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NEWS ARTICLES

EGO Power At SALTEX

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EGO Power At SALTEX: Since its launch, EGO has emerged as a pioneer of outdoor power technology, With its 56V Arc Lithium battery, EGO has been making its mark on the industry, and heading to the NEC later this year for the SALTEX exhibition.

The ground-breaking brand will be exhibiting at leading turf management event, SALTEX in Birmingham, from 31st October to 1st November, aiming to show grounds care volunteers and professionals how you can get the power of petrol, minus the petrol.

EGO Power At SALTEX

EGO will be giving SALTEX visitors the opportunity to have a chance to look at exciting and revolutionary products, never-seen-before in the EU market. It will also allow people to view products and accessories that are included in the commercial range, such as battery backpacks.

Steve Roskell, Marketing Director EMEA at EGO, is looking forward to the event: “This will be our 4th time at SALTEX and we’re making sure this year will be the best yet. Our new products launching in 2019 will debut exclusively at the exhibition, so make sure you come down and visit our stand!

“It will also give visitors the chance to ask any question they may have about our extensive offering and how cordless outdoor power tools can shape their lives, and their businesses.”

EGO will be on stand J062 at SALTEX from 31st October to 1st November.

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AMS Expands Into Pitch Mowing

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AMS Expands Into Pitch Mowing: Automated Managed Services Ltd (AMS) is the UK’s official distributors for Belrobotics robots and offers a contract based robotic maintenance service solution for turf care. With the aim of building on its undoubted success in the golf industry, AMS is kick-starting its expansion into sport pitch/field care with upcoming installations at Barking FC and Halesowen FC.

These football clubs will be home to the new BigMow Connected Line robotic mower, released into the UK market in April of this year it will be showcased at this years SALTEX show. Its features include a large working area capacity of 24,000 m2, up from the 20,000m2 coverage offered by its predecessor the BigMow Classic. Design improvements to the shell/body design contribute to low noise level output of 52db. It has five sonars used to navigate its surroundings and to perform effective obstacle avoidance. A Belrobotics smartphone app has also been introduced to allow customers to programme mowing schedules and monitor performance.

AMS Expands Into Pitch Mowing

With 45 plus robot locations across the UK, a single BigMow robotic mower can mow a pitch 5 to 7 times per week and imposes no stress to the grass due to its lightweight design. It has 15 razor sharp blades that trim the top of the grass into tiny clippings, which then decompose quickly acting as a natural fertiliser. This in turn reduces the need for chemical fertilisers and frees up personnel to focus on other aspects of pitch care. The BigMow’s manicure style mulching also means there is no green waste to collect, store or remove.

Additionally due to a regular mowing schedule, the grass roots grip is strengthen allowing better anchoring into the soil. Creating a denser sward that is better resistant to wear and tear. This means frequent traffic areas like goalmouths become more shear resistant due natural ample continuous grass growth. With the overall quality of the pitch becoming softer and more homogenous, results in a better ball flight, shot accuracy and playing experience for users.

AMS’s automated maintenance service solution requires no capital outlay and is run on an affordable monthly service contract.  Sport facilities with limited resources can also benefit due to the availability of turf care grants, meaning cash strapped facilities can also reap the benefits robotic mowing provides. A typical robot mower installation involves the install of a docking station and a perimeter wire.  The docking station is where the robot goes to recharge and the perimeter wire emits a magnetic field acting as an underground boundary to guide the robot.

“We’ve had a lot of keen interest from grassroot sport facilities over the last few months, which have lead to installations at Hitchin Town FC and Old Halesonians RFC. With several other installs already in the pipeline, the potential benefits of redeploying personnel to other tasks, operational cost savings, overall health benefits to turf and the availability of grants offered by the FA, ECB and the RFU, are just some of the reasons robotic mowing is fast becoming a desirable turf maintenance option. “  Philip Sear Managing Director of Automated Managed Services Ltd

Visitors to Saltex 2018 at NEC Birmingham, October 31st – 1st November, can see the BigMow Connected Mower in action at Stand A090 or alternatively visit www.automatedmanagedservices.com or call 01462 676 222 for more information.

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Only The Best Nematodes In Leading Products

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Only The Best Nematodes In Leading Products: BASF is the UK’s largest producer of beneficial nematodes, and it goes to great lengths to ensure that its product is of the highest quality available on the market. It’s vital that the quality is as high as possible because low quality nematodes will either die before use or will be ineffective in hunting down prey.

Nematodes are micro-organisms that occur naturally in the soil, where they hunt down and attack pests. Each nematode species has its own specific prey, meaning that they will harm their prey, and only their prey. They are already present within the soil, but more often than not, this is at such low levels that they are ineffective at controlling major pest infestations. In order to see the benefit, you must boost the numbers of live nematodes present in the soil; this is where BASF comes in!

Only The Best Nematodes In Leading Products

BASF ensures a consistently high quality by growing them through an extremely high-tech and specialised procedure. The facilities designed by BASF are reminiscent of a cutting edge distillery or brewery, filled with stainless steel stills and white lab coats. There are endless factors considered with each stage of the process being carefully monitored by experts in the field, and the most advanced equipment specifically designed for the job is used; but whilst the growing process is technical and scientific, the application process for the gardener could not be easier!

Due to the fact out BASF’s nematodes are delivered straight to the customer’s door, as a fresh, live product, it is able to guarantee product consistency, concentration (of 90-95% pure nematodes) and the unique formulations which provide the most optimum stability and product performance for which it has established a market leading reputation. BASF is the only nematode grower to offer this type of service.

Nemasys and Nemaslug are the most effective biological product ranges that meet all environmental standards, and this continues to drive growth year on year, with the products being compatible with organic gardening and creating no resistance issues.

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Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier

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Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier: The 2018 Ryder Cup is approaching, and Jacobsen® turf equipment is an Official Supplier to the tournament, and will be offering support to the greenkeeping team throughout the competition. Staff based at Ransomes Jacobsen France (RJF) in Toulouse will be assisted by technical staff from the Ipswich-based Ransomes Jacobsen facility.

Jacobsen turf equipment is designed and manufactured by Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.

Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier

 In 2016, Le Golf National signed a five-year preferred supplier agreement with Ransomes Jacobsen. The prestigious golf course, which belongs to the French Federation of Golf, has demonstrated its confidence in Ransomes Jacobsen France, which has supplied equipment to the facility since 2010.

 In addition to the course’s regular fleet of Jacobsen equipment, an additional 31 pieces of equipment have been delivered to support The Ryder Cup. The additional machinery consists of 12 Eclipse 2 greens mowers, three SLF-1880 fairway mowers, three AR-3 rotary mowers, two Jacobsen Trucksters, four Smithco Lite rollers and 11 mower caddies.

Alejandro Reyes, Golf and Courses and Estate Manager at Le Golf National, said of the support provided by Jacobsen and RJF:

“Le Golf National has been in partnership with Jacobsen since 2011. The quality of machinery, the back-up support, and the product innovation are just some of the reasons we choose Jacobsen. Together, we have created a world-class golf course that will host The 2018 Ryder Cup, and the Olympics in 2024.

Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier

“We are excited to use Jacobsen equipment during The Ryder Cup. I am confident that it will assist us in making the Albatros course absolutely spectacular for such a huge event. The HNA Open de France went very well, and we are making sure that we maintain high standards all the way through until the Ryder Cup in September.”

Since opening in 1990, Le Golf National has hosted the Open de France 25 times. It consists of three courses: the Albatros, an18-hole championship course, on which The Ryder Cup will be played; the Eagle, a second 18-hole course; and the Oiselet, a 9-hole course.

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com/europe

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Made for Golf and Groundsmen

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Made for Golf and Groundsmen: From the tee to the green, from natural to synthetic sports pitches, as a greenkeeper or groundsman your primary aim will be perfection. Achieving this and maintaining your course and grounds to the highest possible standards requires specialist equipment you can trust. Machinery that gets the job done in the minimum time, is durable and affordable and above all, designed to specifically meet your needs. GKB Machines have been making a name for themselves with high praises from greenkeepers and groundsmen around the UK.

Seeding and surface aerating in one pass

Take the GKB Combiseeder for example. It offers a fast, efficient way of seeding and surface aerating with virtually no surface disturbance. Creating over 1500 holes per m² it provides accurate seed application at various rates to suit different seed mixes, with drag brushes to incorporate seed and topdressing. The Combiseeder can be used for overseeding and initial seeding and offers a fast and efficient way of seeding and surface aerating, with virtually no surface disturbance. There’s a large seed hopper with agitator brush and you get accurate seed distribution from all seed mixes. There are models from 1.2m to 2.1m and there are options of a multi spike cast ring roller or Cambridge roll cast ring roller.

Made for Golf and Groundsmen

Improve and maintain drainage with the GKB Sandfiller

Every professional knows scarifying and sand filling are the perfect combination to improve and maintain drainage on the course. The problem is, it can be a time-consuming task requiring dedicated equipment for each process. GKB have come up with the ideal solution, saving you time and expense and leaving you free to get on with other jobs.
GKB Sandfiller combines in one operation scarifying, removal and sand filling. Which means the operation can be carried out by one person, saving on time and cost. The principle of the Sandfiller is based on the much praised GKB Combinator. The slitting rotor utilises carbide scarifying blades that create wind in order to lift the removed material. The blades remove thatch to a depth of 4cm and the debris is immediately distributed to a sideways tipping container. Dried sand is instantly applied from the hopper to the trench the moment the scarifying is complete. The result is the area is once again available for use immediately.

Top dresser that’s always in fashion

When it comes to top dressing there’s a GKB machine that is just the job. The GKB SP100 has been developed on the back of the success of GKB’s trailed versions and to meet your needs with straightforward mounting onto turf trucks using a simple bolt-on system. Stand legs allow the SP100 to be quickly set up or removed. With its 1m3 hopper capacity the machine suits a variety of purposes, evenly distributing materials, such as sand and mulch with variable spread widths and depths. It’s easily fitted with electro-hydraulic controls and runs directly off the hydraulics of the chosen turf truck. Furthermore, the Sandspreader is available in four different designs which range from 1m3 to 4m3. While the SP100 is suitable for assembling on a turf truck: the ProGator, Truckster or Workman for example, other designs are provided with four pivoting balloon tires, for the perfect distribution of the weight on your golf course.

If you would like to know more about how GKB Machines can help improve and maintain your course or sports pitches a have a chat with Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617 or visit www.gkbmachines.com

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