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NEWS ARTICLES

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

Wiedenmann’s Terra Spike SL6 is smart addition to aeration fleet

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Wiedenmann’s new super light Terra Spike SL is fast earning the reputation of being smart in every sense of the word. Easily tining down to 210 mm on fine turf it is more than twice the match for some shallow aerators especially as it targets that vital area between 100 mm and 210 mm.

On the looks front an innovative cover marks it as different, one of several bespoke features designed to keep its weight to just 470kg. An updated version of Wiedenmann’s patented TwinDrive takes up less room and moves the centre of gravity closer to the tractor. Other developments include a built-in tine return system and additional shock absorbing facility. However this clever machine retains all the traditional benefits of a Wiedenmann deep aerator with its considerable strength coming via its powerful chassis. It brings the much coveted VibraStop which prevents vibration travelling to the operator or the machine and tractor; QuickSet which enables adjustment of both tine depth and heave with settings visible on a large scale; and QuickChange which allows tine heads to be exchanged with only one screw.

The SL with its 1.4m working width is perfect for decompacting tees and greens and cab be paired with compact tractors from 20 hp with 600 kg lift capacity. Launched at Saltex in November, its class leading technology means it is exceptionally quiet and smooth, fewer moving parts mean less wear, less maintenance and fewer greasing points.

See Wiedenmann UK at Stand C58 at BTME.

For more information visit www.wiedenmann.co.uk

Woven Technology Proves a Hit in 2016 for GreenFields

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With the year coming to an end, it has been an exciting one for GreenFields and its two premium woven products- their hybrid turf system- XtraGrass and 3G turf- MX TriMension.

Installed in 2015, the XtraGrass pitches at both The Kassam Stadium and Ricoh Arena have each had recognition for their performance. The pitch at Kassam had an incredible first season with the club promoted and selection by the IFPA as the most improved pitch in League Two as well as a nomination by the STRI as one of the best three playing surfaces.

Also, the GreenFields Grounds Team who maintain the pitch at Ricoh Arena were winners at the IOG Awards for sports turf excellence. The two-man Grounds Team are responsible for ensuring the XtraGrass pitch is in optimum condition and can fulfil the busy schedule at the dual sports arena for Wasps RFC and Coventry City F.C. along with other fixtures.

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields commented: “We are proud of our XtraGrass system and are delighted that the industry is recognising it as an elite playing surface for sports.”

XtraGrass combines the positive properties of natural grass with the strength and durability of artificial turf. Clubs can benefit from maximised usage and a greener pitch all year round.

Not to be left in the shadows, MX TriMension has also had its share of industry praise. Installed at top clubs around the world including Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, PSV Eindhoven and Celtic this surface is proving to be a top-class product with the triple W-weave technology resulting in an extremely high tuft bind making the turf fibres stand straighter than ever and ensuring optimum playing performance.

Joe Wallace, Head Groundsman at Falkirk F.C. who also have an MX TriMension pitch confirms this: “I think it’s one of the best pitches in the country. Every club should have one of these, as a groundsman it’s phenomenal to have the same quality of pitch in June as in December.”
This is reiterated by Premiership Groundsman, Paul Ashcroft of Arsenal F.C. who have MX TriMension pitches at their training academy: “The surface not only has to look good it has to play well too, and these do.”*

With more woven GreenFields pitches in the pipeline for 2017, it looks set to become another year to remember for the specialist sports turf company.

For more information visit www.greenfieldsturf.co.uk

Kubota Agriculture expands into Kent with Lister Machinery

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New £1.6m flagship depot to open in Spring 2017

Lister Machinery is investing over £1.6m to open a new depot in Ashford, Kent, which will become a flagship dealer for Kubota UK’s complete range of market leading machinery solutions.

The partnership, between two major players in the sector, will now mean that Kubota’s agricultural range of products will be available to the professional farming industry in Kent for the first time. The depot will also showcase Kubota’s high performance range of groundcare and construction equipment solutions, making it one of several dealers in the UK to offer Kubota’s full line-up of machines.

Rob Edwards, Kubota Agriculture’s Business Development Manager, commented: “As a business, Kubota has made a massive commitment and long term investment to become a global brand in the agricultural sector. By joining forces with Lister Machinery, it allows us to expand our agricultural offering into Kent and target this market on a local level, working alongside an extremely established partner.

“Kent is a really important county for the UK’s farming industry. It’s a diverse and productive mixed farming area which, with the addition of the specialist fruit, vineyard and forestry growers, makes it ideally suited to the Kubota Agriculture range. Being able to target this area with Lister Machinery is therefore an exciting opportunity to develop and grow our presence in the region.”

The new 20,000 sq ft Ashford depot, which is due to be officially opened in Spring 2017, is being transformed from its current use into a flagship machinery dealership. It will feature all the latest machines from Kubota’s agricultural range. This will include the company’s brand new range of implements, such as disc mowers, rakes, tedders, flail choppers, fertiliser spreaders, round balers and wrappers, as well as Kubota’s recently launched M5001 and MGX-III tractors, and its flagship M7001 Series that power their way up to 175hp.

In addition, the orange liveried manufacturer’s groundcare and construction equipment range will be on display, from walk behind, ride-on, out front and zero turn mowers, compact and mid-range tractors, through to RTV utility vehicles, mini-excavators, wheeled loaders and tracked carriers.

Charlie King, Commercial Director at Lister Machinery, said: “There is a massive opportunity to expand our offering in Kent. We have a 21-year heritage with Kubota’s groundcare and construction equipment machinery in this area and have developed an excellent reputation for providing a first class service and aftersales support to these sectors.

“Our aim now is to replicate what we have done in the groundcare and construction markets and target the farming industry with our new agricultural products. Joining forces with Kubota Agriculture allows us to do this and we are excited to be going on this journey with them and being able to offer the complete Kubota product line-up at our Ashford branch.”

Lister Machinery, part of the Lister Wilder Group, is due to open its new Ashford site in the Spring, which will be the first dealership in the UK that features Kubota’s new concept in dealer branding. Recently launched by Kubota’s European Agricultural Business Unit, this exciting and innovative dealer branding programme is designed to raise the bar in the machinery sector, creating a visual appearance of a dealership that pushes the boundaries and increases the end-user’s experience of the Kubota brand.

Rob Edwards concluded: “I am delighted to announce that Lister Machinery’s Ashford branch will be the first UK dealer that takes this new branding concept into its showroom. This is all about setting the benchmark in the machinery sector and we look forward to hearing the feedback from our end-user customers once this site officially opens its doors in the spring.”

Agricultural sales at Lister Machinery’s Ashford branch will be managed by Carl Cripps, the company’s Agricultural Sales Manager, along with another three sales managers. It will also include four dedicated staff for parts, two administrators and ten engineers in the workshop.

For more information call Kubota on 01844 268000 or Lister Machinery on 01233 619290