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NEWS ARTICLES

Ian Campbell Joins GGM

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Ian Campbell Joins GGM: GGM Groundscare, the leading specialist supplier of high quality professional groundscare equipment continue to expand their sales operation with the appointment of Ian Campbell as Business Development Manager.

Ian, who joins GGM having previously worked initially at Sisis and laterally at Campey Turf Care will be working alongside the rest of the GGM team to develop the sales of Kubota, Baroness, Dennis & Sisis & Amazone and GGM’s other leading Groundscare franchises. Ian’s appointment demonstrates GGM’s ongoing commitment of building an ever growing team capable of exceeding customer expectations and delivering first class sales, hire and service support across the North West of England and Yorkshire.

Ian Campbell Joins GGM

Chris Gibson, Managing Director of GGM Groundscare said:

“Ian brings with him over 38 years experience within groundscare including extensive experience within the sports turf sector coupled with a wealth of knowledge and a great amount of enthusiasm. He is a fantastic addition to our team and he joins us with substantial selling and account management experience within similar markets and I’m sure he will thrive in his new role.”

Ian says of his new role, “I’m delighted to have been appointed as the new Business Development Manager for GGM who along with an extensive range of high quality machines from leading brands, have an outstanding reputation within the industry for their high level of customer care and service. I’m excited and very much looking forward to getting out and meeting customers and demonstrating the fantastic capabilities and benefits of our range of machinery”.

Ian can be contacted on:

Mob: 07983 557754

Email: ian@ggmgroundscare.co.uk

Web: www.ggmgroundscare.co.uk

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award: Hastings United’s surface- and its architect- recognised in FA Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Grass. It’s often something we take rather for granted, isn’t it? But creating a fine surface for football doesn’t happen by chance; it involves a great deal of back-breaking work and an incredible amount of skill, which is why the FA honour those who have proved incredibly good at it. So stand up and be honoured Simon Rudkins of Hastings United- and a number of your BetVictor Isthmian colleagues!

Yesterday at St George’s Park, Simon- who recently left his role at Pilot Field after many years of incredible service- was honoured as Isthmian League Groundman of the Year. He was also the runner up in the national competition for Step Three and Four, which is why he’s holding two trophies in our image (borrowed from Simon himself, thank you).

Much credit also goes to Andrew Facey of Maldon & Tiptree, who was the Isthmian runner up, and Derrick Matthews of Hayes & Yeading United, who came third. Both Brian Quinnel of Bognor Regis Town and Andrew Ward of Wingate & Finchley were highly commended in in the Isthmian League category and the Step Three and Four awards.

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New App For Groundsmen

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New App For Groundsmen: The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation are ramping up efforts to improve the quality of grass pitches in England with the launch of the Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community app.

The new platform provides a resource of expert advice for grounds staff, enabling them to connect with peers, discover new tips and tricks and share advice on best industry practice. Users can seek guidance from the IOG’s Regional Pitch Advisors, who are available to answer questions and update members on changes to industry standards.

New App For Groundsmen

The system is entirely free to use and will feature regular new content, with videos from high-profile groundskeepers, such as Wembley Stadium’s Karl Standley, case studies and the latest in groundskeeping techniques.

Developed in partnership with the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and run through Hive Learning, Europe’s leading peer learning platform, the site represents the latest step of the Football Foundation’s Grass Pitch Programme, which aims to ensure every affiliated football fixture in England is played on a quality football pitch.

Karl Standley, Wembley Stadium Head Groundsman said: “Whether it’s Wembley or your local community football pitch, groundkeepers all face the same challenges.

“I think it’s great that we can now all come together on this new platform to share these challenges and help each other find solutions. We are all aware of the importance of improving the state of pitches in this country and this is a great step to making a long-lasting difference.”

Geoff Webb, IOG CEO said: “This is the culmination of over five years of work within our partnership with both the Football Foundation and The FA via the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme and will complement the invaluable pitch-maintenance service that the Regional Pitch Advisors provide for volunteers at grassroots football clubs.

Dean Potter, Director of Grant Management at the Football Foundation, said: “The majority of community football is played on grass pitches and it’s a priority for us that we are able to sustain this.”

“We know how important football facilities are in transforming lives and bringing communities together and this platform will enable us to build a new groundskeeper community that will provide huge benefits for people across the country.”

For more information, go to http://thefa.hivelearning.com/groundskeeping.

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Environmentally Safe Weed Control By Hatz

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Environmentally Safe Weed Control By Hatz: The control of unwanted weeds and vegetation is a perennial issue for municipalities, landscapers and green space contractors.

However, since 2011 a UK company, Weedingtech Ltd, has been developing a range of machines that not only tackles this issue, but carries it out without the use of harmful herbicides. Named the Foamstream Municipal Series, the machines use a patented low-pressure process which combines hot water and a biodegradable foam. The foam is made from natural plant oils and sugars making it safe for use around people, animals and delicate environments.

Environmentally Safe Weed Control By Hatz

Within the Foamstream Municipal range, is their highest performance product, the Foamstream M1200.

The Foamstream M1200 is self-contained and powered by a Hatz 1B30 diesel engine in EU and US/Canada EPA specifications.

Commenting on the decision to select the Hatz engine, Robert Cutting, Weedingtech, After Sales Manager said, “We purchased the Hatz engines based on its’ good reputation and their customer service. During the implementation process the Hatz personnel performed in the most professional and helpful manner of company I have ever dealt with.”

“The customer service provided by Hatz GB has been exceptional. Very fast to respond and any issues we have had have been sorted out quickly.. They are a really great team. We intend to keep on purchasing these Hatz engines for all of our production machines,” added Robert.

The Hatz 1B30 is a single-cylinder air-cooled 4-stroke internal combustion diesel engine with a horizontal shaft. The engine has a direct injection fuel system and comes equipped with a recoil starter or electric starter motor. The reliability and compactness of the 1B30 makes it a popular engine, particularly with manufacturers of small plant and machinery.

The Foamstream M1200 is the larger of the two machines in the Municipal Series. It has been designed for contractors who are looking for a high performance machine that will cover large areas of open space quickly. Aside from municipalities and green space contractors, the M1200 is also used by a large number of customers in the utility, tourism, education and organic sectors.

Weedingtech was set up in 2011. From the outset their primary objective has been to provide organisations with a sustainable solution for the safe management of outside spaces, whilst also protecting the public and the wider environment. It now supplies many clients across four continents around the world with the technology including councils in the UK such as Hammersmith and Fulham, Lewes, Glastonbury and Vale of Glamorgan.      The Foamstream Municipal Series was designed to provide an alternative solution to using traditional herbicides such as glyphosate.

Hatz diesel engines have been around since 1910. From their manufacturing base situated at Ruhstorf, Germany, Hatz produce a range of modern diesel engines from 3 to 55 kW. Their UK subsidiary, Hatz GB Limited, has its facilities centrally located in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

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Trophy For Alfreton Groundsman

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Trophy For Alfreton Groundsman: Alfreton Town’s Rob Brooks picked up the third place trophy in the National League category at the FA Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Boreham Wood claimed first place with Chesterfield in second.

The Impact Arena is widely recognised up and down the country for its stunning surface and being one of the best non league surfaces outside the football league.

With the likes of Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town and Burton Albion using the surface for their youth teams, the Impact surface was recently selected to host the England U18s as they face Korea Republic in September.

We send our huge congratulations to Rob for his amazing hard work throughout the season and during the close seasons. His commitment and dedication to his work has been recognised with a fantastic award as our pitch surface gains even more recognition!

The Groundsman of the Year awards is a nationwide competition for non-league football groundsmen.

The awards recognise the contribution of these unsung heroes, who work in all weather, often as volunteers, all year round, to make sure that thousands of matches can take place on a high standard of playing surface and with a very limited budget.

The FA has a panel of judges – professional groundsmen themselves – who look at the quality of the pitch while also taking into consideration the skills and knowledge of the groundsman, their ambitions for the pitch, the resources available, how often the pitch is used, and the amount of time they are able to work on the pitch.

Chairman Wayne Bradley on Rob’s award:

“Congratulations go out to our groundsman, who continues to provide the impact arena with a playing surface to grace the game at a testing range of both local and international levels. We are all at Alfreton Town football club, quite rightly very proud of Rob Brooks ( the groundsman) who continues to set the bar to the highest standard in playing surface presentation.”

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