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NEWS ARTICLES

Pitmen mourn loss of groundsman

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Pitmen mourn loss of groundsman: Hednesford Town have paid tribute following the death of their head groundsman Dave Bates.

Read the full article from Express and Star here

Pitmen mourn loss of groundsman

Pitmen mourn loss of groundsman

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British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

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British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis: British Sugar TOPSOIL has long been trusted to provide detailed and current analysis of its soil products to meet and exceed the British Standards for Topsoil and Subsoil.

To further inform and assist customers with their choice of products, the company is now having all its soil and topdressing products tested with new, state-of-the-art, soil microbiology technology that is used in agriculture to determine soil health and fertility.

British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

Detailed analysis under a microscope looks at the levels of bacteria and fungi in TOPSOIL’s products. It is anticipated that, carried out at regular intervals over time, this level of analysis will help build a picture of soil health in terms of living organisms and give TOPSOIL customers yet more important information on which to base their purchasing decisions.

Working with Hampshire-based SoilBioLab, samples of each TOPSOIL product were submitted for analysis, together with a local arable soil, to establish and compare the amount of:

  • Active Bacteria
  • Total Bacteria
  • Active Fungi
  • Total Fungi
  • Hyphal Diameter (a physical measure of the branching filamentous structure of a fungus – in lay terms, the wider the branching structure, the more mature the fungus)

National TOPSOIL Manager Andy Spetch said: “We want to provide as much detailed technical information as possible on our products, which is freely available to anyone on our website. It is too early to draw any conclusions from this first analysis but we anticipate that, over time, we will be able to build a helpful picture of the health and effectiveness our products.”

This first set of results, which can be viewed on the TOPSOIL website at www.bstopsoil.co.uk  in the TOPSOIL Information section under Analysis, Research and Development, are very much a starting point.

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Retirement for Robert Bayliss

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Retirement for Robert Bayliss: Robert Bayliss has said goodbye to Weymouth Golf Club in Dorset after 42 years serving the James Braid-designed parkland course.

Now 65 years old, Robert originally came from a sports-ground maintenance and horticulture background, landing a post as head greenkeeper at the club in 1978 when he was only 22. Initially thinking of the position as he says, “another rung in the ladder”, he ended up enjoying his work so much he stayed until his retirement, over four decades later!

Retirement for Robert Bayliss

Retirement for Robert Bayliss

One of Robert’s biggest achievements while at Weymouth Golf Club has been his involvement in training and education, club accreditation and charity work, he says: “Training and education are paramount when it comes to staff improvement. In the early days, one of my priorities was to obtain funding for training and education from committees. Although challenging, once it became apparent that increased technical skills, as well as greater motivation and morale, resulted in an overall improvement on the work carried out on the course, getting support for these areas became a lot easier.

In Robert’s long-run career he’s experienced many advances to the greenkeeping profession, some of which he calls “remarkable”. He says: “The evolution of mechanisation and machinery is remarkable and has made the lives of greenkeepers everywhere a lot easier and safer, not to mention more productive. There’s now an open world of possibilities when it comes to the maintenance and design of turf, which simply wasn’t there when I started out.

“I sometimes relay to younger greenkeepers how many of the machines they take for granted today didn’t exist when I started, and when they did, it was only a few prestigious clubs that could afford them. The rise of technology means now we all have the machinery we need to do the job properly.”

Toro is the one brand Robert has worked with from the very beginning. “Bringing new equipment from the United States, it completely revolutionised the greenkeeping world,” he says. “One machine that, without a doubt, made my daily routine so much better was the Toro Greensmaster 3 riding greensmower; it did so much to cut maintenance time on the course.”

Robert’s personal favourite, however, was the Toro Sidewinder with its mowing units able to shift sideways, allowing the mower to cut close to obstacles while keeping both operator and machine away from hazards. “If ever there was a mower that can lay claim to being in a class of its own, then surely this is it,” says Robert.

With the club a Toro customer and considering Robert’s long-term relationship with local Toro dealer Devon Garden Machinery and his long-standing contribution to the greenkeeping profession, the news of Robert’s retirement was certainly a milestone to be marked.

John Pike, previous regional manager at Reesink Turfcare, who has also recently retired after 48 years in the turfcare industry, was happy to be involved, he says: “I was delighted to come out of my retirement for the special occasion of marking Rob’s retirement. I worked with Rob for many years as did Dennis Lumley, who worked at Devon Garden Machinery before his retirement, so we arranged a surprise lunch meeting for Rob. There, Elliot Wellman, who is Weymouth’s current contact at Devon Garden Machinery, and I presented Rob with a Reesink/Toro decanter, plus a nice bottle of malt to fill it!”

Robert calls himself “extremely fortunate” to have been surrounded with individuals who would end up becoming long-time friends, one of which is deputy Rob Mabb, a most-trusted work companion of 35 years and recently promoted to the course manager position at Weymouth upon Robert’s retirement, is one of them. A choice that Robert couldn’t be “more pleased with”.

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Pellenc converts sceptical petrol user

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Pellenc converts sceptical petrol user: Stuart Robertson of Readyhedge admits that a range of battery powered Pellenc equipment has dramatically changed his mindset.

“Before I started working at Readyhedge, I only ever used petrol machinery,” said Stuart. “When I picked up the Pellenc tools for the first time, I honestly thought that they were not going to be up to the job. In my opinion, nothing could compare to petrol.

Pellenc converts sceptical petrol user

Pellenc converts sceptical petrol user

“How wrong I was! This Pellenc equipment has turned my whole view around – they are just fantastic, and I am well and truly converted.”

Situated on an 18-acre site in Pershore, Readyhedge grows a vast range of hedging in its Readyhedge Troughs and Readybags. It also produces aerial screening and stocks a selection of root-balled hedging units during the winter months. Within the Readybag and Readyhedge trough ranges customers will find a number of plants all growing well together and carefully clipped into a Readyhedge.

This is where the Pellenc equipment comes in and Readyhedge’s Nursery Manager Liam Ireland explained why the company first decided to invest in the impressive range of equipment.

“We started using the Pellenc range due to being able put the battery on your back,” he said.

“The weight on your back means operators can work for longer periods of time without suffering from fatigue on their arms, as they are only holding the head and blade, not the power source as-well.

“As the nursery is near to housing our noise pollution is far less with the Pellenc equipment compared to petrol. They are also more efficient as no time is needed for refilling or mixing fuels. There are also no fumes and far less vibration levels for the operator.”

Light, odourless, noise-free, with no starting problems and enough power to enable professional users to work for a full day on a single charge, it’s no wonder more and more professional users are turning to Pellenc. It is an attractive alternative to those who have, for several years, been relying on fuel-based machinery.

A forerunner when it comes to lithium-ion technology, Pellenc has established itself as the number one choice in the ‘zero emission’ professional power tools market for the maintenance of urban and green-spaces.

With an extensive product list available from Pellenc, Readyhedge recently added the all-new Helion Alpha hedge-trimmer with an on-board 260 battery to its existing Helion hedge-trimmer and ULiB400 battery.

“Don’t get me wrong, the older Helion model is great,” said Stuart. “They would go for 7 hours a day and would cope with absolutely everything. The battery pack, which I wore on my back, was very comfortable too.

Pellenc converts sceptical petrol user

Pellenc converts sceptical petrol user

“However, the new Helion Alpha telescopic version gives me far more flexibility, because when I am trimming off the top, I can simply adjust the angle of the blade to help me reach. I would say the pivot on it is essential. I also like the fact that the long handle allows you to stand back from the hedge so you can clearly see what you are cutting.

“It seems to be quicker and easier than the older model too, and anything that is more time efficient for us is very welcome,” he continued. “The newer models are IP54 waterproof rated so that alone makes me feel safe. We must go out there and cut no matter what the weather and we can do that safely and efficiently with the Pellenc equipment.

“The finish with the Helion is very good and presentation is key because we are supplying the finished product to the customer.

“Then there is the reliability too,” added Stuart. “I was forever putting petrol machines in for servicing and repair so we would often be without equipment for weeks at a time – therefore costing money. The Pellenc equipment needs hardly any maintenance and we’ve not had any problems at all.

“For years and years, I used petrol trimmers and they unfortunately gave me white finger and constant trouble with my wrists. I am now using the Pellenc trimmers all day every day and I don’t have those problems.

“Overall, I am pleased that Pellenc has proved me wrong.”

Pellenc products are exclusively distributed in the UK by Etesia UK.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Turf Machinery Spares announcement

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Turf Machinery Spares announcement: Brinly Hardy Co. announces today that the UK based company “Turf Machinery Spares Ltd” has been appointed as its distributor of the “Spyker Spreaders” brand for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  This allows Spyker Spreaders to strongly position itself within the UK’s Turfcare Market.

“We are excited that Turf Machinery Spares Ltd. is now leading the distribution in the UK and Northern Ireland. They have an excellent team and a very efficient operation that is centrally located with strong logistics partners nearby. Their ability to support our customers in short order, while also offering new products and spare parts online was something we wanted. We are confident they have the best stock of Spyker Spreaders and spare parts to support our new and existing customers.” said Spyker Spreaders Sales Director, Roger Beames.

Turf Machinery Spares announcement

Turf Machinery Spares announcement

Trevor Brooks – Sales Director  Turf Machinery Spares Ltd commented – I have always been impressed with the quality of Spyker spreaders and we felt this was an ideal product for us and we are all looking forward to working with the Brinley Hardy Group to grow the Spyker Spreader market here in the UK, it’s a great quality product , reliable and built to very high standards. In my view the best on the market and the certainly aimed at the professional .

Brinly-Hardy Company’s Spyker Spreaders brand is based in Indiana USA. Spyker Spreaders has been designing and manufacturing its products for over 150 years, which are used globally by Landscape Pro’s, Sports Turf Managers and Golf Course Superintendents. For more information about Spyker Spreaders please visit its website at www.spyker.com

Turf Machinery Spares Ltd. is based in Surrey UK. Its principals have over 60 years’ experience in the Turfcare industry. The company is recognized as the country’s leading supplier of high-quality Turfcare spare parts and golf course accessories.

For more information about Turf Machinery Spares, Ltd. please visit its website at www.turfmachinery.co.uk 01483 764467 sales@turfmachinery.co.uk

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