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NEWS ARTICLES

New G860’s At Wolves

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New G860’s At Wolves: A fresh strategy devised by the owners of Wolverhampton Wanderers has led to the football club purchasing three new Dennis G860 cylinder mowers.

It’s an exciting time for the West Midlands based club; when the new owners took control last year part of their strategy was to place a big emphasis on the style of football they wanted Wolves to play. As a result they were committed to investing in the surface at Molineux Stadium.

New G860's At Wolves

A state-of-the-art Desso Grassmaster hybrid pitch, which is used by top clubs across Europe, was installed shortly after the new owners’ arrival. Secondly, it was time to look at upgrading the turf maintenance machinery.

“When the option came to invest in new machinery, we jumped at the chance of going back to Dennis,” says Anthony Parker, deputy head groundsman. “Certainly for me, I’ve come from a private school background where I have been brought up on Dennis machines. We also used to use the Dennis Premier here on our old fibre elastic pitch. However, the Desso Grassmaster is renowned for being a bit firmer so we decided to go for the Dennis G860 when the new pitch was installed.”

Lightweight at just 166kg; it is easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for – throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive. The mower also features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion.

The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks. With a simple one-minute changeover, users have the option of fitting thirteen different types of cassettes including scarifiers, verticutters, brushes, spikers, and slitters as well as six, eight or eleven bladed cutting cylinders.

“We purchased three G860’s with the full range of cassettes which gives us so much versatility,” says Anthony. “We use them on a daily basis. The verticutting unit is used quite regularly to clean out the surface and we really see the benefits from this. The brushes are a great option too and we use the machines at both the stadium and the training ground.

“With three mowers we now double cut on match days and the G860’s are perfect for presentation and getting a quality finish every time. They create the ideal pitch suitable for how the owners want the team to play.

“Dennis mowers are simply renowned for being a quality piece of kit and the equipment speaks for itself. They are really user friendly and since we’ve had them all of the team have been really impressed.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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Ransomes Partnership Continues

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Ransomes Partnership Continues: Continental Landscapes, a leading grounds maintenance company, recently took delivery of 33 pieces of machinery from Ransomes. The investments marks a 20-year relationship between Continental Landscapes and Ransomes. PA Turney both demonstrated and sold the machinery, having nurtured the relationship between the companies for over two decades.

Continental Landscapes was established in 1989 and currently has more than 20 U.K. branches. It has a diverse portfolio of clients including local authorities, government departments, industrial and commercial concerns, housing associations, sports clubs and private individuals. The company also employs more than 700 people.

Ransomes Partnership Continues

Tom Dew is the plant and machinery manager at Continental Landscapes, having joined the company in 1991. Commenting on the relationship with Ransomes and PA Turney, Tom said:

“We are very proud of our long-standing relationship with both Ransomes and PA Turney. Ransomes make quality machines which are British built. Impressively, its rotary mowers cut like cylinders as they can cut lower than other machines.

“Service and back-up is a huge consideration for us. In my opinion, there is no better dealer than PA Turney. They look after all our branches, and if we need assistance at one of our branches in Scotland, they will travel from Oxfordshire and be there the next day. The combination of exceptional machinery and back-up support is the reason that we keep returning to Ransomes and PA Turney.”

Amongst the new machinery are two Parkway 3 cylinder mowers, 28 HR300 rotary mowers with Müthing decks, two MP493 rotary mowers and one MP495 cylinder mower. Continental Landscapes was one of the first customers invited to test the new Ransomes HM600, a collaboration between Ransomes and Müthing; it will be launching in 2018.

Commenting on the relationship and the machinery, Municipal National Accounts Manager at Ransomes Nathan Walker, said:

“It is testament to the design and manufacturing teams at Ransomes, and the staff at PA Turney that Continental Landscapes has been a loyal customer for so many years. I hope this continues with our future developments such as the new HM600; the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. It’s going to be an exciting year ahead for all concerned!”

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

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New Turf Rewards

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New Turf Rewards: ICL and Syngenta have confirmed some exciting developments and an increased selection of rewards for the Turf Rewards loyalty scheme in 2018. 

Turf Rewards provides the opportunity for customers to earn points from purchases that can then be exchanged against a fantastic selection of agronomic or turf related items and learning opportunities.

New Turf Rewards

Turf managers across the UK and Ireland have been benefiting from the scheme since its creation five years ago and it continues to grow significantly year on year.

2018 sees the addition of some exciting new rewards added to the extensive range of items already on offer. The scheme can provide a great way to enhance education, improve operations and boost team morale. It can also help budgets go that much further.

New rewards for 2018 include:

  • Beepol Hive and Villa
  • 3M Peltor WS Protac XP Headset
  • iPad Pro 12.9” 64BG
  • MacBook Air 13.3” 128GB
  • £150 Machine Mart voucher

An updated and improved Turf Rewards website is now live, the site has a similar feel to the previous version but has some impressive new features such as product trackers and promotion trackers, designed to help end users maximise the number of Turf Rewards points that can be collected. Extra points for promotions will now be automatically be added to user’s points totals.

ICL and Syngenta have also announced that a new Turf Rewards App will be available to download shortly from both the App Store and Google Play.

The all new app will feature the same tracking bars as the website. To improve efficiency and speed up the claim process Turf Rewards users can now upload their invoices as proof of purchase (blanking out any information not relevant to the claim, including prices and other products not relevant to Turf Rewards). The app will make the verification process very easy and the current points total will be available at a touch of a button.

If you would to find out more about Turf Rewards visit www.turfrewards.com or contact the Turf Rewards team directly by emailing info@turfrewards.com

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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Industry Award Brings Big Benefits

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Industry Award Brings Big Benefits : The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, which is now in its 29th year, is recognised and respected across the greenkeeping industry for discovering the most promising talent in the country, thanks to the support of the profession’s college lecturers.

Here we speak to John Millen, sportsturf tutor at Plumpton College, someone who has witnessed firsthand the benefits of a student being nominated and winning the acclaimed award:

Industry Award Brings Big Benefits

“I have nominated a student most years I have been a lecturer and that’s more years than I care to remember! There are plenty of good reasons for this. To start with the award generates career interest and that’s something I wholeheartedly support. I think more needs to be done to push greenkeeping as a viable career option and this is one way to do that.

“It’s also a positive way to promote the college. It’s important for students coming into college to see the success and recognition of their course peers and be confident that their college is going to support them too, in any way it can. I believe being consistently attributed to such an award as a nominator will attract more people to the course and college.”

This year was the first year that the award had opened up nominations to employers, and having been a course manager himself for many years, this is a development John welcomed.

“I think of this industry as one big family; we all play a part in supporting the next generation, nurturing them and helping them achieve their goals. As such I don’t think it makes a difference who nominates the student, it’s just important that we all keep spotting the talent and not assuming someone else will.”

In fact, this year’s winner, Nick Machin, was nominated by his employer, the course manager at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, a decision supported by John as Nick’s lecturer at Plumpton College. David Cole, managing director of the award sponsor Reesink Turfcare, reiterates: “This year’s winner Nick didn’t just prevail through his own efforts, but through the support of his employer and educators. Nick has benefitted from the excellent support of his employer and we are pleased to recognise Plumpton’s important influence on his career to date. It’s a successful combination.”

Not only has John been a lecturer and a course manager, but he was also chairman of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) in 1994, so it goes without saying that anything developing the profession of greenkeeping is a good thing in his eyes. “Education and training are paramount in any industry, no matter whether you are fresh out of college or, like me, decades into your career,” he says.

With the paid-for prize of a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts, which consistently ranks in the top 100 of The World’s Most Innovative Universities, for the winner and a trip to the Golf Industry Show in America for the student and nominator, there’s huge benefits at stake here, as John confirms:

“Having been to the show as a result of one of my nominations, I can vouch that it’s an incredible show; the learning experiences, whether you are a lecturer or employer, are fantastic and well worth the application form!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Toro Sprinklers Chosen For R&A

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Toro Sprinklers Chosen For R&A: Toro’s Infinity and T5 sprinklers have been selected to irrigate the golf practice area at The R&A’s Equipment Testing Centre in order to provide pristine greens and tees for golf equipment testing.

A focal point of the facility, which is located at Kingsbarns near St Andrews in Scotland, is the practice range which allows for human and robotic testing of equipment; the results from which directly affect the game of golf across the world. It is the two greens here that have benefitted from four Toro Infinity 35 sprinklers with TDC wall mount, while seven Toro T5 sprinklers have been added across two tees.

Toro Sprinklers Chosen For R&A

Paul Kimber from Kimber Golf, the golf course architect and contractor working with The R&A on the facility, says: “From its inception, this project has asked pertinent questions as to how and why things are done and how can they be improved. We applied some new techniques, developed a site-specific construction methodology for the greens and tried to create as many research opportunities as possible.

“I have used Toro irrigation for several years and found they provide a quality product with good customer service provided by Reesink Turfcare. This was considered a very important factor for the client, and had the irrigation designer, Callum, in agreement.”

Callum Oliphant, managing director of Applied Irrigation, one of Scotland’s leading irrigation specialists, recommends the use of Toro’s sprinklers because their “performance is reliable and consistent and the quality of design excellent”.

Callum knew he and the team who installed the sprinklers, could rely on Toro to deliver the results a customer like The R&A would expect: “Each year, The R&A’s Equipment Standards department tests thousands of golf clubs and balls to ensure they conform to the equipment rules and the turf needs to provide a true surface, which means it must be in top condition. Irrigation is of course instrumental to that.”

The turf, which the tests are carried out on by some of the leading scientists and elite golfers today and two cutting edge golf robots, need to be as near to perfect as it is possible to get. It’s easy to see therefore why Toro was picked to help achieve that goal.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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