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NEWS ARTICLES

New Environmental Commitment

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New Environmental Commitment: Ekerum Resort Öland was recently awarded the “World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility” at the World Golf Awards which took place at La Manga Club in Spain. The Golf Club which is situated in Sweeden has signed a five-year preferred supplier agreement with Jacobsen in which both parties have pledged to measure and publish environmental performance.

Jacobsen has ensured that Ekerum Resort Öland is supplied with the best environmentally performing machinery, which includes an Eclipse 322 diesel hybrid greens mower, a Truckster XD with SprayTek, an HR700 wide area rotary mower, an AR722 rough mower, 10 Cushman Haulers and 25 E-Z-GO ELiTE TXT golf cars.

New Environmental Commitment

 Jacobsen has an ongoing commitment to ISO Standard 14001 which gives clear objectives for improving environmental performance and actively championing environmentally sound practices. Jacobsen and Ekerum Resort Öland have worked together to set a specific set of environmental targets. The targets agreed to by both businesses are:

  • Reduce waste removed from sites by 2% per year (10% over a 5-year period)
  • Increase waste recycling by 2% per year (10% over 5-year period)
  • Reduce energy use (total KW/h/ hours worked) by 2% on 2016 usage (10% over 5-year period)

Commenting on the partnership, Director International Golf Sales Andre Andrade, said:

“Firstly, I would like to congratulate Ekerum on winning the accolade of the World’s Best Eco-friendly Golf Facility. At Jacobsen, we are leaving no stone unturned as we strive to better both our production and the environmental performance of our machinery. As custodians of a fantastic facility in Öland, I am incredibly pleased that the team at Ekerum share the same environmental values and together, we are setting industry standards and pushing boundaries.”

Magnus Lagerlöf, CEO at Ekerum Resort Öland, commented on the new machinery and the partnership with Jacobsen:

“As our recent award suggests, we are committed to environmental sustainability, and a huge part of this is the machinery we use on the golf course. The E-Z-GO ELiTE golf car range is a huge technological advancement in the industry. The new cars have a 25% reduction in weight and reductions in energy consumption in the region of 30%. These are big savings which positively impact both the environment and our finances! We are very excited to be working with Jacobsen, and Textron more broadly, to keep improving our practices and the golfing experience for our customers.”

In addition to winning “World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility,” Ekerum Resort Öland also won “Sweden’s Best Golf Hotel” and was nominated in the category of “Europe’s Best Golf Venue” and “Sweden’s Best Golf Course” at this year’s World Golf Awards.

Find out more about Ekerum Resort Öland: http://ekerum.com/

Find out more about E-Z-GO ELiTE: https://www.ezgo.com/elite

 Find out more about Jacobsen: www.jacobsen.com

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IOG Pilots New Framework

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IOG Pilots New Framework: The leading membership organisation for people involved in the management and maintenance of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK, The IOG, is piloting a new framework to the ‘measurement’ of the standard of football pitches at grassroots level.

The new Pitch Grading Framework will not only highlight the level of an individual playing surface quality but also the appropriate training and education, and the recommended levels of qualifications needed by those who maintain it.

IOG Pilots New Framework

In terms of calculating the standard of a pitch, each level of the Framework has certain parameters and, after measurement, the overall result/level of a pitch will be calculated. It is a system that has been used successfully within cricket by the IOG and the England and Wales Cricket Board for over ten years.

The recommended appropriate training and education will match each level of the Framework. For instance, for pitch maintenance at the Basic level (volunteer), an IOG Level 1 course (or equivalent) would be the minimum training recommended. Training/education would increase through the levels with IOG Level 5 (or equivalent) being recommended for individuals maintaining pitches at the Elite level. At all levels, the experience of those in situ will be taken into account and catered for individually.

Working closely with the Football Foundation and Football Association Pitch Improvement Programme, regional pitch advisers from the IOG-led Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP) are now piloting the Framework to identify any potential improvements before the scheme’s full implementation in November, when it is envisaged that each grass sport will have its own specific pyramid.

A range of highly-experienced people have been consulted leading up to the pilot, including Sport England’s Framework Agronomists as well as leading professionals, volunteers and organisations attached to the groundscare industry.

Commenting on the development, GaNTIP director Jason Booth, said: “This really is an exciting time for the future of groundsmanship and to be part of it at the beginning is great for GaNTIP and the programme’s team.

“The system is not designed to identify what is missing; it is to identify where support and development is required, and the initial feedback from the National Governing Bodies of Sport which have viewed the concept has been nothing but positive.”

Geoff Webb, IOG chief executive, added: “The roll out of this revised framework for natural turf will bring much needed clarity to what constitutes a surface that’s fit for play, and it will lead to advanced knowledge and understanding of what input and experience is required to improve the quality of a playing surface and the enjoyment of sports in general.”

For more information, visit: www.iog.org

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Locust World Cup Fears

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Locust World Cup Fears: A plague of locusts could “disgrace” Russia by destroying World Cup pitches, claims The Russian government.

Locusts often feast on crops in southern Russia and Pyotr Chekmaryov, who oversees plant protection at the agriculture ministry, says they could descend on stadiums, too.

In comments reported by state news agencies, Chekmaryov says ‘we’ve more or less learned how to deal with locusts, but this year I’m afraid we could end up in an international locust scandal.’

He adds that ‘locusts like places where there is a lot of green,’ and says that it is important ‘not to disgrace ourselves in front of global society, especially where we will have guests from all over the world.’

Chekmaryov pointed out the Volgograd region, situated more than 600 miles south of the capital Moscow, as a particular concern.

This summer’s finals will run between June 14 and July 15, with matches being played in 12 stadiums across 11 host cities.

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Game-Changer From Barenbrug

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Game-Changer From Barenbrug: Grass expert, Barenbrug UK, has launched a grass seed that manages its own moisture content, which will increase germination and establishment rates – particularly in tough, dry conditions.

The patented technology in Barenbrug Yellow Jacket Water Manager, is the result of research between Barenbrug and Aquatrols and has been independently tested by the STRI.

Game-Changer From Barenbrug

It works like this:

  1. When the seed is exposed to water, the Water Manager technology spreads into the soil creating a plant survival zone.
  2. This zone ensures that each seed has enough water to germinate, then manages the moisture content around the seeding during its establishment.
  3. As a result seedlings are less affected by abiotic stress and more plants survive.

Open Championship venue calls it “something out of sci-fi”

Craig Boath from Carnoustie Championship course, home to the Open Championship in 2018, says, “Barenbrug Yellow Jacket Water Manager has taken the sting out of overwatering landing areas on the fairways and par 3 tees.  It is clear it does not require as much water for germination due to the coating, which seems to hold on to moisture and trigger a quicker germination”.

Dr David Greenshields, Research and Development Manager at Barenbrug says:

“Barenbrug Yellow Jacket Water Manager delivers improved germination and seedling survival in the toughest environments. STRI trials also show that half the number of seeds have delivered twice the establishment. Overall, this product offers a significant development in turf science and a potential game-changer for turf managers in tricky environments, or for those looking to reduce water costs.”

For more information, visit: www.barenbrug.co.uk

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Doosan Dealer Changes

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Doosan Dealer Changes: Doosan Construction Equipment has confirmed that the Central Belt region of Scotland will now be looked after jointly by the company’s dealers, James Gordon Ltd (Gordons) and Balgownie Ltd. 

Based at Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway, Gordons was appointed last year as the Authorised Dealer for the Doosan Heavy range in the South West and Borders regions of Scotland and for the county of Cumbria in Northern England.

Doosan Dealer Changes

The existing Gordons territory has now been extended with the addition of the following central-belt areas – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and all the Lothian Counties, Argyle and Bute, Isle of Mull, Stirling, Fife, Falkirk and the parts of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire that the company did not previously cover.

Balgownie, based at Inverurie, is responsible for the Doosan range in Aberdeenshire, Morayshire, Angus and the Highlands as well as Perthshire and Kinross-shire.  To these areas have been added the Isle of Skye and remaining Highlands postcodes.  Perth and Kinross had already been added 12 months earlier.

According to Doosan, Gordons and Balgownie have been awarded the extended areas purely on merit, despite very strong interest from other parties.  The company is looking forward to working closely with both companies to continue its success in the Scottish market.

Gordons has six depots across its territory and will operate the new Central-Belt area through the Strathaven and Berryhill depots, with support from the headquarters branch in Castle Douglas.  Balgownie will handle the extended territory from the headquarters in Inverurie and the company‘s branch in Turriff.

Founded in 1865, Gordons is a well established and much respected agricultural machinery business in South West and Central Scotland, providing a fast, efficient local service for machinery supply and, most importantly, the best possible aftersales support with 35 service engineers, five of whom are mobile engineers dedicated to construction and Doosan trained.

Balgownie Ltd started trading as an engineering company in 1907 in sheet metal work and tank manufacturing, supplying to shipyards, farmers and the food industry before diversifying into the manufacture and supply of dairy equipment.  Today, Balgownie is one of the leading specialists in construction, tractor, trailer, agriculture and groundcare machinery sales in Scotland.

Both Gordons and Balgownie are responsible for sales and servicing of the Doosan crawler, wheeled and mini/midi excavator, wheel loader and articulated dump truck ranges in their areas.

Customers of both companies benefit from superb on-site service networks, covering everything from emergency repairs to routine maintenance.  The companies‘ factory-trained engineers have many years of hands-on experience of repairs and servicing of plant and machinery.

As well as covering existing contracts, Gordons and Balgownie provide flexible service agreements, depending on the requirements of the customer.  They offer service and warranty work on all existing Doosan machines in their areas, backed by a full selection of genuine accessories and parts.  Both companies hold a stock of new and used Doosan branded machines, to respond quickly to customers’ needs.

For more information about Doosan construction equipment, visit the website www.doosanequipment.eu

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