INFINICUT to reduce HAV for Loughborough

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INFINICUT to reduce HAV for Loughborough: The Loughborough University Stadium is the jewel in the crown of the dedicated ‘football hub’ at the site’s Holywell Sports Complex.

In June 2019, Team Leader of the complex Kris Nurse took delivery of two INFINICUT® 34” FX mowers, together with a set of TurfClean™ cassettes, which have been working hand-in-hand to keep the stadium’s brand-new SIS hybrid pitch in first-rate condition.

INFINICUT to reduce HAV for Loughborough

INFINICUT to reduce HAV for Loughborough

With such a wealth and breadth of sporting facilities at the University, the grounds department is split into teams – with the cricket division being the first to experience the INFINICUT®. “They’ve used a fleet of 22” and 26” INFINICUT® mowers for a number of years and have always sung their praises” explains Kris, who has a team of three working with him in the football hub. “We obviously had an opportunity to use them too and were impressed with how lightweight they are and how simple the mower is to set-up and use, so I spoke to Oliver Hall at MTD about the 34” fixed head version.”

“Together with the quality of cut and finish they deliver, the University were also keen on the fact that they’re battery powered. Because of the amount of large machinery we operate on a daily basis, we have a real issue with Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) so taking delivery of our duo of INFINICUT® mowers has been a fantastic step forward in improving that.” Since the new hybrid pitch was installed in September 2019, it has hosted over 60 games for student teams, together with a number of external matches including Derby County Under 23’s. To keep the pitch playing at the standard required, the mowers are in use four or five times a week.

Helping with the post-match clean-up, Kris also purchased a set of TurfClean™ cassettes from the renowned TMSystem™. “These have been a god send. We use these after play to rid the surface of any debris and stand the grass plant back up. It then takes less than 10 minutes to swap those out and put the cutting reels in, and we’re straight back out to cut. This has eliminated the wheel lines we used to get by using a rotary mower and gives us a quality of finish that is fitting to the arena and the fantastic level of play that we are lucky enough to host.”

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82V Cramer cordless commercial range

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82V Cramer cordless commercial range: 2020 sees the official launch of the Cramer 82V Commercial range of machinery, with over 30 commercial garden products designed specifically for the professional user and one of the most comprehensive and competitive ranges in today’s market.

The new range offers market leading performance, with innovative features such as Magnesium components, Fleet connectivity, and ultra-high torque motors to offer true petrol rivalling performance for a fraction of the running costs and with no emissions.

82V Cramer cordless commercial range

82V Cramer cordless commercial range

 

‘Cramer has built a strong reputation in Europe for producing high quality commercial horticultural products. Following the development of the 82V range we can now offer

a complete solution for commercial users in the U.K. that are looking for a cordless range, where emissions, performance, affordability and choice are important.’ said Alan Wilson, Handy Distributions Cramer Specialist, UK distributor for Cramer.

The range includes both on-board and backpack battery solutions, and a comprehensive range of handheld equipment including chainsaws, blowers, hedge trimmers, grass trimmers, brush cutters, multi-tools, and hand pruners. Walk behind products include sweepers, utility carts, and lawnmowers up to 61cm (twin blade).

For more information on the range or to find your nearest stockist, call us now on 01793 333220 or visit www.cramertools.com

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Great products for the great outdoors

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Great products for the great outdoors: Leading manufacturer of outdoor equipment and power tools, Makita UK has expanded its line of cordless power equipment with an impressive range of new garden machinery tools, specifically aimed at the outdoor sector.  

Building upon its vast experience in cordless technology, Makita has added to its line up with a wide range of equipment that now offers professionals over 70 cordless outdoor power equipment (OPE) tools within its innovative LXT battery platform. The platform is designed with professionals in mind, to provide beneficial solutions against petrol products to offer lower noise and vibration levels, reduced maintenance and zero emissions, whilst providing the levels of power and torque professionals need to tackle the many outdoor tasks and applications they face on a day to day basis.  

Great products for the great outdoors

Great products for the great outdoors

By adding to the existing range, these higher specification, new products ensure there is a tool for any job, that matches the daily demands of working outdoors, including: 

Brushless Lawn Mowers 

The lawn mower range includes one new aluminium deck (DLM533) and three new steel deck models (DLM462, DLM530, DLM532). Powered by two 18V Li-ion batteries in series to supply energy to the powerful 36V DC motor drive system, these machines can be fitted with four batteries to give contractors extended cutting time. With a manual battery selection, simply flick the switch to change over to the second pair of batteries when the initial set has discharged. 

All Twin 18V, the new models include an electric brake and a large grass box with a useful level indicator, as well as a built-in mulching option and weather–proof cover. By adding to the existing three models in the range, professionals can choose the model to suit the scale of their lawn groundwork, from smaller domestic lawns right up to areas of 2,300m2. 

Brushless Hedge Trimmers 

Ideal for tackling mature growth, thick branches and hedges, two new single sided hedge trimmers offer improved and safer handling, thanks to the single blade, lightweight design and two-handed start up. The 18V DUH604S and DUH754S both feature three speed settings, a reverse switch to clear the blades if branches get jammed and automatic shut off if the machine is not operated for 60 seconds after being turned on. The blade profile has been designed for smother cutting, whilst low vibration and high power allows operators to work efficiently, even on large hedges, with less fatigue.  

Brushless Linetrimmers and Brush Cutters 

Providing access to varied shrubland and undergrowth, the new Twin 18V Linetrimmer (DUR369L) and Brush Cutter (DUR369A) models provide an excellent alternative to manoeuvring heavy and cumbersome machinery. Both operate using a 1kW motor – equivalent to a 33cc 2-stroke engine machine and include automatic torque drive technology (ADT), which adjusts the RPM according to the density of the weeds, plus active feedback sensing technology (AFT) which shuts down the tool to protect the user if the rotation speed suddenly slows down. Alternatively, the new UR101CZ and UR201CZ models are equivalent to the DUR369 products, however these are designed for use with Makita’s backpack battery rather than connecting individual batteries to the machines, making these models better suited for contractors who require longer run-times for larger areas.      

Portable Battery Pack 

The PDC01 battery backpack provides ‘portable fuel’ enabling operators to continue to work and reducing the frequency required to replace batteries. The backpack neatly holds four 18V LXT batteries for use with the 18V adaptor or twin 18V adaptors that attach to the tools, in order to create a portable power supply – which is ideal for use with high-drain products. Unlike other backpack battery systems where the entire unit needs to be recharged, the Makita system uses interchangeable 18V batteries, enabling operators to double or quadruple the run time of their work depending on the tool being used. Simply replace the batteries when the first sets are empty and then carry on working whilst recharging your initial battery sets! 

Commenting on the new releases, Mark Earles, Business Development Manager for garden machinery at Makita said: “We are delighted to offer outdoor professionals even more choice with this exciting new line-up. All the new releases are powered by Makita’s Lithium-ion LXT battery technology, the biggest battery platform in the world. With over 200 products within this system, operators can seamlessly interchange between projects and equipment, so whatever challenge the great outdoors presents, professionals can be confident that using Makita will get the job done.” 

All products are available to order.

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Woodhall Spa goes to town

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Woodhall Spa goes to town: It’s a relationship over two decades strong, therefore it’s no surprise that when it came to renewing its machinery fleet as it concluded what is widely recognised as the biggest in-house golf renovation project in the UK, that Woodhall Spa chose Toro again.

As the club’s three-year, three-stage restoration project designed to give the Lincolnshire course back its rightful heathland landscape and original character concludes, the focus is now on the quality of the playing surfaces. Hence the latest, significant investment in Toro and Reesink Turfcare.

Woodhall Spa goes to town

Woodhall Spa goes to town

Course manager Sam Rhodes says: “We have so much confidence in Toro. Having Toro on board during the renovations meant there was one less big thing to worry about. There was too much to do as it was, so knowing the maintenance, and irrigation, of the courses was in safe hands was invaluable. And now as the main restoration work is finished, we’re going to town on the quality of the playing surfaces.”

Richard Latham, general manager, explains the reason for the renovation: “It’s accepted that the course found itself in this position because of over 50 years of woodland mismanagement and neglect. Woodhall Spa was fast falling down in the world rankings. It was time to act and safeguard the future of the course.”

A phone call from Richard was all it took to secure the services of Tom Doak, one of the true greats of modern golf course architecture, for the redesign of the home of the governing body of England Golf. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of bigger greens, now 4,000sqm larger, which takes the greenkeeping team an extra two hours to mow every morning, ably assisted by Toro.

Sam says: “We’ve long been a Toro Total Solutions customer and we wanted a full fleet refresh to make sure we were benefitting from the latest technological advancements and to ensure we are ready for the next all-important phase in the course’s future. We’re already seeing the impact of the new design of the cylinder cutting unit of the Reelmaster 5010-H, it’s freeing a man up.”

The new fleet is comprehensive including greens, tees and fairways mowers, aerators, top dressers and bunker rakes. Sam has included hybrid technology in the form of three Reelmaster 5010-H fairway mowers and two all-electric Workman GTXe utility vehicles, and during the renovations the Toro Lynx central control irrigation system and 170 Infinity sprinklers on the greens, tees and surrounds was extended to the fairways covering the Hotchkin and Bracken courses.

Richard says: “We don’t have much water where we are, so we have to be frugal in how much we apply. The installation of the system has allowed us to be entirely accurate and conserve our usage. It also allowed us to avoid damage in the drought of 2018 – we lost the colour but kept the coverage. To have extended the irrigation system to the fairways now means we have complete Toro protection.”

Both Richard and Sam agree this project has been game-changing, Richard says: “To say we have successfully completed the biggest in-house project the country has seen is quite the achievement. Our members are playing a far more strategic game, reminiscent of how it used to be when golf was first played here in 1905. We’ve successfully put all the holes back together again ourselves and we’re moving up in the rankings. We’ve achieved what we set out to do.”

 

And now as the team embarks on the next phase in the club’s life, Richard considers what happens next. “Now we have the rightful landscape back, playing fantastically, our focus is on ensuring that lasts, and with the combination of Sam, the team and Toro on board we know that’s a realistic ambition.”

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC: A CM220TMP woodchipper from GreenMech has transformed the woodland management programme for Wildernesse Golf Club.

The heavily tree-lined woodland/parkland course in Sevenoaks, Kent, requires year-round thinning, pruning and felling. The new 9” machine has significantly improved the productivity for Course Manager Mark Todd and his team.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

With classified ancient woodland, Chance Wood, at the very heart of the course, the scale of the task at hand led Mark to look for an upgrade to their existing machinery at the end of 2019. “I spoke with our local dealer Burden Bros who suggested we upgrade from a 6” to a 9” machine and demonstrated the GreenMech CM220TMP. You could see straight away how it was going to be so much more effective at dealing with the large quantities of material we have to process.”

The course woodland predominantly consists of beech, birch and oak, however it’s the holly in the understory of the canopy that causes a real issue. “Some areas are smothered in it and the awkwardly shaped branches used to be really difficult to get into our old chipper unless you spent time snedding all the branches off. The CM220TMP’s large hopper means we can take down holly trees up to 20-foot-tall and get them straight into the chipper – reducing handling and stopping backlogs. Thinning this out improves not only the aesthetic and playability qualities, it also allows extra air and light to get down to the playing surfaces.”

“Being tractor mounted means we can take the chipper wherever it is needed, with the chip we produce dispersed in the woodland, used in some of the decorative beds or given to the members for use in their gardens. One of the really great things is GreenMech’s round disc blade chipping technology. Not only does it process more efficiently but when they blunt you simply turn them to the next sharp edge which means that, compared to traditional straight blades, you get three times the life out of each set.”

Mark was also thankful for having the chipper at their disposal during the recent storms, where the course experienced strong winds and fallen trees. “The chipper disposed of these without a problem” Mark explains. “While it comes into its own over the winter months, we have projects to work on throughout the year and with the CM220TMP, these have now become much easier.”

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