Toro Keeps The Green Flag Flying

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Toro Keeps The Green flag Flying: Nottingham Trent University invests in Toro to maintain Green Flag status

Green Flag status was granted to Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton and Brackenhurst campuses six years ago, and today each site boasts a brand new Toro CT2240 mower to maintain amenity areas and uphold this prestigious reputation.

The 20-year-old Green Flag Award Scheme recognises and rewards well-managed, publicly accessible green spaces, setting an international benchmark for their management. A Green Flag awarded site is a welcoming, well-maintained place, which draws people in.

Toro Keeps The Green Flag Flying

Landscape services coordinator Alan Horgan says: “We worked hard to achieve Green Flag status so we have to ensure we always equip our team with the best machines possible to continually meet this standard.”

So when those at Nottingham Trent chose Toro for the first time, it came down to one simple reason, explains Alan: “We invested in the Toros because we knew they would help us meet the high standards visitors and students have come to expect. This became clear when the CT2240s performed best during a demo, convincing me and my team that the machines would be the right investment for the future of our campuses.”

The CT2240 compact cylinder mower, which combines all the benefits of Toro’s CT2120 and 2140 in one machine, is equipped with Mk3 200mm cutting units in numerous blade configurations, while independent cutter head lift provides flexibility to suit the mowing environment and ensure productivity remains at an optimum.

Nottingham Trent’s two machines are playing a large role in the day-to-day maintenance of both of sites, says Alan: “Ever since they’ve been put to action, they’ve done exactly as promised by their specs and met the needs of the University.

“The operatives speak highly of the new Toros’ usability too. The comfort of my team is really important; the machines are used on a daily basis and happy operatives will always result in better productivity.”

Overall, Alan considers his first Toro purchase a positive one: “We bought the machines through [Toro dealer] PS Marsden, who we have worked with for many years, and they provided excellent customer service as always. Throughout the deal we also had the help of Reesink’s Stuart Jeffs, who was professional and very accommodating of any questions.”

He concludes: “We’ve had recommendations from other Toro users and now we can see why. Given how our machines have performed so far, combined with our hard-working grounds team, we are confident that our Green Flag status will fly high at Clifton and Brackenhurst Campus for years to come.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Toro Improves Condition Of Turf At Grimsthorpe Castle

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Toro Improves Condition And Appearance Of Turf At Grimsthorpe Castle: First time Toro customer, Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire, has purchased a Groundsmaster 4300-D rotary mower to tend the formal gardens. An improvement in the condition and appearance of the turf within the gardens of the 3000-acre estate is already evident.

From Easter to September, the 65 acre gardens are open to the public and with footfall increasing so too are the horticultural standards.

Toro Improves Condition Of Turf At Grimsthorpe Castle

Jim Handley, head gardener, explains: “One of my main challenges after accepting the position at Grimsthorpe was to raise the horticultural standards of the gardens. Our expansive lawns are a major attraction for our visitors, especially those with young families, and it’s my responsibility to provide them with the best turf possible to enjoy their visit.

“Soon after arriving at Grimsthorpe I realised that with our heavy clay soil, time constraints and natural mix of turf species, our cylinder mower was struggling to keep the turf in good condition. With little to no seasonal lawn maintenance being carried out previously, I have been formulating plans to begin rejuvenating our turf over a number of years. The first step was to replace our cylinder with a rotary mower to help alleviate some of the problems we were having.”

With it established that a rotary mower was needed to help with the regeneration and improvement of the turf, why a Toro? Jim says: “This is our first Toro mower, chosen simply because out of all the machines we looked at, the Groundsmaster 4300-D was the most suited. Its performance and comfort was unsurpassed and the ease of height adjustment and back up service presented was very good and sealed the deal.”

A rotary mower is favoured for its ability to tackle longer, thicker grass and terrain with contours and undulations with ease. Jim says: “By switching to a rotary mower we have eliminated some of the previous issues we were having. It’s comfortable with the conditions of the ground and even if we miss a day cutting, it handles the longer grass easily, cutting it right back down again with no problem. Under those conditions the cylinder mower tended to roll the grass, which wasn’t helping the plant’s health or appearance. The rotary is helping regenerate our turf, ensuring a good quality cut, resulting with lush and green lawns.”

The GM4300-D is, says Reesink Turfcare’s Stewart Jeffs, incredibly productive with a mowing capacity of 5.4 acres an hour, but its lightweight design means less compaction. This is an especially important consideration for clay soil which is prone to compact.

Jim who has been working at the castle for five years and has a team of four gardeners and groundsman, says the job of raising the standard of the gardens has been made easier since the arrival of the Toro GM4300-D. “We have a lengthy programme of rejuvenation and ongoing maintenance to get our lawns to a good standard, the Toro is a fine addition to our armoury to help make this happen.”

And we’re delighted to hear it’s in good time for the castle which for the first time will be opening in October half-term for visitors to enjoy.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Modified Flail Raises Performance Levels

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Modified Flail Raises Performance Levels: Flail Manufacturer Muthing have launched a wheeled version of their out-front MU-FM flail. Simon Richard, UK Agent for the Muthing range says, “When compared with a cylinder mower alternative, the flail option’s ability to cut longer and wetter grass more efficiently has long been well established.

Manoeuvrability has always been the negative to using a flail mower but Muthing’s new development, where the conventional rear roller is replaced with four wheels, has taken performance to a new level. Client testing feedback confirms a marked increase in both manoeuvrability and also quality of cut, along verges and around flower beds and trees.

Modified flail raises performance levels:

Dougie Fox from East Lothian Council’s Landscape and Countryside Department says, “due to changes in the way certain areas have to be maintained, using a flail mower is the ideal solution. The Muthing MU-FM-4 wheel, on our John Deere’s allows us to cut longer, wetter growth. Manoeuvrability is superior to other products in the market and the end result is a more easily maintained area with a better visual finish”

Simon continues “Highway and embankment maintenance has been at the fore-front of public expenditure cuts and equipment suppliers need to react to these changes. Local authority ability to achieve the two objectives of delivering cut quality at less frequent intervals will be increased by raising the level of flails mowers, as a percentage of ground care machinery stock. Rotary and Flail mowers also generally cost less to purchase, and maintain”

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Makita Adds Pin Nailer, Multi-Cutter And Fan To 10.8V CXT Range

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Makita Adds Pin Nailer, Multi-Cutter And Fan To 10.8V CXT Range

  • Pin Nailer fires 23 gauge, 15, 18, 25, 30 and 35mm nails
  • Rotary Multi Cutter for use on carpet, cardboard and some plastics
  • 180mm Fan that runs for 10 hours on 4.0Ah Li-ion battery

Makita has added three new tools to the increasingly popular 10.8v CXT range in which the compact size of these high performance tools is proving valuable for confined space operations.

Makita Adds Pin Nailer, Multi-Cutter And Fan To 10.8V CXT Range

The new Makita PT354 CXT Pin Nailer can fire five alternative lengths of 23 gauge (0.6mm) nails.  The magazine will hold 100 pieces of either 15, 18, 25, 30 or 35mm long nails. Key features included in this compact and lightweight 2kg nailer include simple depth adjustment, anti-dry-fire mechanism, high visibility nose tip, low rebound mechanism for easier long pin nailing, trigger lock and LED job light.  The PT354 is available as a body only machine.

The Makita CP100D CXT Multi Cutter has an automatic self-sharpening rotary blade that runs up to 300 rpm and has a 6mm cutting capacity. Suitable for cutting a range of materials including: carpet, cardboard, vinyl and lino flooring, artificial grass, roofing felt, fibre-glass rendering mesh, damp-proof course, weed control membrane, tarpaulin, pallet strapping, various plastics and more.  The slim, ergonomic soft-grip handle gives very accurate machine control and the steel base plate slides smoothly over the material.  The CP100D CXT Multi Cutter is available as body only or comes complete with a 4.0Ah battery, charger and tool bag.

The new Makita CF100D CXT portable, 180mm fan has three speed settings, giving a maximum air speed of 180 m/min in the highest setting, then 150 m/min and 120 m/min in the medium and low settings respectively, with corresponding run times when powered by the Makita 4.0Ah 10.8v Li-ion battery of 275 mins, 380 mins and 630 mins.  The fan head can be adjusted up and down, and to left and right.  This unit has a wall hanging hook, tripod mounting and wall mounting fitting.  An AC adaptor is included to enable mains operation.  This high performance fan is available as a body only model.

For more news and product information about Makita UK please visit www.makitauk.com.

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Mulchrone Brothers Makes Impact With Kubota UK

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Mulchrone Brothers makes impact in groundcare market with Kubota UK: Mulchrone Brothers Ltd is gaining significant traction in the West Ireland groundcare market following the recent extension of its partnership with industry-leading manufacturer, Kubota UK.

Over the last 40 years, the family dealership has been an established name throughout the mid-western counties of Ireland, renowned for providing first-class machinery and aftersales support to both the domestic and professional markets. Having supplied Kubota’s agricultural solutions for 14 years, it was an obvious step for the dealership to start offering groundcare machinery following an increase in customer demand.

Mulchrone Brothers Makes Impact With Kubota UK

Speaking of the partnership, Dominic Mulchrone, Co-Owner of Mulchrone Brothers Ltd, said: “Continuously adapting to the ever-changing requirements of our customers, whether they may be local authority or private farmers, is crucial to our success. Having supplied Kubota’s wide range of agricultural machinery for many years, we know first hand the durability, reliability and sustainability that its vehicles offer.”

Regional customers can now purchase a range of Kubota’s groundcare machinery including the L Series, B Series and STW Series compact tractors, along with the RTV range.

Kubota’s high-powered GR1600 ride-on mower has already become a best seller for the dealership due to its manoeuvrability and reliability, along with its G2120 counterpart, together with the professional G/F Series range.

Adrian Langmead, Groundcare Business Development Manager for Kubota UK, said: “This announcement is all about strengthening our product and service offering in this key region. Kubota’s partnership with Mulchrone Brothers goes back nearly 14 years based on the quality and performance of our machines and the first class service Dominic, Joe and their staff provide. It’s an exciting development and one which we are delighted to announce to the market.”

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

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