Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

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Quadraplay solves worm cast issues: The removal of Carbendazim from the groundcare market meant that St Albans School needed an alternative solution to combating worm casts and they found exactly what they were looking for in the SISIS Quadraplay.

Ian Smith, turf consultant for St Albans School, Woollam Trust Playing Fields, has long been tending to the outstanding facilities which includes 23 winter pitches for rugby and football, an all-weather hockey pitch and 8 cricket squares. The Woollam Groundstaff team have established a glowing reputation for producing the quality playing surfaces that play host to the school’s exceptional sporting teams.

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

Ever the perfectionist, Ian was concerned when they were unable to continue spraying the field with Carbendazim – a fungicide which deters worms from entering treated soil.

“Worm casting was starting to become a problem again after the loss of Carbendazim, so I started asking various groundstaff in the area their thoughts on finding a solution,” he said.

“Mark Rolph, who is now part of our team at Woollam’s, informed me how effective the SISIS Quadraplay had been for him at his previous job and in addition to this, Keith Kent former Head Groundsman at Twickenham Stadium also recommended it.

“We thought we’d give it a try and it has been absolutely brilliant for us.”

The SISIS Quadraplay multiple-purpose, single-pass maintenance incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, spikers, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect. Compact, robust, versatile and with the ability to carry out up to four operations simultaneously the Quadraplay makes life a lot easier for many groundsmen.

Regular use of the SISIS Quadraplay combined with a top layer of sand dressing has worked wonders according to Ian.

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

“We had been encouraged to keep sand dressing our pitches, so every year 60 tons per pitch is applied and we have been doing this for past 20 years. This on top of sand amelioration during construction has led to a root zone that is a 70/30 sand soil mix. If it was just clay then it would seal in wet weather and would become unplayable for long periods.

“The sand dressing has stopped the surface from capping off and means that the worm casts now contain a lot of sand. This means that they are broken up and spread evenly by the slitter, spring tines and brush when the Quadraplay is used.

“I have been surprised at just how effective the Quadraplay has been – the surface levels are better than I was expecting, and the presentation is good. Considering the amount of rain we have had this year the pitches are not laid with water either and this is probably down to the Quadraplay keeping the surface nice and open.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter and Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Aspen Fuel powers cleaner performance

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Aspen Fuel powers cleaner performance: Arboricultural companies, large and small, are discovering the benefits of switching their fuel over to Aspen Alkylate Petrol.

The UK’s largest tree contractors, Gristwood and Toms, together with Merseyside-based grounds and landscapers, Kingsman Gardens, have both reaped the rewards of using Aspen fuel – reducing harmful fumes and costly machinery servicing and repairs.

Aspen Fuel powers cleaner performance

Aspen Fuel powers cleaner performance

Gristwood and Toms started using Aspen 2 in their fleet of chainsaws 18 months ago. “With a team of 220 people and nearly 200 vehicles on our books, it’s important that we’re taking steps where we can, to improve our green credentials” explains Director Dave Gristwood. “Aspen came in to demonstrate the product and how, by removing all of the nasty chemicals, the fuel burns much cleaner than regular unleaded. Our chainsaws run well, now without the fumes which is much better health-wise for the guys using them.” He continues, “In our line of work, it’s also quite common for spillages to occur, and if this happens now with the Aspen product, it’s noticeable that it doesn’t cause damage to plants or the surrounding environment to the same degree as conventional fuel.”

For Kevin Prince, Owner of Kingsman Gardens, the difference he has noticed in the longevity of his machinery has been massive since he switched to Aspen 2 two years ago. “My team of five guys undertake a variety of domestic and commercial works from landscaping, garden clearances, tree cutting to pressure washing and cleaning. Because of the scope and variety of work we do, some items on our machinery fleet will sit around unused for a few months – sometimes even longer. Because the Aspen fuel doesn’t deteriorate like regular petrol would do, and keeps the inner workings so much cleaner, it means we’ve had machines that are unused for over a year that still start up first time.”

Kevin uses Aspen 2 in all of his 2-stroke equipment, including chainsaws, strimmers and hedgecutters together with a small amount of the Aspen 4 mix in some of his 4-stroke hover mowers. “Being ready prepared, we’ve all but eliminated issues with mixing which is much safer and reduces my maintenance costs when machines weren’t running as they should. Customers have also commented on the reduction in smell and smoke which is especially important when you’re working in small, confined areas.”

Being virtually free from sulphur, benzene and solvents, Aspen alkylate petrol burns cleaner than regular petrol making it safer for operators, machinery and the environment.

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Enville’s new fleet finance deal

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Enville’s new fleet finance deal: Founded in 1935 and considered one of the finest examples of heathland golf in the UK, Enville Golf Club near Stourbridge features the 18-hole Highgate and Lodge courses, with the former being used by the R&A in recent years for Regional Open Qualifying tournaments.

It has also recently been announced that Enville will host the R&A Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship for the first time, for three years from April 2021.

Enville's new fleet finance deal

Enville’s new fleet finance deal

Enville’s course manager Andy Wood, who has been at the club for nearly three years, was previously at Robin Hood, Cosby and The Belfry Golf Clubs, so he knows his local dealer Farol Ltd well and has been using John Deere course maintenance equipment for over 20 years.

His avowed ambition is to produce two of the best courses in the Midlands for Enville’s members, guests and visitors, and in so doing to try to get the club as high as possible up the list of the top 100 golf clubs in England. The club has also invited five top golf course architects to tender for a master plan to take the course to the next level over the next five to 10 years. As part of this process, Andy has overseen a policy change to reduce the club’s reliance on capital purchases of new machinery with no real structured plan in place, other than a rolling programme with kit coming off operating leases needing replacement each year.

“I just felt that this was not a very sensible approach, for budgeting purposes in particular,” says Andy. “The club could be spending £50,000 one year and £100,000 the next, and this did not suit budgeting over a longer period. We therefore agreed a new budget for the next five to 10 years, combining a shorter operating lease for new mowers with a longer finance lease arrangement for the likes of tractors, which have a longer life expectancy, so that the club’s capital spend would be significantly reduced.”

All the main manufacturers were invited to tender for the demonstration and supply of individual machines for year one, including tractors, utility vehicles, leaf collectors and aerators, followed in year two by the cutting equipment. Each range was tested to see what fitted the courses’ and Andy’s needs best, followed by an assessment of service back-up and support, including product warranties, once the decisions on the choice of kit had been made.

“John Deere and Farol, with dealer salesman Jacob Shellis leading the way, ticked all the boxes,” says Andy. “Things like cut quality should be a given at this level. More important is that should any problems or issues arise, they get dealt with straight away and we’re not left stranded with broken down machines and unnecessary downtime.

“For me, it’s always been about building a good, sound relationship and trust in the supplier, its products and the dealer, and that people deliver on their promises, especially through the tender process. Farol has always supported me very well on the service side with warranty claims, tournament support, training programmes and the like. The John Deere Financial package was very favourable too, with competitive rates.

“With this new deal we’ve managed to rationalise the fleet and every bit of kit does the job I need it to. We’ve gone down from 122 machines and auxiliary pieces of equipment when I first came to 94, and we’ve saved on a lot of labour, time and repair costs. Among other things this has enabled us to invest £40,000 in a new machinery shed and a new seed and fertiliser store, so we’ve now got enough room to keep all the main kit and supplies secure and under cover.

“Being a heathland course built on very sandy soils, we’re fortunate in that we can stay open all year round and work on the course at any time of the year,” Andy adds. “This makes life a bit easier in the winter, but it also means that we require a good irrigation system in the spring and summer months, something the club also invested in last year.

“One of the most encouraging things has been our record income in 2019 from green fees, which is a great sign that things are moving in the right direction. Enville’s always had a good reputation, but hopefully the machinery, agronomic and other changes we’ve been making to the course over the last couple of years have contributed to this increase.”

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GKB Infiller creates a presence

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GKB Infiller creates a presence: Defined as fast, efficient and professional, Sports Surface Solutions UK are the first in the UK to have a GKB Infiller and are still impressed with the robust machine 6 months on. 

Tom Shinkins, Operations Manager at GKB, said “This is a product we have been developing over a number of years with our own contracting side and other experienced contractors in the Netherlands.” He continues, “It is great to be able to bring a product to the UK market in this way.”

GKB Infiller creates a presence

GKB Infiller creates a presence

Installing pitches for over 25 years and always pushing for the latest innovations in both turf maintenance and technologies, the GKB Infiller was the only choice to match market leaders to the most reliable synthetic turf maintenance machine.

Sports Surface Solutions UK praised the well-built machine for its versatility. Nick Wells, Managing Director, said “The GKB Infiller can be used to apply multiple different types of infill material.” Thanks to GKB’s impressive innovation, this machine has the ability to efficiently apply several types of infill material like sand, SBR rubber, TPE rubber and cork in two directions. Nick went on to add, “These features really stood out to me, It’s a natural infill machine.”

A unique feature of this machine is that the driver’s seat is rotatable. This allows you to fill the carpet full of sand before driving over it.

Every project that is completed is always on time and to specification. Sports Surface Solutions UK pride themselves on installing a performance critical surface, with the highest level of workmanship, Nick stated that the GKB Infiller will be used to infill synthetic pitches that they install.

To determine how much infill material is distributed, the precision control valve can be set from 0 to 100mm. Not only this but it is manually adjustable as well as hydraulically operated.

Thanks to the flap in the front of the bunker, which can be opened from 0 to 100mm, you have the possibility to regulate the amount of sand that is distributed. All whilst there are specially designed agitators in the bunker to break up rubber crumb infill and guarantee an even spreading pattern.

“The ease of operation and speed in which this allows pitches to be infilled with sand and other infill products is very specialised,” Tom added.

Also provided with aluminium extensions to enlarge the bunker capacity of the bunker mounted on top of the chassis. The bunker is increased by these extensions from 1.06m3 to 3m3.

Nick Wells praised GKB Machines on the customer service received. He said, “One thing I really value in the GKB brand is that they are true specialists in machinery.” Engaged with the development of innovative maintenance machines for sports pitches since 1985, GKB Machines continues to strive to develop the very best machines.

Having worked with GKB Machines predecessor the only choice for Nick was a GKB engineered machine when production started.

Every GKB Machine must satisfy the high-quality requirements that they impose. A sustainable, reliable and robust machine is the foundation for your operation.

GKB Machines place a high value on the final user of the machine and Sports Surface Solutions UK have the most comprehensive machinery in the UK. The GKB Infiller was the perfect match, encompassing sturdiness with effortless ground management.

Sports Surface Solutions UK do not sub-contract any aspect of their work to ensure a one stop contractor for all your specialist surface needs.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617 to enquire about booking a demo of the GKB Infiller.

To find out more about Sports Surface Solutions UK please visit www.sportssurfacesolutions.com

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Emission free weed control

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Emission free weed control: The 100% electric AllTrec Tool Carrier from Campey Turf Care Systems has made weed control CO2-emissions free.

Weed control is an essential task in almost every groundsman, greenkeeper, contractor and landscapers schedule, and the AllTrec with Air E-Variator or Weed Brush has made it quicker, easier and emissions-free.

Emission free weed control

Emission free weed control

The E-Variator is one of four attachments currently available for the AllTrec Carrier and it has been specifically designed for weed management on large paved and semi-paved surfaces. It works both preventively and repressively, saving up to 70% of its own energy through re-use – better known as the patented advanced air recycling system.

The unique variable airflow function (ADS) enables the machine to work in corners and around obstacles in just one pass, with operators able to fully control the attachment using the digital control screen. LPG tanks used for the E-Variator Weed Burner can be mounted to the back of the AllTrec, with a connection available for the automatic tank heater to prevent them from freezing. The closed burner system with heat recovery has gas reduction of no less than 60% and an automatic temperature regulation of 380°C.

Weeds can also be removed using the 70cm Weed Brush, which is electrically powered with three brush speeds and controlled using the onboard joystick. It can be hydraulically adjusted to any angle and used for a full day without any worry of batteries running out. All batteries come with a three-year warranty and have a lifetime of + – 2500 charge discharge cycles. The 48VDC battery uses LifePO4 technology with a capacity of 20kwh or an optional 30kwh, with onboard charging taking 4-8 hours.

The power produced from the battery means the AllTrec can also be operated using the mower or hedge cutter attachments. The hedge cutting attachment has a 75cm working width with electric motors directly powering the blades which have speeds from 2000-3000rpm. The deck is controlled using a joystick and is easy to manoeuvre for a comfortable and effective days work. The mowing deck comes in optional cutting widths of 130cm or 180cm with a variable height of cut from 30-110mm, making it perfect for use on regularly maintained grass or overgrown vegetation. When cutting with the four-blade 180cm deck, the battery will typically last for 6-8 hours and 7-9 hours using the three-blade 130cm deck.

A large-action radius and highly efficient attachments combined with low operation and maintenance costs make the AllTrec perfect for use in urban environments, sports complexes, holiday resorts and parks by contractors, local authorities and landscapers.

For more information on making your weed control operation 100% electric and emissions free, contact Campey at info@campeyturfcare.com.

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