Press Release - Turf Matters

Tribunal Into Dismissed KCOM Groundsmen Ends

October 30, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Tribunal Into Unfairly Dismissed KCOM Groundsmen Ends: Two former groundsmen at the KCOM Stadium have been battling for compensation after being unfairly dismissed but will have to wait for weeks to find out the verdict of a tribunal hearing.

Head groundsman Mark Harrison and his number two Darrell Cook were sacked by the SuperStadium Management Company (SMC) in June.

A hearing at Wilberforce Court has already been told that the company ran by Ehab Allam admitted it unfairly dismissed the pair.

But the company is arguing that no compensation should be paid to the ground staff, claiming that Mr Cook worked as a kitman for Hull FC when he was supposed to be working for the SMC.

At the end of Friday’s hearing, tribunal judge Rita Rogerson told the men that they will have to wait “weeks not days” to find out if they will receive any compensation.

She said that she had “run out of time” to make a decision and the men would receive a written judgment.

During the hearing, Mr Cook denied allegations that he had been working as a kitman for Hull FC while employed to maintain the pitch at the KCOM stadium.

Giving evidence, he insisted that he kept the two roles separate from each other and said he had always helped prepare Hull FC’s kit for upcoming matches outside of his working hours for the SMC.

Although he said he had been the club’s kitman for 20 years, he had never been given an employment contract and was paid £65 per fixture.

His former employer says that CCTV footage and security records show him carrying out kitman duties on four dates when he was meant to be working for the SMC.

SMC barrister Melanie Teather said that although the company acted unfairly during the dismissals process, their sacking was justified because of their conduct. She also accused Mr Cook of “making up explanations” for his whereabouts, and providing “contradictory” evidence.

She told the hearing: “When [Mr Cook] did submit his evidence today, his evidence fundamentally changed and he gave no proper explanation as to why he had done so.”

Mr Cook said that he had been carrying out normal ground-keeping duties at the stadium. CCTV footage shown at the tribunal showed Mr Cook carrying a Hull FC shirt near the changing room, but he said the shirt belonged to his wife who worked in the Hull FC shop at the stadium.

Miss Teather accused Mr Harrison of being aware that Mr Cook was working as a kitman, on three of the days, they allege he was doing that work instead of groundsman duties.

In concluding statements, barrister for the groundsmen Nicholas Siddall said that much of SMC’s case relies on the belief that it has an “infallible system” to understand the comings and goings of Mr Cook while on duty.

He also argued that Mr Allam, who gave evidence on Thursday, resides in “an ivory tower” and doubted he would witness the day-to-day activities of the groundsmen.

The final judgement on the case will announced at a later date.

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Multifunctional Vehicles For Local Authorities And Service Providers

October 30, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Franziska Reiche

Multifunctional vehicles for local authorities and service providers: Internationally successful manufacturer HOLDER presents its vehicle programme of ground care and winter maintenance products for the first time at SALTEX in Birmingham.

German company Max Holder GmbH looks back on nearly 130-years of “German engineering”. Even today the wide range of municipal vehicles with their high quality, innovative ideas, and maximum economy are quite impressive.

The range of products starts with the small X-series (40 HP), moving up to the middle range C-series (50/65 HP) and then on to the large S-series (100/115/130 HP). These articulated vehicles, along with their perfectly matched attachments, offer a versatile and all-year-round usage. In only a few steps, it is possible to switch to winter maintenance, sweeping, mowing or several special applications. The vehicles are used in municipalities, at airports, for car parks, in industrial companies, and for facility management. They are characterized by their agility, their driving and operating comfort, as well as their reliability and durability.

The Holder products are already available in numerous countries throughout Europe, Asia and America. The market presence especially in the UK and Ireland shall now be further developed. While the importer in Ireland, RD Mechanical, has been successfully active during the last years, UK is still a new Market for Holder. Andreas Vorig, CEO of Max Holder, states: “This year we started with our new distribution company Holder Equipment UK. We are very happy that for the director’s position we could win Brian Croll, who has enormous knowledge and experience of the municipal market in the UK. One of the first actions will be to develop a sales and service network that fits our customers’ needs.”

At this year’s SALTEX, the latest model of the C-series will be presented: the new Holder C 70 meets the new European emission standard Stage 3B and has the award winning Holder PowerDrive inside, which provides 40% more traction and 50% more climbing capacity compared to a common four-wheel drive. While the presentation of the Holder X series with petrol engine and catalytic convertor is Holder’s response to the urban particulate pollution problems without a costly exhaust gas after-treatment. The Holder range of products including attachments will be presented at the SALTEX in Birmingham from 1 – 2 November 2017 at stand number H031.

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Power Through Autumn With The ECHO PB-580

October 30, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Power through Autumn with the ECHO PB-580: The autumn clean-up, as every groundsman and landscape professional knows, calls for a powerful blower to deal swiftly and efficiently with leaves and litter.

All too often you’re shifting wet or damp materials, with leaves clinging together and hard to move. Not so with the PB-580 backpack blower. The PB-580 has all you need to power your way through the autumn with a premium grade Stage 2 compliant 58.2cc engine doing the work. What’s different as well about the ECHO blower is its excellent balance, and it’s light enough to be used throughout the day without causing excessive user fatigue. It has to be ECHO’s most comfortable backpack blower, with its ventilated backpack pad to keep the operator cool even with the machine on full power. Four anti-vibration springs support the operator’s back and the shoulder straps are fully padded.

ECHO engineers take a very different approach in their design – it’s all about user experience and the environments where the blower will be used. Clearly, adding comfort enhancing features will increase operator productivity for a quicker result. The blower’s handle has been designed with a new palm rest and hand stop to reduce the chances of the operator’s hands slipping down and losing control of the machine. The trigger has also been made longer for more precise throttle control.

You can tell this is a machine that has been tested in everyday, real-life environments as everything feels easy and natural to use. What’s more, the PB-580 has been designed to be easier for the operator to maintain. The air filter cover is easily accessed with no need for tools. The pleated, automotive style air filter can be quickly replaced and the in-grip adjustment has been placed near the handle for easy access to tighten the throttle cable. There’s a leaf guard to eliminate any debris being potentially blown into the fan intake clogging the filter and fan. The metal ring at the end of the straight pipe reduces the pipe’s wear and tear.

Add to this the fact that ECHO products are manufactured by the Japanese Yamabiko Corporation, who have been leaders in professional outdoor power tools for over sixty years. The PB-580 also comes with a two-year professional warranty, giving you peace of mind to put autumn in its place. You can find out more from your local authorised ECHO dealer.

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Duncan Ross Ltd Reinvigorates Penrith Football Club

October 27, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by CharmianRobson

Duncan Ross Ltd reinvigorates Penrith Football Club with six-week pitch re-development: Penrith Football Club’s Frenchfield Park Stadium had been virtually unplayable for nine years, until recent pitch redevelopment work by Duncan Ross Ltd gave the club and their pitch a new lease of life.

The surface had been without considered maintenance before and during the current nine-year inhabitancy of Penrith FC, and without a functioning drainage system the top layer of the surface became impenetrable.

Duncan Ross were only given a six-week window to complete the operation in time for a lucrative pre-season friendly against League Two outfit Carlisle United. Within the three days of work, the top was completely stripped off using a Koro^® FIELDTOP MAKER^®, sand banding was introduced and the pitch was seeded.

Brian ‘Billy’ Williams has had a 50-year association with the club, first as a player, owner and chairman – the role he currently holds. The importance of the pitch being prepared for the match was massive for the club, and Brian explains the before and after effects the project has had.

“The pitch wasn’t draining at all, we had drains that had been dry for the last eight-years and Duncan came down and gave us a thesis on what he thought was wrong,” Brian explained. “He presented a solution to what he thought would solve the problems and our local council along with the Football Stadium Improvement Fund got involved and funded the project.

“It’s been a pleasure for people to come along to the ground and ask what’s been going on and I tell we met a man called Duncan Ross. I’ve been in business myself for the last 50-years and I don’t think I’ve ever met a more conscientious people regarding the quality of their work.

“We played our first pre-season game against Carlisle United on 12^th July, and that really put them to the test because the decision wasn’t made to bring Duncan in until the early part of May, so there was a five to six-week window to actually start doing the work, which was quite considerable.

“The game against Carlisle meant a lot to us financially for the start of the current season, so it was great that it was ready for the game. Carlisle were absolutely thrilled with the condition of it and we’ve had nothing but positive feedback.”

As Frenchfield is owned by Eden Council and leased by the club, Doug Huggon, leisure and community service manager at the council, was involved in the process. Their involvement along with the help of the Cumberland Football Association meant half the cost of reconstructing the pitch was paid for.

“Duncan Ross can only be commended in their approach to offering a solution to the drainage issue, successfully bidding for the work, undertaking the work on time and to budget,” Doug said.

“Also, for the support and assistance that has been offered to the club since the work was carried out, advising on irrigation, grass cutting and on-going maintenance.

“The council as well as the club has been impressed with the performance of Duncan Ross and hope to develop a relationship going forward that will ensure that the day to day maintenance of the pitch, undertaken by volunteers at the club as well as the annual reinstatement of the pitch allows for less matches being postponed and use of the pitch by other teams within the club.”

Allowing other teams within the club to use the pitch is a very important point for Brian, who now aims to bond the clubs 300 junior kids and four ladies’ teams together by allowing all of them to play on the stadium pitch.

This would not only have a positive effect on the players but the club’s finances at the same time. There is also a probable knock-on effect of being able to use the surface to attract new players to the club.

with six-week pitch re-development.

Penrith Football Club’s Frenchfield Park Stadium had been virtually unplayable for nine years, until recent pitch redevelopment work by Duncan Ross Ltd gave the club and their pitch a new lease of life.