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Bobcat Dealer AMS Bobcat Celebrates 25th Anniversary

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Bobcat Dealer AMS Bobcat Celebrates 25th Anniversary: Scunthorpe-based AMS Bobcat Limited, the Authorised Bobcat Dealer for Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire in the UK, is celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary this year. 

Established in 1992, AMS Bobcat took its name from the initials of the surnames of its three founders, George Aitkenhead, Alex Murray and Peter Sowerby.

Initially set up as a hire, service and sales company for compact machinery, AMS Bobcat began business mainly hiring skid-steer loaders and mini-excavators to the steel works based in Scunthorpe.

AMS placed its first order with Bobcat in 1993 for 35 skid-steer loaders and attachments.  Soon after the order, AMS was appointed the Bobcat Dealer for Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire and North Norfolk and has remained in this role ever since.  The company is one of the longest standing Bobcat dealers in the UK.

UKs first S450_AMS_Rodmell

Over the intervening years, AMS has sold in excess of 3500 new Bobcat units into a wide range of industries, including construction, agriculture, shipping, plant hire, mining, landscaping and demolition.

Managing Director, Steve McIntosh, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year.  As a Bobcat dealer for almost all of that period, there have been many memorable moments from appearing live from our stand at the Muck99 show on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast programme to several firsts including the sale of the UK’s first Bobcat 17 m telehandler in Hull Docks and the first of the very latest Bobcat S450 skid-steer loaders in the UK farming industry.“

Paul Hyslop, Bobcat District Manager (UK North & Nordics), commented:  “On behalf of Doosan Bobcat EMEA, I would like to congratulate AMS for achieving this notable milestone.  AMS is a very professional company which is easy to do business with.  With an excellent track record as a Bobcat dealer, AMS has never waivered over the last 25 years from offering the very best in customer service to match our market-leading Bobcat range.“

Prominent in Rental

With 25 years’ experience in the plant hire industry, AMS has built up a state-of-the-art rental fleet of Bobcat machinery and attachments comprising 65 skid-steer loaders, 35 compact excavators and 10 telescopic handlers.  Steve McIntosh added: “The company maintains a team of experts who are on hand to offer customers advice they might need regarding the best machinery for their project.  The high quality of the products is only matched by the high quality of the customer service and AMS takes great pride in tailoring our service to meet the specific needs of each of our customers.”

Steve (1997 – present) is one of several staff AMS has been lucky enough to have at the company for more than 20 years.  The others include founder, George Aitkenhead, who is still Chairman/Owner today, together with Hire Manager, Pauline Chafer (1995 – present); Service Manager, Kevin Barrowcliffe (1997 – present) and Service Engineers, Dave Borrell (1995 – present) and Allwyn Dalton (1997 – present).

With this level of experience, it is not surprising that AMS offers an excellent level of expertise and knowledge of the Bobcat range and the other products it offers, whether it be new and used equipment sales, parts supply, service repairs or long and short term rental.

Steve McIntosh added: “Having started with five staff members, AMS now employs 25 people including Service, Parts, Hire and Sales Managers; six service engineers, three HGV drivers, three plant operators as well as reception and accounts staff.  In acknowledgement of our high level of customer service, we have been accredited since 2003 to the highest industry standards ISO 9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001.”

AMS is responsible for sales and service of Bobcat skid-steer, compact tracked and all wheel steer loaders, compact excavators, telehandlers and attachments throughout Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

AMS also offers a full selection of genuine Bobcat accessories and parts to support both new and existing Bobcat customers in its area.  Customers benefit from AMS’s well-established on-site service network, covering everything from emergency repairs to routine maintenance.  The company offers flexible service agreements including 24 hours a day coverage, depending on the requirements of the customer.

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Price Turfcare Will Display Ventrac And Ryan Products At Saltex

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First time for Price Turfcare at Saltex with Ventrac and Ryan products on display: Price Turfcare, the newly established business founded by Ransomes Jacobsen’s former sales director, Rupert Price, will be exhibiting at SALTEX for the first time on stand B124.

Following the launch of the business with the Ventrac franchise back in January, it has been an exciting nine months building the team, establishing a network of dealers and embarking on a series of demonstration tours across the UK. In July it was announced that Price Turfcare had added the Ryan franchise to their portfolio to provide customers with a broad range of commercial turf maintenance equipment.

Price Turfcare Will Display Ventrac And Ryan Products At Saltex

Sales have been excellent with some prestigious clients seeing the benefits of the versatile Ventrac 4500 compact tractor including Darren Baldwin, Head of Playing Surfaces and Estates at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Peter Pattenden, Golf Courses and Estates Manager at Carden Park together with Amey, the international infrastructure support services company, and Sheffield Council hiring machines from Russell Groundscare.

To understand why these respected businesses have been impressed by the Ventrac product and to see the latest equipment from Ryan come along and visit stand B124. We look forward to seeing you.

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A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

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A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire: Club completes course redesign and Toro irrigation install

It’s all in the numbers for The Buckinghamshire Golf Club, which has recently undergone a £3 million course redesign. The course has been lengthened to 7200 Championship yards, 112 bunkers have been redesigned to 64 and the 25-year irrigation system has been replaced with a new Toro Lynx controller with 1275 Flex 35 and T5 sprinklers, ensuring that not an inch of the 226 acre venue goes without a good watering.

Course manager Andy Ewence who has been at the club in Denham for five years says the club has very high standards and the course, which was designed by John Jacobs OBE and is host to numerous competitions, needed some alterations to ensure its position as one of the finest inland course in the British Isles: “We wanted to update some aspects of the course. Lengthening it adds a new challenge for our members and better suits the tournaments we host. We’ve reduced 112 bunkers to 64, relocated the remaining 64 and lined every one with bunker Blinder. We’ve added lake edges to two feature holes and concrete pathways for ease of movement around the course.”

A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

It was while making these changes that Andy and the team decided to replace the irrigation system. Andy explains: “The irrigation system was 25 years old and as a result the PVC piping was turning brittle, it was very unreliable and the computer system needed updating. And all of these factors were visibly displaying on the course. We had dry patches and grass that was turning yellow. Redesigning the course was the perfect time to update the system.”

Andy says the owners were very much behind the investment and encouraged him to seek out “the best”, a decision Andy turned to irrigation specialists Lakes and Greens to help him make. “We were after the highest specification, the full package,” says Andy. “Wall-to-wall sprinklers, a mapping system and Grundfos pumps that work with the controllers were key.

“We are very familiar with the Toro brand as we are on a five-year leasing package for all our turf machinery and the quality is outstanding. But Toro Irrigation was chosen for its own merit and it was the Lynx control system in particular that sold it to me. I’ve been using the system since April 2017 and in my opinion it is the best system I could have chosen, it’s so easy to work with. But the real proof is in the grass, it looks amazing: green and lush and the members have really noticed a difference.” It definitely helps having over a thousand sprinklers working their magic!

Mike Collins, managing director of Lakes and Greens, the company renowned for meeting the standards required by Championship venues, installed the product and comments: “The installation at the Buckinghamshire was achieved in two very tight windows of opportunity, both deadlines were met despite appalling weather conditions in early 2016 thanks to the leadership of contracts director Mark Collins. We enjoy a strong relationship with the Reesink team and its support of the Toro product is excellent.”

The Buckinghamshire is a regular host of Ladies European Tour events, including the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters, but it has taken a break while the renovations have taken place. With a return to normal hosting duties expected next year all the eyes on The Buckinghamshire will be rewarded with a green and glorious view.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

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Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success: Kingsbarns Golf Links may be no stranger to accolades, but its distinction as the ideal setting for the Ricoh Women’s British Open has now been verified by one of golf’s most respected authorities.

The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) recorded excellent performance data during this summer’s tournament, resulting in some of the most consistent figures collated during championships.

What makes these findings even more impressive is that this year’s flagship event was mired by extreme weather conditions culminating in torrential downpours. Yet despite the unseasonal deluges, the course dried up quickly and the tournament was completed on time. The STRI has now confirmed that the women’s major was contested over an exceptional course with consistent sand top dressings being one of the primary reasons for success.

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

He continued: “Achieving the targets was particularly pleasing because of the challenging weather conditions experienced throughout the championship with heavy rain falling on most afternoons and evenings. The results were outstanding and the use of the sand was a major influence. Regular sanding provides the foundations for firmness which allows you to achieve target green speeds. If the greens had softened, we wouldn’t have achieved the results we recorded.”

With a client list that includes all nine Open Championship venues and many of Europe’s top clubs, the STRI collects performance data to deliver unparalleled benchmarking analysis. With this in mind, a threshold of six to eight inches is set between the fastest and slowest greens during tournament play. For this year’s Women’s Open, that difference was particularly good at Kingsbarns with a variance down to just three inches – a level of consistency not achieved before now.

“The consistency of the firmness between the greens was excellent,” said Windows. All the greens remained within target despite significant rainfall during the championship.”

Using a Stimpmeter, Windows was able to check the pace of the Kingsbarns greens twice daily in order to make fine adjustments when required. He also checked other key performance indicators such as firmness and smoothness. The consistency of results were unprecedented, as Innes Knight, course and facility manager at Kingsbarns explained.

“When we Stimped a green and it was not quite where we wanted it, we would cut it again,” said Knight. “We were able to get all 18 greens and the practice putting green to within three inches of each other. It was that close. A lot of them were exactly the same.”

Knight, who has been looking after the tees, greens and fairways at Kingsbarns since it opened in 2000, said the data was exceptional. “We’re not just talking about the smoothness and the speed, we’re also talking about the firmness,” he said. “So between the results for the stimping, the firmness and the smoothness, they were all consistent. I believe they’re some of the best readings ever.”

Sand is used on golf courses to reduce organic material and improve drainage. It also has a huge impact on putting surfaces, as Windows was keen to point out. “The sand influences firmness and because the greens retained a good level of firmness, it was easier to achieve the target green speeds and consistency between greens. This was achieved with the aid of Hugh King’s Washed Dune sand.”

Hugh King & Co supplies sands to over 120 golf courses including all Open Championship venues in Scotland, and Kingsbarns for the last 12 years. Here, Hugh King’s Washed Dune Sand is used for topdressing greens, surrounds and fairways.

“Kingsbarns has a well-earned reputation for delivering an incredible golfing experience which has rightly propelled it to the top of many golfers’ wish lists,” said Graeme King, managing director of Hugh King & Co. “These results from the STRI clearly show this appreciation is founded on the meticulous preparation programme followed by the greenkeeping team at Kingsbarns. It is particularly gratifying to know that our Washed Dune sand is playing a central role in this effort.”

The Ricoh Women’s British Open was the first time the STRI had measured a women’s Major on behalf of The R&A following the amalgamation between the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) and The R&A. It was also the first Major golf championship to be contested across Kingsbarns Golf Links.

Hugh King & Co is one of the country’s leading suppliers of sports sands. The family run firm has been delivering top-grade materials to key industry sectors for over 160 years.

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Wiedenmann UK’s Trading Division Adds Two Mounted Maredo Machines

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Wiedenmann UK’s Trading Division Adds Two Mounted Maredo Machines: GroundPro, a trading division of Wiedenmann UK, has partnered with Maredo BV to offer two tractor-mounted machines to the British and Irish market.

The MT200 Flex-Verticutter and MT210 VibeSpike-Aerator will be premiered at Saltex on Nov 1 & 2. Both outstanding machines attach to tractors 25 hp and up and provide rapid responses to difficulties that may occur in the vital area lying just beneath the turf surface.

Wiedenmann UK’s Trading Division Adds Two Mounted Maredo Machines

Controlling thatch in the top layer is key; too much organic matter can be a problem. The MT200 Flex-Verticutter is a scarifier which removes thatch both cleanly and incredibly quickly. Three independent floating heads mean that any undulating surfaces pose no challenge thanks to an easy turn ‘A’ frame and pivot point.  Each head is a fraction over 63 cm wide so they combine to offer a span of 1.9 m, all working to a depth of 25 mm. Choose full depth to remove a lot of organic matter or let the blades just touch the top layer for a light grooming.

The MT210 VibeSpike-Aerator relieves compaction and allows air to permeate especially when time is at a premium.  Unlike traditional spiking, the vibration action is built in to the three separate floating heads. All six spike sections per head are mounted on a camshaft. When the PTO is engaged the spike sections start to vibrate. The vibrations shatter the compacted top layer leaving clean slit holes at the surface. Depth adjustment is tool-free, the adjustable support front roller and rear solid roller work in tandem to offer penetration from 20 mm to 55 mm.

David Rae, managing director of both GroundPro and Wiedenmann UK said:

“These are really strong offerings by Maredo, available shortly via our dealer network across the UK and Ireland.   Both are accurate and efficient with great build quality.  The new machines share the same frame so only additional heads are required to switch tasks. The triple heads tackle contours in their stride. Most of all these are built for speed suiting professionals working against the clock or with finite weather windows.”

GroundPro established its name by offering the range of Pro-Cast capacious bulk blue and green top dressers, famous for their sturdy tanks yet nimble manoeuvrability.  For more details call 0141 814 3366,  or follow on Twitter @GroundPro. See us on stand A080 at Saltex, NEC, Birmingham, Nov 1 &2.

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