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NEWS ARTICLES

Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School

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Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School: Andy Richards, Grounds Manager at Shrewsbury School, has claimed that he is amazed at the amount of material the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 removes from the School’s cricket wickets.

Set over 120 acres with approximately 800 pupils, Shrewsbury School is one of the most prestigious independent schools in the land. Boasting academic excellence, the School also has some of the finest sporting facilities in the UK. In fact over three quarters of the School’s land is occupied by sports pitches. There is wide variety of sports on offer at Shrewsbury School and in summer all eyes turn to cricket.

Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School

Cricket-writer Sir Neville Cardus once described the School’s cricket facilities as “the most beautiful playing fields in the world, spreading and imperceptibly mingling with the pasture land of Shropshire”. However, these facilities don’t come easily.

Andy and his team work tirelessly throughout the year to provide sports pitches of the highest quality, and when it comes to his cricket wickets he puts his faith in the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5

“We use the Auto Rotorake specifically for cricket because it does such a good job,” says Andy. “Previously, we had an older Rotorake in our armoury and because we were so impressed with it there was absolutely no reason to try something else. I had a demonstration of the new Auto Rotorake last year, decided to purchase one and it is a definite upgrade. The amount of material you can take out of a wicket with the brush reel and the verticutting reel sometimes needs to be seen to be believed.”

The SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf.

Key features include:

  • Contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal
  • A selection of 7 different interchangeable reels enables the machine to carry out a variety of maintenance tasks
  • Depth of cut adjustment control is mounted on the handle to enable depth to be set whilst moving forwards
  • User-friendly, operator presence controls designed for maximum operator safety
  • Easy-fit collector box
  • 6.5hp petrol engine with independent drive to wheels and reel
  • Careful weight distribution, slick tyres and full differential ensure ease of turning and minimal surface marking

“We use it all the way through the cricket season,” continues Andy. “In Summer we do 30 match wickets a week and it will be part of the preparation for every one of those match wickets. From the middle of April through to the last cricket match in August we play host to approximately 250 matches and the Auto Rotorake is used on every one of those.

“For me, SISIS signals simplicity and reliability. It may be a cliché but it does what it says on the tin and that’s what I expect. The machines are built to last and I’ve never had any problems with SISIS equipment.”

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

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Rugby Club Devastated By Pitch Fire

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Rugby Club Devastated By Pitch Fire: A Swansea rugby club’s bosses are “devastated” after one of their pitches was set alight in a suspected arson.

The second pitch belonging to Vardre RFC, based in Clydach, was badly burnt during the fire on Sunday.

South Wales Police are investigating the fire after Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue service were called at about 13:30 BST.

The club spends up to £5,000 a year over the summer to fertilise and reseed the pitches.

“We are worried that it will affect our season and prevent players from all ages enjoying the sports they love,” the committee said.

By the time fire crews arrived, the committee said the pitch was “completely burnt.”

“We are extremely proud of the quality of our pitches,” a spokesman said.

“These facilities are used by the mini, junior, youth and senior section of not only Vardre RFC, but Clydach FC as well.

“The second team pitch is also our only floodlit pitch so is vitally important in the season when the evenings are darker, and we require the floodlighting to train.

“It’s completely heartbreaking and frustrating when so many good people volunteer their time and effort to improve facilities and provisions for the local community and a mindless, selfish few continually vandalise the Vardre RFC playing facilities.

“Currently, we are unsure how long and how much it will cost to get the pitch back to its original state.”

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Reesink Reliability Seals The Deal

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Reesink Reliability Seals The Deal: Orsett Golf Club in Essex has long been a Toro customer and plans on keeping it that way for the next four years as it signs its third lease deal with Reesink Turfcare. This is thanks to Toro putting in the hours and keeping its residual value, as well as having Reesink supporting it with back-up.

Set over 112 acres of undulating heathland, the par 72 Championship course has a demanding layout of over 6,600 yards, and as a result the machines are expected to work hard, as course manager Perry Lowe explains: “This is a really big course and the machines are used heavily. Toro gives us a good amount of hours yet keeps its residual value, which is an important factor in our four-year machinery replacement programme. In the last four years, we’ve had hardly any issues, but the peace of mind we get from having Reesink for backup should we need it is really important.

Reesink Reliability Seals The Deal

“We’re almost 100 percent Toro here. We feel it has the edge with having Reesink as distributor. When Reesink took over as distributor for Toro three years ago, we wondered if things were going to change and if it would affect how things work. But we’re more than happy with the customer service, the speed with which any problems are dealt with is incredible – the next day and it’s sorted.”

This latest four-year deal includes the Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420, Reelmaster 3575-D, Groundsmaster 3500-D, Groundsmaster 4000-D, two Reelmaster 3100-D mowers, a Multi Pro 5800-D, GreensPro 1260 and a ProCore SR72 aerator.

Perry concludes: “It’s important we maintain course standards for our members. The results we get from Toro and Reesink have grown better every year and that is why we stick with them time after time.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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£2.6m Pledged For Trees And Green Spaces

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£2.6m Pledged For Trees And Green Spaces: Trees and green spaces will feature in a number of projects which will receive an investment £2.6 million from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) over the next two years in order to improve Wales’ environment.

The projects were selected under the four themes of reducing the risk from environmental hazards; improving habitat management, biodiversity and connectivity; improving access to the outdoors; and using the environment to support the economy and develop skills.


Among the successful bids are:

  • Roots and Water, a project by Severn Rivers Trust with the Woodland Trust to raise awareness of the importance of tree planting for multiple benefits such improving air quality, reducing flood risk and creating habitats for wildlife in the upper Severn area of mid-Wales. They will work with landowners, volunteers and community groups to plant native hedgerow trees and propagate the black poplar tree.
  • Shared Spaces, a project run by Hay-on-Wye Town Council to create green corridors in and around the town to link wildlife habitats and so tackle the decline in biodiversity, with wooden sculptures and interpretation boards on the route’s wildlife.
  • Nature for Health, a joint venture by Denbighshire Countryside Services and the Denbighshire County Council Housing Department, which will use environmental social prescribing and GP referrals to encourage communities to access and enjoy their local green spaces.
  • Gower Hedgerow Hub, to address the over 800km of hedgerows on the Gower peninsula recorded as in poor condition, by engaging and training landowners and volunteers to create an intact, continuous hedgerow to act as a wildlife corridor.

Chair of NRW’s Strategic Funding Board Rhian Jardine said: “We need to make the most of our resources and we must find new, innovative ways to deliver the best outcomes for the environment, for wildlife and for people.

“Our commissioning approach, where we set out the challenges for specific areas of Wales, generated interest across all sectors, and we have several partners who will receive funding for the first time.”

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Aqua-Aid Combats Dry Conditions

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Aqua-Aid Combats Dry Conditions: The very unusual hot weather across the United Kingdom and Europe has been tackled by greenkeepers and groundsmen using Aqua-Aid EU’s OARS and Aquifer pellets in tandem with the PROportioner application system. In the last week of June alone hundreds of PROportioner applicators were sold to new users in Europe, delivering phenomenal results in extraordinary dry conditions.

Many greenkeepers will be experiencing localised dry spots (LDS) on their greens for the first time this year, due to the sweltering weather which triggers by a number of factors to cause excessive dryness. At a rootzone level, the waxy hydrophobic compounds that attach themselves to sand particles in the root zone will have done so and made these particles water repellent.

Aqua-Aid Combats Dry Conditions

But with increasing pressure to facilitate more golf the use of the course has increased – especially during the summer – and when combined with the specifications of modern greens the issue of water repellency increases, with wetting agents commonly used to tackle this issue.

OARS (organic acid redistribution system) has been used with consistent success to deal with LDS. The pellets use a corrective approach to remove the build-up of organic acids that coat the surface of sand particles which cause water repellence and LDS conditions.

This product is commonly used together with Aquifer which provides hydration for a 30 to 45-day period, allowing water repellency to be managed while preventing LDS conditions. It provides uniform downward and lateral water movement in the top several inches of the root zone and doesn’t need to be watered in after application.

Both pellets can be applied with the PROportioner system which is designed specifically for use on all types of turf. The convenient system doesn’t use any chemical mixing and makes hand watering more effective and longer lasting.

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