Etesia Launch Bahia Joyride

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Etesia launch Bahia Joyride. Etesia UK has announced the launch of the Bahia Joyride – a unique ride-on mower controlled by a joystick or via GPS for autonomous operation.

Etesia Launch Bahia Joyride

Working in partnership with FeBroLift GmbH, the Bahia Joyride is operated exclusively by a joystick: some of its features, such as automatic emptying of the grass box (optional) or start/stop of the machine and cutting deck controls are all controlled from the central joystick control unit.

The joystick control can be installed on the right or left hand side of the machine ensuring that the ride-on mower can be used by people with reduced mobility and also by experienced professionals.

Les Malin, operations director of Etesia UK explains: “We started from a standard Bahia with a Briggs & Stratton, Kawasaki or Honda engine on which we installed a joystick control as well as a servo motor for the steering and another servomotor for the forward drive, which enables users to control the machine with a simple joystick with all the controls within easy reach: blade clutch, initialisation to start and authorisation of mowing in reverse.”

The functions are simple:

  • A steering control to go left or right;
  • A steering control to go forward or backward;
  • Starting the blades is located at the front of the joystick with a short press to turn on or off;
  • An initialization button to calibrate the joystick when the machine is started;
  • Mowing permission in reverse, to force the blades into operation when moving backwards with the machine.

The Etesia Joyride retains all of the features of a standard Bahia model. The compact design is ideal for multi-tasking and easily adapts to every terrain, every grass cutting situation and every task. The pocket-size cut and collect mower, at just 0.82m wide and 1.98 m long, features an incredibly tight turning circle and is able to nip into every nook and cranny as well as being able to be easily transported in the back of a van or on the back of a trailer.

All engine variants of the Etesia Bahia are available for the modular specification.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk

Cub Cadet’s Infinicut™ for Essex County Cricket Ground

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 Cub Cadet’s Infinicut™ for Essex County Cricket Ground. After 20 years of service the Essex County Ground in Chelmsford decided it was time to replace their existing mower fleet. 

Cub Cadet’s Infinicut™ for Essex County Cricket Ground

Head Groundsman at the club, Stuart Kerrison, wanted something ‘technologically advanced’ and, after some research and some recommendations from trusted industry colleagues, decided the Infinicut™ mowers from Cub Cadet were the smart choice.

As the ground is surrounded by houses, the environmental benefits offered by the Infinicut™ was one of the first things that drew Stuart’s attention.  “In the main mower design hasn’t changed in forty years,” explained Stuart.  “Petrol driven types prevail along with their noxious fumes as they’re not fitted with catalytic convertors.  Every mow means you’re chucking out carcinogenic fumes along with high levels of noise and vibration.  With the all-electric Infinicut™ they charge on a trickle feed overnight, with no petrol expenses and no nasty fumes emitted into the air.  Running these mowers purely on the battery would all but eliminate the noise we produce when mowing.”

What also drew Stuart towards the Infinicut™ was the range of cassettes available to carry out a host of maintenance procedures as well as the superior cut that the unit produced.  They’d made their minds up but were then lucky enough to receive some additional funding from the ECB to enable them to purchase a fleet.  In early 2017, they took delivery of one 34” Infinicut™ mower for use on the outfields and two 22” models for the squares along with some ATT SMARTUltraGroomer cassettes.

Stuart again, “With the Infinicut 22”, apart from cutting, we’ve been using the SMARTUltraGroomer and rotating brush set-up on the squares.  When you run over it it doesn’t look like you’ve done anything but the box is full of debris – it’s a fantastic piece of kit, leaving a tidy finish without being too aggressive.  We’ve already received positive feedback from players and umpires alike on the ground condition so intend to use the SMARTUltraGroomer cassette once a week to keep the square performing at its best.”

Meanwhile the benefits of using the 34” Infinicut™ on the outfield are also becoming apparent. “Though slightly smaller than our previous mower,” says Stuart, “the speed of this unit means the time it’s taking to mow hasn’t changed much at all. It’s much easier to control and takes the undulations we have easily in its stride. It’s also about half the weight so this has really helped to alleviate compaction.”

Final word from Stuart, “Getting this kit has really helped to bring our mowing and maintenance practices into the 21st century. With the Infinicut™ there’s very little to service – the batteries take care of themselves – and this, together with the environmental benefits and of course the quality results, means they just tick all the boxes. They’re the first mowers we’ve purchased for 20 years and expect it to be another 20 before we’ll buy again!”

STM-SCAG V-Ride Earns Its Stripes

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STM-SCAG V-Ride earns its stripes. The “V-Ride” stand-on mower is in the range of SCAG mowers supplied by STM Co Ltd in the UK and parts of Europe. It finds a lot of popularity for its being a small and nimble machine, ideal for intricate work.

STM-SCAG V-Ride Earns Its Stripes

Now Jamie Jones of Jamie’s Garden Services, working on domestic and commercial contracts in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, has added to its virtuosity by having a striper unit added. This was specially developed for him by STM, using a standard SCAG Turf Tiger striper unit converted to fit the machine.

He came to choose a V-Ride after much research, a lot of which was with American Lawn Care professionals, and SCAG was among the names that soon came up for serious consideration.

He likes the stand-on principle and has since found it has been a wise choice for the work he does.

Jamie Jones:    If I have a nice open piece of lawned area then I use the striping kit. I feel that it is important to stand out from other grass cutting providers and the finished product is what matters to customers. If they are paying for a service then it is important that you stand out from the rest and quality stripes on the lawn is what customers like.

Although he could have gone as wide as 61” with his deck choice, he opted for 48” for ease of access. He has found this, and the compact size of the V-Ride, has an additional benefit in fitting compactly on his trailer.

A further point is the facility for using the machine as a walk-behind as opposed to riding on it.

Again – Jamie Jones: The Scag V-Ride was also more flexible in that you have all the benefits of a Sit-On machine,  but the ability to use it as a Walk-Behind  has been beneficial on banks, and where there are low tree branches. It makes it easy to jump off and duck below them while still operating the machine.

He continued: In my opinion the Scag machine was the best unit from out of the three short listed as well as being a personal preference.  

As for choosing STM, he was complimentary about each of the three possible suppliers he finally selected, but the outcome was: In my opinion the SCAG machine from STM was the best of the three – and STM went the extra mile by fabricating the bespoke roller system for me.

The machine has earned its stripes – as, indeed, have SCAG and the team at STM.

New Ranger On Sculthorpe Moor

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New Ranger on Sculthorpe Moor. A Polaris Ranger 6×6 off-road utility vehicle has proved the ideal solution for Sculthorpe Moor Community Nature Reserve in Fakenham, Norfolk.

New Ranger on Sculthorpe Moor

Created and managed by the Hawk and Owl Trust, there is no more peaceful place to observe the rich variety of wildlife in the woodland, fen and reed bed habitats across the beautiful Wensum Valley. Here you can look out for tawny and barn owls, marsh harriers, kingfishers, buzzards, bullfinches and marsh tits as well as voles, stoats, weasels and many more species.

Much of the area is marshy ground, with scrub and a high water table so it takes a special vehicle to carry out the wide variety of tasks demanded by the need to access an area with no roads. The Trust first saw a Polaris 6×6 model at Lamma, the agricultural show, and local Polaris dealers, Linstead Farm and Garden Machinery, provided a Polaris Ranger 6×6 for testing. The Ranger went up against several other machines on test.

“We needed a machine that could cope with our particular terrain, with no roads and a lot of marsh areas,” says Adrian Blumfield, Executive Director, “We have a huge number of volunteers, some more senior in years, who need to get around the site for planting, building hides, coppicing and generally looking after the habitat. In the test the other vehicles very quickly got stuck. The Polaris was the only one which did not.”

The Ranger 6×6 has six-wheel Independent Suspension with up to 9.6” of travel and 12” of ground clearance, which, coupled with its powerful 800cc engine, enables it to deliver exceptional off-road traction and a smooth, comfortable ride. Another consideration is the large amount of tools and equipment the Trust volunteers have to carry and the Ranger offers a roomy 39 gallon capacity with huge rear storage boxes. The rear dump box has a 1,250 lb capacity for larger loads and, most importantly, the 1 tonne towing strength is more than enough to manage the draw bar weight of the Trust’s large trailer.

The Hawk and Owl Trust is a registered charity and the Polaris Ranger 6×6 has been kindly anonymously donated. The Trust’s work began conserving owls and other birds of prey and now does much more, increasing knowledge and appreciation of them while creating, managing and conserving habitats that support associated species. The Ranger will have a strong role in Sculthorpe Moor’s research, conservation of the wildlife reserves, running of education centres and ongoing projects.

Mid Kent GC Favours Wiedenmann Values Again

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Mid Kent GC Favours Wiedenmann Values Again. Mid Kent GC Course Manager, Lee Sayers has opted for his fourth Wiedenmann Terra Spike purchase in a row. The Master Greenkeeper at the Gravesend club already has an XP8, the deepest aerator in the Wiedenmann range, and previously two others.

Mid Kent GC Favours Wiedenmann Values Again

“At the demo the quality of the GXi8 HD’s finish was exceptional so it wasn’t a difficult decision. We know first-hand that Wiedenmann aerators are strong and reliable but we wanted this one for its versatility,” said Lee Sayers.

Every six weeks or so, the greenkeeping team of six at Mid Kent has a planned maintenance day. Until now their XP8 has been deployed everywhere, including tees and greens. At 2.1 m wide, weighing 1200 kgs and going down to 400 mm it has been hugely productive. However, the addition of the GXi8 HD means the heavier machine will be allowed to concentrate mostly on fairways while the new one does both fine turf and fairways.

“We’ve managed well with the 65 hp tractor but ultimately a smaller tractor (50 hp) and aerator (900 kg) will get in and around the tees and greens more easily,” he continued. “Now every 5-6 weeks definitely on our green we’ll be doing some kind of aeration. Three different sets of tines have been delivered so I will use all three regularly. It might be a 8 mm tine going 60-70 mm deep or 12 mm tine going 250 mm or on occasion a side eject hollow tine. I could have gone for something even smaller or lighter but 1.8m is a decent working width to cover ground fast and make the most of our window of opportunity so we get through all the greens in a day and a bit more elsewhere. When maintenance time is as precious, it suited me the best.”

John Bignell, Groundcare Area Manager from dealer, Ernest Doe & Sons, Dartford, who have supplied and serviced machines for Mid Kent GC for many decades, said:

“Lee and his team purchased a Wiedenmann Whisper Twister blower last autumn so they know build quality is a given with any type of Wiedenmann and not just Terra Spikes.  This was all about speed and coverage and an absolute requirement for the neatest of finishes so the GXi8 HD was the machines for purpose.”