Vincent Tractors attain gold plus status

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Vincent Tractors attain gold plus status: Vincent Tractors & Plant, has been awarded Gold Plus for Kubota Dealer Service Excellence.

Now in its 53rd year in business, Vincent Tractors & Plant, a family owned machinery dealer with branches in Fraddon, Holsworthy and Smithaleigh, near Ivybridge, is the only full line dealership in the country to achieve this status.

Vincent Tractors attain gold plus status

The awards, which are assessed and presented every two years by Kubota, are based on dealer equipment, facilities, commitment to training and, most importantly, customer service.

The Kubota customer satisfaction survey is submitted to customers after every product sold and is used to rate the service department of every Kubota dealer.

“This fantastic achievement reflects our team’s hard work and ‘customer first’ commitment“, remarked Paul Vincent, Vincent Tractors & Plant managing director.

“I would like to thank all the team at Vincent Tractors & Plant for their diligence and dedication. The industry is going through tremendous change and we are working hard to innovate to ensure we can meet and exceed our customers’ requirements and expectations.

“Not all the team are able to be here today to receive this award but I’m happy to do it on their behalf.  It’s been a real team effort across all three depots to achieve this level of service!”

Rob Wilkins, Kubota’s regional service manager, remarked, “I have been working with Vincent’s for a number of years now and in last five years they have raised the bar with regards to the level of service they offer to their customer as well as their commitment to their own team.  We have had our challenges but we have worked together to resolve them.”

Full line Kubota dealerships supply and service agricultural tractors and implements and Kverneland implements, compact tractors and ride on mowers as well as the construction range of excavators, loaders and tracked dumpers.

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KAR raises tempo at Bromley

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KAR raises tempo at Bromley: Bromley FC’s players and staff have reported a huge improvement in their synthetic pitch after a Hunter Industries irrigation system from KAR UK was installed at the stadium.

Bromley FC is currently plying its trade in the Vanarama National League and plays its home games at Hayes Lane Stadium – which, over recent years, has undergone a significant transformation.

KAR raises tempo at Bromley

The stadium investment saw the construction of a new South Stand which has allowed for an additional 1,450 seats, and two years ago an all new FIFA certified synthetic pitch was installed.

Bromley FC’s First Team Coach Alan Dunne provided the reasoning behind the club’s switch from natural to synthetic turf.

“In winter, our natural pitch would often be in a bad condition and games would have to be called off, which would have a huge impact on revenue,” he said. “Even when the games were on, the pitch could be waterlogged, it would slow down our play which would then cause further damage. It is for this reason that we decided to have a synthetic surface installed because it offers all-year round play as well as providing the club a constant stream of revenue by renting it out for the local community.

“We are a hugely ambitious club and we are doing everything possible to make sure that we continue to progress up the football leagues.”

The new pitch was soon installed and opened up to the wider community, and even though the extra revenue would help the club compete in terms of transfer fees and player wages it became apparent that something was missing.

“It’s a great pitch,” said Bromley FC’s Director Jerry Dolke. “However, over the past 24 months we had an increasing amount of comments from players who were claiming that the rubber crumb, which is used as the infill in the synthetic surface, was uncomfortable to play on. During hot weather we were not playing at the same fast tempo we like to play, so we identified that we urgently needed to start getting water on to the pitch.

“Ultimately, we want to give this group of players all of the tools and equipment to be successful and therefore after a consultation with Ian Jordan from Jordan Sports Ground Solutions who look after our pitch, an irrigation system became a priority.”

KAR raises tempo at Bromley

It was at this point that a Hunter ST1600 irrigation system would be the ideal solution.

The Hunter ST irrigation system is designed for the specific needs of synthetic turf sports pitches. Featuring long-range irrigation sprinklers, unique swing joints, durable irrigation valves and nearly indestructible vaults, Hunter’s ST system offers everything required to keep synthetic turf pitches cool, clean and playable. The enhanced radius rotors are perfect for football pitches, where smaller radius rotors might fall a little short – meaning that every inch of the pitch can be watered.

The system, which also comprises of an ICC2 controller and an EZ decoder system, sees the ST1600 rotors installed in six positions around the pitch – one on each of the four corner areas and one either side of the halfway line.

“It’s made a huge difference to the way we play – we like to play quick football and when the pitch is watered we have that effect,” said Alan. “We now water before the game and at half-time and it sees us through nicely. The system is so quick and simple and it takes just eight minutes to have the whole pitch watered.”

“We needed a system that was going to work efficiently on our pitch and within our budget,” added Jerry. “We now have that in place and all of those previous problems have disappeared. We had a very short timescale to work to because our first pre-season game was on the 6th July so we had a five-week window to get the project completed. The contractors met the deadline and we are all very happy with the end result.

“The irrigation system is just another step in the right direction as we try and push on to that next level.”

Hunter Industries is distributed in the UK by KAR UK. For more information, please visit www.karuk.com or www.hunterindustries.com.

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Woods launch ‘Extreme Duty’ Batwing

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Woods launch ‘Extreme Duty’ Batwing: Woods have launched their extreme duty 15-foot (4.60 meter) Batwing, developed after more than 60 hours of interviews with operators.

The company say the BW15.70 can tame the harshest conditions including heavy brush and trees up to 11.4 cm in diameter and will cut more material in less time, making it the ideal option for crop shredding, contract farming, cooperatives, roadside and airport maintenance.

Woods launch ‘Extreme Duty’ Batwing

Simon Richard, UK Agent for the Woods range says “the new, advanced double triple lipped oil seal technology offered by the BW15.70 and developed for heavy duty jobs in the harshest of environments, offers the customer a market leading 6 year warranty on gearboxes including seals, and greasable quick change blade pins are easy to reach through a panel on top of the deck which features a ‘clean deck’ system making it easier to maintain and clean.

Simon adds “the BW15.70’s rounded wings and a curved leading edge, slice through tall brush, deflect impact and easily manoeuver close to obstacles. The fully baffled, 33 cm deep deck handles more material and distributes it evenly. The batwings flex 90° up, 22° down and steel tubes surrounding the perimeter absorb shocks and shrug off impact “

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Pellenc launch new pruning shears

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Pellenc launch new pruning shears: The latest new product launched by Pellenc – the Prunion long-reach pruning shears offers users unbeatable cutting power and work quality.

This new generation of pruning shears combines innovation with strength and accuracy, to optimise and assist trimming work for perfect results – every time.

Pellenc launch new pruning shears

The Prunion long-reach pruning shears revolutionise tree pruning. Their wide cutting diameter (up to 45mm) makes them very convenient to use and with the 250 battery, users can connect two Pellenc tools simultaneously.

With two pole sizes available (1.5m or 2m), the pruners can be adapted to any work at height safely.

Key features of the Prunion long-reach pruning shears include:

  • Optical trigger for instinctive control of the half-opening feature
  • Slim, comfortable, oval handle suitable for right and left-handed use
  • Four work modes to suit any cutting style
  • Simplified maintenance (just weekly greasing)
  • Light weight (1600g or 1870g depending on model)
  • Balanced pole for more comfort and precision

All Pellenc batteries and tools come complete with a three-year commercial warranty as standard – the first manufacturer to offer this on battery-powered tools.

Pellenc is exclusively distributed in the UK and Ireland by Etesia UK.

To view the all-new dedicated Pellenc website please visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Toro prevails at Brett Vale

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Toro prevails at Brett Vale: With its third Toro package deal, Brett Vale Golf Club has invested in both purchase and lease Toro machines due to their exceptional durability.

Newly appointed head greenkeeper Tony Barker has great things in mind for Brett Vale Golf Club in Suffolk, and after seeing the machinery already at the course in action it made sense to further invest in Toro to continue the good work, he says.

Toro prevails at Brett Vale

“I started nine months ago at the same time the last Toro fleet deal had come to an end,” he says. “So my first big task was to look into the options available when it came to signing another machinery deal.

“I did look at the alternatives, but nothing could beat the way Toro worked on the terrain here. In fact, new machines from other brands didn’t perform as well as the Toro machines we’d had for five years already! Our location means we have a lot of steep hills that take a lot of power to climb up and the machines from other brands didn’t have the power to manage the steep terrain, whereas the old and new Toro machines did.”

After Toro came out on top at the demonstration, it was clear to Tony the way forward was to expand the club’s Toro fleet, achieved by purchasing a mix of the machines from its last deal as well as bringing in new additions.

“Toro machines are more durable than most competitor brands, without a doubt,” he says. “So it made sense to purchase some of the machines already at the club which had been, and still are, doing great work. But I wanted to expand the fleet too, to help progress the club and course further and improve on the already high standards. Having a comprehensive Toro fleet is a fundamental part of this progression, and credit must go to the club owner Chris Waters whose investment has enabled us to make this progression.”

And it’s an impressive fleet that has been created, with a Reelmaster 6700-D, Groundsmaster 4700-D, three Greensmaster Flex 2120 pedestrian mowers, a Multi Pro WM Sprayer, a TYM T293 and more purchased at the end of the lease from the previous fleet, with a ProCore 648, two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420s, a Groundsmaster 4500-D and a Workman HDX-D added to continue the good work.

“The Groundsmaster 4500-D that we purchased for the roughs is probably my new favourite,” says Tony. “It’s doing a great job already and really proving itself. In fact all the machines are. The playing surface has definitely improved already because of the quality of cut and the whole team is loving using Toro across the course.”

Set within a vale designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty, the 137 acre parkland course at Brett Vale makes for one of the most idyllic courses in Suffolk. With the club’s relationship with Toro and Reesink Turfcare, its official UK distributor continuing, the course looks set to keep improving.

Tony concludes: “At the end of the day, Toro provides durable and high quality machines that give us real results – so why would I change that?”

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