Malvern Hills Puts Kubota’s Latest RTV To The Test

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Malvern Hills puts Kubota’s latest RTV to the test – Kubota UK’s commitment to the environment has stepped up once more this month after the market leading machinery supplier loaned its RTV-X900 utility vehicle to the Malvern Hills Trust, a charity that conserves the iconic, ecological landscape in Worcestershire.

Malvern Hills Puts Kubota’s Latest RTV To The Test

As a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, a home to wildlife, and a workplace for local farmers, the Malvern Hills and Commons make up over 3,000 acres of grassland, woodland and rocky terrain.

The Kubota RTV-X900 has already become a major player for the Trust, helping its 20 volunteers and six field staff tackle the expansive and rugged landscape by carrying people and equipment efficiently across the vast site.

Warden, Richard Vale said: “The Kubota RTV-X900 is great, because it allows us to access certain areas with a vehicle that we couldn’t before. We’re now able to maintain the hills easier and quicker, without disturbing any visitors or wildlife.

“Every time we use the RTV-X900, we become more confident in its capabilities. The cab offers great protection while its compact characteristics make our presence on the hills very constructive as the machine offers high power without damaging the soft terrain. Anything bigger almost begins to reduce the positive effect we try to have on the environment.”

It’s estimated that Malvern Hills receives over one million visits per year and around 7,000 on peak holiday periods such as the recent Easter weekend. The iconic landscape hosts a range of activities including walking, cycling, horse-riding, and more.

While the hills and commons are visited by thousands of tourists, they’re also home to a range of wildlife including bluebells, marsh tits, serotine bats, adders and woodpeckers, to name but a few.

As 90% of the hills and commons are registered under common land, they are protected under law for the benefit of locals, wildlife and visitors. Because of this, the Trust need to have something that successfully aids in their daily maintenance and protection of the landscape, this is why the footprint and efficiency of the RTV-X900 is so important.

Duncan Bridges, Chief Executive Officer of the Malvern Hills Trust commented: “We’re so thankful to have been given the opportunity to put the RTV-X900 through its paces, it cuts time, energy and costs, which helps us make a much bigger impact across the hills and commons. As the number of visitors continues to increase, the work of our volunteers, field staff and wardens is all the more essential to the area and the loaned vehicle helps us to do just that.”

Karen Tipping, marketing manager at Kubota UK, concluded: “Kubota takes its commitment to the environment seriously, so much so, that our corporate mission statement is ‘For Earth, For Life’ – its our promise to protect the environment on a global scale.  By loaning an RTV-X900 to the Malvern Hills Trust, we are living up to this commitment and playing a key role in helping this charity and the valuable work it does.”

For more information on Kubota’s leading groundcare solutions or to find your local dealer, visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

The Vale Resort Tees Up A Six-Figure Golf Investment

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The Vale Resort tees up a six-figure golf investment – The Vale Resort in South Wales has invested more than £400,000 in state-of-the-art John Deere golf course maintenance equipment, supplied by local turf professional dealer Frank Sutton Ltd of Raglan in Gwent.

The Vale Resort Tees Up A Six-Figure Golf Investment

The resort, home to two championship golf courses, has bought 16 new high-tech mowers and Gator utility vehicles to enhance the condition of both the Wales National and The Lake courses, and provide its 550-plus members and thousands of visitors with an even better golfing experience.

The latest purchases include four 8700A fairway mowers, four 2500B triplex greens mowers, four 220SL walk-behind greens mowers and four TS Gators. These have joined an existing John Deere fleet of four 8800 TerrainCut rotary rough mowers, four 2653B triplex utility mowers and another two 220SL greens mowers.

“The way the fairways and greens are cut has a direct effect on the playability of the course,” says the Vale Resort’s head greenkeeper John Borja. “These new John Deere machines will undoubtedly help to improve the condition of both courses and make a difference to the way the game is played on them.

“In order to keep the two courses in pristine condition, the cutting direction is alternated each day so that the ground doesn’t become stressed. This also creates a striping effect which helps players differentiate between the precisely cut tees, fairways and rough. Having the best machinery is key to making sure our team can prepare the courses to their full potential for members and guests.”

Set in 650 acres of Welsh countryside, both courses have a mixture of wooded areas, wide and narrow fairways and water features. At 7433 yards off the championship tees, the Wales National is one of the longest courses in the UK, while The Lake course is slightly shorter at 6436 yards. Both are maintained by a team of 15 year-round staff, with additional seasonal staff required in the busier playing season from March to October.

“Our aim, every day, is to ensure that our golf courses are presented to the highest standards possible and can be fully enjoyed by the players,” says John Borja. “With the excellent support and after-sales service provided by John Deere and dealer Frank Sutton, we look forward to doing so for many years to come.”

Lancaster GC Chooses Wiedenmann

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Lancaster GC chooses Wiedenmann duo for rough management – One of Lancashire’s finest venues, the Lancaster Golf Club has opted for a Wiedenmann Terra Rake and a Wiedenmann Super 500.

Lancaster GC Chooses Wiedenmann

The James Braid designed course, coveted for its wide fairways and spectacular 18th hole, is about to embark on a major rough management programme.

Carl Hamlett, Course Manager, said: “We’ve many undulations and traditional ‘ridge and furrow’. We know the Super 500 follows contours easily without scalping and produces a consistent height of cut, whether scarifying or flail mowing. When we had it out for demo it just outdid everything else we’d seen”

“The Terra Rake will work in tandem. It scarifies, pulls out thatch and can help us with a long list of other tasks. We’re really happy to have them both on board.”

Supplying both machines was Darren Barker, Sales Director at Balmers GM, Burnley branch,  Wiedenmann UK’s local  dealer for the area.

Upkeep Of City Of Culture’s Green Spaces Entrusted To Toro

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Upkeep Of City Of Culture’s Green Spaces Entrusted To Toro – Kingstown Works Limited (KWL) based in Kingston upon Hull, this year’s City of Culture, has recently invested in seven Toro Groundsmaster 3400 out-front rotary mowers to be operated by its largest client Hull City Council. The seven machines will play a key role in keeping the green spaces of the city in the best possible condition during this all-important year. 

Upkeep Of City Of Culture's Green Spaces Entrusted To Toro

In a tender process, completed by Russell Groundcare, via the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation, Toro achieved the best results for price, capability and delivery, and it isn’t for the first time. KWL is an existing Toro customer and the acquisition is part of a replacement programme for older Toro triple mowers coming out of service.

The decision for KWL to purchase rotary mowers is a move away from traditionally opting for cylinder mowers to maintain the city’s parks, sports fields, horticultural areas and municipalities. And the reason for this says Garry Middleton, business unit leader at KWL Fleet, is down to a rotary mower’s ability to work on longer grass at a higher output rate with ease.

He says: “Our client needed to marginally extend periods between cutting and, based on this, required a machine that could cope with cutting longer grass while still providing a good finish, which the Groundsmaster is more than capable of. Russell Groundcare and Toro performed well in the tender process as our experience of working with both has always been a good one: the service from Russell and indeed Reesink Turfcare [UK distributor of Toro] is excellent and the rate of cut and quality from Toro prove outstanding.”

In terms of the machines’ capabilities, such an important consideration in the tender process, it’s easy to see why the GM3400 scored so highly. Constructed from high-strength seven gauge welded steel, 33 per-cent thicker and 75 percent stronger than ordinary ten gauge commercial steel, the GM3400 is robust and tough. A Kubota four-cylinder diesel engine, delivering 26.5 kW (35.5hp), means it’s powerful with a high performance rate, too.

With a tilting operator platform, large opening engine cover and easy-to-remove access panels, maintenance is unrestricted. Within minutes, an operator or service technician can achieve direct access, reducing daily check and cleaning times as well as service maintenance downtime. The GM3400 also benefits from low maintenance costs and a high 15.5mph transport mode to ensure fast logistics between sites, all of which increases uptime, minimises costs and improves productivity.

And when it comes to the final result you have, says Garry, a “decent trim, clean finish and a good turn rate around trees and other obstacles. While purchase price is of course a major factor, we always consider the anticipated operational and maintenance costs and, given that the Toro retains a good residual value, this also forms an important consideration as part of our overall costing.”

So, what impact does Hull being the UK’s City of Culture have on Garry and the team’s work? Garry says: “Expectations haven’t changed in terms of the results our client quite rightly wants for the public and open spaces of Hull, which require a quality finish, but with all eyes on the City this year that does add a bit of extra pressure! Having a brand new Toro fleet means we can rest assured that the quality and consistency of cut will be delivered.”

Landini Compacts Have Proven Features For Turf And Groundscare Work

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New-look Landini compacts have proven features for turf and groundscare work – A stylish new appearance for the Landini compact tractor is combined with proven specifications and features to make an attractive choice of power units for all groundscare operations.Landini Compacts Have Proven Features For Turf And Groundscare Work

The new three-model Landini 2 Series, which has replaced the well-known Mistral, sports new family-look styling for the engine hood to match the rest of the comprehensive Landini range and an all-new roof panel housing the ventilation system on the cabbed version.

The new hood retains the clamshell format of the previous design, with a high-lifting upper section giving ready access to all routine service points, while detachable lower panels completely expose the engine and its ancillary equipment.

Standard open platform versions of the 2 Series have been joined by the ‘GE’ model, which has a new front axle and modifications that shave 94mm off the height of the tractor. That can be significant for work amongst trees with low-hanging branches and other situations where the lower height is an advantage.

The GE and Standard versions have the same choice of 30kph 12×12 or 16×16 creeper gearboxes with synchro shuttle selection of forward and reverse. Likewise, the two-speed independent rear power take-off, which provides one setting for ‘power’ and one for ‘economy’.

“With implements that don’t need a lot of power, the ‘economy’ pto gearing allows the engine to be run at a lower speed to reduce both noise output and fuel consumption,” points out Ray Spinks, sales director at Landini distributor AgriArgo UK.

“A ground-drive setting relates the speed of the pto to the forward speed of the tractor, which is useful for maintaining correct application rates with sand spreaders and similar machines.”

To ensure sufficient oil flow at all times, the tractors follow the Landini philosophy of installing two pumps. In this case, a 19.7-litre/min unit is dedicated to the steering system and a 28-litre/min pump supplies the 1200kg rear implement linkage (and optional 400kg front linkage if fitted), and up to three remote services valves.

Latest-specification Yanmar engines provide the power – 2.0-litre and 2.2-litre non-turbo units delivering 44hp and 47hp in the Landini 2-045 and 2-050, and a turbo version of the 2.0-litre engine generating 54hp for the 2-060 model.

Thanks to a 40-litre fuel tank, these economical engines ensure the new Landini 2 Series tractors work long hours between refills as they tackle all groundscare tasks from grass aeration and mowing to sweeping and trailer work.

Electro-hydraulic engagement of the rear axle differential lock for maximum traction and a generous 55deg steering lock on the front axle for maximum manoeuvrability ensure the Landini 2 Series tractors have the performance needed for all groundscare applications.