes two and a half hours to cut five acres. Plus, by opting for Toro again, we have the added benefit of the reassurance of having a quality product, one that will last for years, giving us excellent value for money.

With three international matches between New Zealand and Afghanistan, Australia and Pakistan and West Indies and Bangladesh to look forward to it in June 2019, it really has been an eventful five years for the club, with the future everything to play for. Simon concludes: “Being chosen as a World Cup venue puts us on a level playing field with some of the best sporting venues in the country, and it’s incredibly important we present at our best. We feel confident we can do that, especially with Toro looking after the grounds.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Jacobsen And E-Z-GO At Forefront Of Battery Power

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Jacobsen And E-Z-GO At Forefront Of Battery Power: Jacobsen and E-Z-GO have been at the forefront of battery powered equipment in the turf maintenance and golf sector for many years, from the E-Z-GO RXV golf cars to the Jacobsen Eclipse 322. Now, E-Z-GO has introduced a range of ELiTE vehicles, activated by Samsung SDI lithium technology, offering zero-maintenance batteries with a five-year unlimited amp-hour warranty and increased energy efficiency.

The E-Z-GO ELiTE vehicles are a case in point to illustrate how battery power has evolved and the benefits it can bring. Launched into the UK market at the beginning of 2017 it has represented a major step forward in golf car technology delivering exceptional value to golf course operators.

New ELiTE Series vehicles are powered by hundreds of Samsung SDI lithium cells that are loaded into a single battery pack. The battery pack is controlled by an advanced Battery Management System that monitors efficiency, temperature, state of charge and the health of the batteries. These batteries are used to safely and reliably power electric cars, e-scooters, power tools and many other electrically powered vehicles, equipment and appliances.

The vehicles are powered by zero-maintenance lithium batteries that don’t require watering, terminal post checkups and cleaning like traditional lead acid batteries do. This is good news for businesses and individuals operating golf cars, as there is less downtime and maintenance to be carried out on the vehicles.

Charging time is significantly reduced, and ELiTE vehicles allow courses to “opportunity charge,” plugging vehicles in for quick charging sessions between rounds that can rapidly restore significant levels of energy to the battery system, as opposed to the lengthy recharge cycles required by lead-acid batteries.

The batteries in ELiTE vehicles have also been developed to be lighter than traditional lead acid batteries. ELiTE Series vehicles batteries are half the size and a fraction of the weight of lead-acid batteries, with the aim of reducing turf damage and soil compaction due to vehicle weight.

Jacobsen and E-Z-GO are brands under the umbrella of Textron Specialized Vehicles, so when Jacobsen began development of its latest diesel-electric hybrid and all-electric greens mower, the Eclipse 322, it was a sensible move to consult the design engineers at E-Z-GO. Much of the technology in the battery-powered Eclipse 322 is taken from the E-Z-GO RXV, another stalwart machine in the evolution of battery powered equipment. The automatic braking system and the main drive axle of the Jacobsen Eclipse 322 are shared with the RXV in particular.

All the systems and functions on the Eclipse are powered by electricity, the only difference is whether the electricity is produced ‘on the go’ as with the diesel-electric hybrid machine or stored in a battery pack as on the all-electric version.

Once you use electricity to power the machine, you can then use reasonably sophisticated electronics to control the functions on the machine. On the Eclipse the transport speed between greens can be set, as can the cutting speed when on the green; this can be locked in by the course manager using a PIN passcode, which cannot be overridden by the operator. 

Again, using electronic control, the steering in transport mode reacts much the same as a car, but when cutting mode is engaged, the ratio changes and becomes more responsive allowing the operator precise control.

However, the major benefit is the machine’s ability to control the number of cuts per metre when mowing. This ability to precisely control the frequency of cut (FOC) is unique to this mower and, like the transport and mowing speed control, it can be locked in by the course manager ensuring that every green is cut to exactly the same specification.

This is achieved because it is now possible, for the first time on a ride-on mower to control the relationship between reel speed and the forward movement of the mower. On a standard hydraulic-powered greens mower, the reels rotate at approximately 2000 rpm. The faster you move across the green, the cuts per metre reduce; conversely the slower you move, the number of cuts per metre increase, because the reels are spinning at a constant rate.

Now, with the reel motors and traction motors electrically driven, it is possible using electronic control, to slow the reels as the machine’s speed decreases and then increase reel speed as the speed across the green increases, therefore maintaining the number of cuts per metre.

Why is this important? It means that for the first time the course manager can guarantee his members that each and every green will be cut to exactly the same specification, ensuring consistency across all 18 putting surfaces.

The Eclipse also features individual reel lift and lower; the electric lift arms can be actuated individually, particularly useful when alternating the width of the clean up pass. As battery technology develops in the car industry, it will eventually cascade down into the turfcare sector and perhaps we’ll see some significant new developments in the way we maintain our outdoor environment.

To find out your local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer, visit: www.ransomesjacobsen.com

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