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NEWS ARTICLES

Pellenc leaves the champions blown away

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John Ledwidge, grounds manager for reigning Premier League champions Leicester City FC, believes that his new range of Pellenc battery powered equipment offers his staff a safer, healthier and higher performing alternative to petrol powered products.

From a team that spent the majority of the 2014/15 season close to the bottom of the table and among the favourites for relegation for the 2015/16 season, a combination of hard work and talent saw them transform into Premier League champions. In doing so, Leicester City FC captured the imaginations of football fans around the world with one of the most unlikely sporting triumphs ever seen.

Arguably, the key ingredient in that success was team-spirit and that applied to everyone at the club – from the manager and players through to the employees who do a magnificent job on a daily basis behind the scenes. It is safe to say that Leicester City FC is a tightly-knit family, so when the opportunity arose to provide a healthier and safety working environment for his grounds staff – John wasn’t about to dismiss it.

“As a manager it is imperative that I consider health and safety as well as the comfortable use of machinery for my staff. For example, heavy vibrating tools can bring about White Finger (an industrial injury triggered by continuous use of vibrating hand-held machinery). Then of course if you’ve got a hand held product with the engine at the base – they are quite heavy and cumbersome and they take their toll on your arms. Then there are the petrol fumes to consider.

“The Pellenc equipment had been recommended to me on a few occasions so I felt that I needed to see them in action. To be honest, I was a little sceptical because I wasn’t sure if you would get enough power out of battery products compared to a petrol engine. However, a full demonstration ensued and every one of us tried every product. We were all blown away and were exceptionally impressed with just how powerful they were. By our own admission I think we were a little ignorant as to just how far advanced battery powered products had become.”

With more than 100 experts including engineers and technicians specialised in research, computer modelling, prototyping, electronics, electrical engineering and mechanics, Pellenc works tirelessly to create the most innovative battery powered products which contribute to reducing the consumption of fossil fuels while increasing your productivity and cost effectiveness.

John went onto purchase a range of Pellenc equipment, including an Airion blower, a Helion hedge cutter, a Selion M12 chainsaw, a Selion polesaw and the Rasion Smart rotary mower – which are all used at the King Power Stadium and its surrounding areas as well as at the club’s training ground.

“We have been over the moon with all of the products but the one we use the most is the Airion blower. Not only do we use it for clearing leaves and debris but we also use it to ‘blow off’ our machinery. Everything that goes into our store has to be clean and dry so that we haven’t got any water sitting on any of the products. For that reason we use the Airion blower on the highest setting, which knocks all the water out of the bearings or joints.

“The engineering behind the Rasion mower is simply fantastic. The way it adjusts itself, the different speed settings, and the way it moves the deck up and down simply knocked our socks off – it was almost like someone landing a spaceship. Outside the stadium we have a nature reserve which is cut down to 70mm and a memorial garden which is cut to 25mm – to be able to press just two buttons to drop the deck according to the height of cut you require is fantastic.”

The products are all powered by Pellenc’s ultra-lithium batteries which feature carrying harnesses to effectively and evenly distribute the weight of the battery. This multi-purpose battery can be used to operate any tool from Pellenc’s electric handheld range and they have been designed to last for up to a full day’s work.

“I’m really impressed with the battery life and how you can get a full day’s work out of one charge. The versatility of simply plugging in a number of products to one battery is also extremely beneficial. Then of course there are the savings – your battery is in effect your fuel costs and electric is considerably cheaper than fuel. I think that just with the mower, we forecasted that we will save around £4,500 over the course of a few years.

“For me, ultimately it’s always about the end product. Is it as powerful as a petrol engine? Yes. Does it do as good a job? Yes. If all that falls into place as well as having the added bonus of being environmentally friendly and being better for my staff to use – then it makes complete sense. I think more and more people are gaining confidence in battery powered equipment and they are right to do so.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk where you can also find more information on Pellenc which is sold exclusively in the UK by Etesia UK.

TWO TYM TRACTORS FOR CHILDWALL GOLF CLUB

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Childwall Golf Club, in the Gateacre area of Liverpool, has bought two TYM tractors to help maintain the 18-hole, 6607-yard, parkland course.

Known to be one of the very best courses in the area, the two TYM tractors formed part of a one-package replacement programme alongside Toro. Delivered in the spring of 2016, now’s the time that head greenkeeper Dave Macavay has been most looking forward to when it comes to putting the new T433 and T503 tractors through their paces.

Dave says: “We have of course been using the tractors since they arrived in April, it has been ‘all hands on deck’ for every item in the package with us hosting the Four Counties Junior Tournament and wider general course maintenance, but now we’re entering the time of year when the tractors will be working more than the mowers. So far we’re really pleased with the performance of the tractors, but in autumn and winter the work gets harder and heavier, so that will be the real test.”

The T433 is a good choice for pulling equipment over a sizeable distance, it’s big on power and performance and is being used primarily by Dave for verti-draining and spiking. The T503 on the other hand is perfect for big projects. Dave says: ”We have numerous projects on at this time of year. We’ve been building bunkers and putting drains in and we’ve the front and back buckets on the T503 most of the time as it seems we’re constantly trenching, loading and moving earth around! Both machines are definitely getting well used.”

Dave explains why the club opted for TYM, the first they’ve had: “There were a lot of factors that led to us choosing TYM and the fact that we’d made the decision to go with Toro in a fleet replacement deal and how well TYM work alongside Toro machinery was instrumental. Together we have what I consider to be an excellent and reliable fleet.”

A New Year, but what will it hold?

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Alan Abel from Complete Weed Control gives Turf Managers his view ahead of 2017.

The years, when working within the turf and amenity industry seem to go very quickly, as we are always thinking about the next season ahead. Each of the four seasons brings its own challenges, be it weather, fixtures, disease outbreaks, weak sward – the list seems endless.

Turf managers must deal with these issues as they occur. It is no use waiting and seeing. Decision time is now, not tomorrow or next week. 2016 proved to be a reasonable year and the autumn/winter up to now, has been kind to us.

A lot of golf projects have been carried out in dry-ish conditions, which could not have happened in 2015 as it didn’t stop raining for three months and the soil had reached saturation point.

So we never know what to expect. There has never been a more challenging time to live through than now. BREXIT seems to be the current buzz word and it is so unclear how it will work out with regards to the UK. The Sustainable Use Directive (SUDs) and our National Action Plan is such an important part of legislation and affects our industry in a big way.

We are losing many important active ingredients and although people may think no one is doing anything about it, this is far from the situation. The Amenity Forum, led by Prof John Moverley, is lobbying government ministers continuously on the sections behalf. As a body, The Amenity Forum is spelling out the problems that are happening in the field, highlighting the continual erosion of our arsenal of substances that we all require to keep our turf in the condition that has come to be expected.

They are explaining how professional we are in the amenity section and highlighting the necessity for the NSTS for sprayers, the importance of the Amenity Assured Scheme, and in general showing our industry in the best light while demonstrating that we are all dedicated to best practice and continual professional development.

On that subject, November 26 has passed, so all sprayers should hold NSTS certificates now. Agriculture HAS been through this development years ago. They have their sprayers checked and tested regularly, and they have had the Farm Assured Scheme running since the eighties. Our numbers in the amenity sector when it comes to BASIS qualifications are woefully low, as is the membership of NASOR or NoRosO. In my opinion, this is what is letting our industry down.
If the Government think for one minute this sector is being neglectful, then we will be under further restrictions. Glyphosate is also very much in the spotlight. There was a meeting in Virginia USA at the end of December made up of scientists making observations concerning the safety of this most important active ingredient.

The world simply cannot afford to be without this herbicide. End of. For your further information, please visit the Amenity Forum website to see the ‘Get Moving’ films. Update events are taking place in February, March and April which will be “do not miss” events!

So, challenging times lie ahead of all of us endeavouring to carry out our jobs in a professional manner – whether that be groundsmen, greenkeepers or contractors. Visit the Complete Weed Control website for all of the latest industry news and contact your local team for a survey of a particular situation or cost for a particular application – be it fungicide at short notice or any other requirement.

For more information, please contact Complete Weed Control’s national office on 01325 324 277 or visit www.completeweedcontrol.co.uk

GKB Sandspreader for Queen Ethelburga’s

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Thorpe Underwood Estate lies between Harrogate and York and is the home of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate. Named after the Anglo-Saxon queen consort of Northumbria, who brought Christianity to the north of England around 625 AD, the school was opened in 1912 and today is co-educational, drawing pupils from over sixty six countries. The campus has been the subject of a huge investment programme in recent years. Seeking to create the best sports facilities for the school, which would also stand to benefit from commercial use, around £20 million has been spent on natural and synthetic sports pitches, courts and the machinery to service them.

Grounds Manager Ben Grigor is building a team to manage the thirty four acres of rugby, football and hockey pitches. He also set out charged with the policy of buying the best equipment for the job, a path which led him to the newly arrived GKB Sandspreader SP230. “We were looking for the best quality sandspreader we could find to maintain the surfaces on both the natural and synthetic rubber crumb and sand pitches,” says Ben, “the standard has to live up to professional use – Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team use the grounds for example and Yorkshire County Cricket Club has a partnership with the school.” Queen Ethelburga’s rugby union first team secured the 2015 and 2016 British Colleges National Cup.

Local dealers Russels Groundcare brought the GKB Sandspreader to the school for a demonstration. The sand spreader is designed to distribute a wide variety of materials, including sand or mulch, which is transported to a mechanically adjustable metering valve on a conveyor belt. The double disc spreader ensures perfect distribution of sand on the pitch. “On the day conditions were fine but the sand was damp and it still worked very well,” says Ben, “we’re using it on the football, rugby and the cricket outpitches as well as on the synthetic surfaces. There’s nothing overly complicated and we like the way the discs are protected but above all we are impressed with the quality, both in the way it’s built and the way it operates.”

For more information visit www.gkbmachines.com

SALTEX 2016 visitors report a Hugely successful show

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The SALTEX 2016 post-show visitor surveys have revealed a fascinating insight into the visitor profile of the show.

SALTEX 2016 featured three exhibition halls at the NEC packed with UK and international visitors. It was therefore encouraging to see that more than 80 per cent of the visitors rated their overall SALTEX experience as being either very good or excellent.

With 292 exhibitors from every sector on the show floor (28 more than 2015), it is no wonder that over 70 per cent of SALTEX 2016 visitors said that the main reason they attended was to source new products, services or suppliers. More than 40 per cent of visitors said that they attended to see the latest industry innovations, while many wanted to make the most of the show’s increased show features. Over 30 per cent of the visitors said that they attended for the Learning LIVE educational seminars and over 25 per cent attended to gain one-to-one turf advice through SALTEX’s ‘Ask the Expert’ feature.

As for the products and services that they were interested in viewing – machinery, power and hand tools led the way but there was plenty of interest in others.

An overwhelming amount of exhibitors reported serious business leads and significant sales, commenting that visitors were high-quality buyers with serious intent. The visitor surveys were certainly testament to this as they revealed that over 80 per cent of SALTEX visitors held purchasing responsibility with over 70 per cent able to sign-off purchases of up to £100,000.

Over 40 per cent of visitors said that they placed orders at the show with either existing or new suppliers while over 45 per cent said that they had registered interest which would lead to demonstrations or further discussions.

As for the type of facilities that they are responsible for, it was great to see such a wide array of visitors whose job role related to one or more of the following.

Finally, over 80 per cent of SALTEX 2016 visitors said that they would absolutely be returning to SALTEX again next year at the NEC on 1 and 2 November 2017 – reaffirming the exhibition as the must attend event of the year.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com