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STRI Group appoints new directors

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STRI Group appoints new directors: Following a period of strong growth, STRI Group is delighted to announce the appointment of two new company directors to its board.

Gareth Walters and Dr Ruth Mann have been appointed as Finance Director and Director of Research from January 2021, with both continuing to manage their existing departments.

STRI Group appoints new directors

STRI Group appoints new directors

Gareth will lead the group finance function, ensuring that effective processes and controls are in place across STRI Group, and will work closely with the Board to drive through strategic growth.

Ruth will be instrumental in ensuring STRI remain at the forefront of innovation and technological developments in the sports infrastructure and environmental industries.

Ruth said: “It is very exciting to be involved with researching and developing future solutions to challenges in the sports turf and environmental industries. The range of national and international partnerships and projects STRI is currently involved with demands a wide range of technical expertise, and I am looking forward to supporting the continued expansion of services.”

“STRI Group has grown in recent years to become a multi-disciplinary solutions provider in the sport and environment markets with a global reach.” Gareth said. “With two key strategic acquisitions made last year, 2021 represents an exciting time for the Group and I look forward to joining the Board to support this continued growth.”

STRI chief executive officer, Mark Godfrey, said: “STRI has continued to expand at a rapid pace over the last twelve months and we felt that now was right time to expand our board. Ruth and Gareth have been important senior figures at the company for several years and are helping drive change and growth across new markets. I am delighted to welcome them to the board”

For more information contact:
STRI’s marketing and communications team on +44 (0)1274 565131 or email info@strigroup.com

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Germinal launch new bentgrass mixture

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Germinal launch new bentgrass mixture: Germinal has launched an all-new grass seed mixture designed specifically for golf greens. 

‘Tour Leader’ – a 50:50 blend of 007 DSB and new cultivar Tour Pro (GDE) – is a landmark in the evolution of creeping bentgrass products: this exceptional blend sets the bar high with unrivalled performance, seasonal adaptability, high disease resistance and vivid colour retention.

Germinal launch new bentgrass mixture

Germinal launch new bentgrass mixture

Tour Pro (GDE) is the latest creeping bentgrass to join Germinal’s class-leading portfolio: having excelled in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) in the United States (where it is ranked in the top five of 20 varieties in all trial categories and the highest rated of all commercially available bentgrasses), this top-performing variety has recently achieved the highest mean score (6.8) for creeping bentgrasses as a new cultivar on table G1 of the 2021 BSPB list. It has also been awarded the highest score for shoot density (6.6) and visual merit (7.0) for a creeping bentgrass.

Cultivar Shoot density Visual merit Mean Fineness of leaf Resistance to Red Thread Winter greenness Summer greenness
007 DSB 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.4 5.9 6.9 5.4
Tour Pro (GDE) 6.6 7.0 6.8 6.0 – 6.8 5.2

Source: BSPB, Turfgrass Seed 2021, Table G1 Creeping bentgrasses (Agrostis stolonifera)

“Tour Pro (GDE) was selected as the next variety to join our creeping bent portfolio thanks to its low input requirement,” explains Richard Brown, Amenity Sales Manager for Germinal. “This enables greenkeepers to demote Poa annua by implementing management strategies which place the latter under stress, thereby allowing Tour Pro (GDE) to gain the upper hand and dominate the sward.

“By pairing Tour Pro (GDE) with 007 DSB we have created a seed mixture with enough genetic diversity to ensure golf greens remain in good condition all year round irrespective of what the weather might throw at them: with the UK’s variable weather patterns meaning no two seasons are ever the same, Tour Leader’s unrivalled performance in terms of drought and cold weather tolerance, disease resistance, wear tolerance and visual merit make it the ideal over-seeding and reseeding mixture for modern golf greens.”

With limited stocks of Tour Pro (GDE) available in 2021, Tour Leader is anticipated to sell out quickly. “As such sales are strictly on a first-come, first-served basis,” Richard continues. “We therefore recommend that anyone interested in using creeping bents to convert their greens away from Poa annua should act quickly to ensure they are able to secure the necessary quantity of seed.”

Tour Leader – key qualities:

  • Superb Dollar Spot, Anthracnose, Fusarium and Brown Patch resistance
  • Adaptable to all UK climates
  • Tolerant of close mowing regimes (as low as 3mm)
  • Low seedling mortality rates compared to browntops and fescues: resulting in faster species conversion away from Poa annua
  • Very tolerant of drought and cold conditions
  • Sustainable input requirement: UK users average 92 kg N per annum with reduced chemical usage
  • Recommended sowing rate: 8-12 g/m2 (80-120 kg/Ha)
  • Recommended overseeding rate: 5-8 g/m2 (50-80 kg/Ha)

Tour Pro (GDE) and Tour Leader are available exclusively in the UK from Germinal. For more information visit www.germinalamenity.com or call 01522 868714.

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Team Sprayers celebrate 40 years

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Team Sprayers celebrate 40 years: British Sprayer company Team Sprayers are celebrating this year as they reach a milestone anniversary on 15th January – 40 years of manufacturing at their Ely factory in Cambridgeshire.

Team Sprayers was established by Bob Hubbard back in January 1981 after the closure of well-known company Dorman sprayers. A team of staff were recruited from the previous company bringing with them specialist skills and knowledge which were an essential building block for the newly founded company, one member of the original team still works for the business, stores manager Steve Whitehand. Utilising these skills combined with the 40 years’ experience Team has become a respected UK manufacturer supplying the Agricultural and Groundcare industries.

Team Sprayers celebrate 40 years

Team Sprayers celebrate 40 years

Team have a range of 12 different machines in the Groundcare range including, pedestrian, trailed, mounted and de-mountable options. All come with a range of options as standard and can be retro fitted with optional extras such as GPS mapping and boom section & nozzle control.

Team’s best selling Demount Pro Sprayer is popular with golf courses and comes in a range of tank sizes  of 400L, 600L and 800L and with boom options of 6m, 7m, 8m, 10m and 12m manual folding or 6-8m hydraulic folding.

Managing Director Danny Hubbard said: “We have experienced an increase in demand for our sprayers over recent years in both our agricultural and groundcare ranges which has led to investment in the expansion of the factory building, firstly to increase our production facilities and secondly to  alter the flow through the factory to improve efficiencies. Plus we have increased our outside yard space for testing and storage of the larger machines with plans to continue our expansion further over the next few years.

Team Sprayers celebrate 40 years

Team Sprayers celebrate 40 years

As a UK manufacturer with a majority customer base here in the UK, we have always had the ability to react quickly, give realistic lead times and provide an unrivalled back-up service. We have been fortunate to be able to continue production through these difficult times, but as for many businesses 2020 was a challenging year, with the uncertainty of the Brexit trade deal and the effect this could potentially have on our imports and exports and then we were thrown the Covid 19 pandemic!  Going into 2021 and our 40th year, we are hopeful that things will settle down and we are looking forward to a ‘new normal’ whatever that may be. It’s been an incredible 40 years and I look forward to seeing what the business can achieve in the future”.

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“Greenest Football Club” choose Johnsons

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“Greenest Football Club” choose Johnsons: It isn’t just Grounds Manager Nigel Harvey who has moved from the Stanley Park Training Ground to the main Stadium pitch of Forest Green Rovers FC – his Johnsons Sports Seed programme has made the switch too!

Having used Johnsons mixtures for near-on 15 years, the club’s renowned eco and environmentally friendly approach means the combination of J Premier Pitch and J 4Turf will become Nigel’s main weapon in the fight against weed ingress and disease.

“Greenest Football Club” choose Johnsons

“Greenest Football Club” choose Johnsons

Nigel moved from Forest Green’s training facility to take up his new position at The New Lawn Ground in June 2020, which he maintains alongside a recently appointed apprentice. “The maintenance methods are very different between the training ground and the stadium, with fewer conventional tools and techniques at my disposal in the approach we take to issues such as weed and disease control” he explains. After being described by FIFA as ‘the greenest football club in the world’ and becoming the first UN certified carbon-neutral football club, it’s out with chemicals and in with cultural practices – including regular overseeding.

“Johnsons J Premier Pitch has proven itself to deliver fantastic resistance to disease, great appearance and plant strength at our training ground and at many of the country’s other leading sports venues, so achieving that is going to be key moving forwards in maintaining surface quality and health at the stadium.” One of Nigel’s first projects was a major drainage installation programme, the recovery from which saw 20 bags of J Premier Pitch oversown on The New Lawn pitch. “It’s first usage at the stadium and it germinated in 6 or 7 days and we conducted the first cut at just over 2 weeks – it was fantastic.”

“We will then compliment the J Premier Pitch with Johnsons J 4Turf mixture, with tetraploid perennial rye which works well for winter overseeding. This will help to give us some additional strength in high wear areas such as the goal mouths as well as give us a fighting chance to repair any damage or bare patches through the cooler months.” Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass establishes rapidly under cooler soil temperatures, as low as 4oc. It provides enhanced root development and is proven to deliver exceptional natural genetic disease resistance, reducing the need for costly fungicides by demonstrating exceptional tolerance to a broad range of environmental stresses.

Nigel concludes, “From previous experience, I trust that Johnsons will put us in the best possible position in terms of retaining all-important coverage and plant strength to help resist weed ingress and cope with disease pressure as and when it returns.”

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Hayter donates Harrier 56 Pro

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Hayter donates Harrier 56 Pro: The makers of the finest mowers, Hayter, have donated a brand new Hayter Harrier 56 Pro to the team managing the grounds at Epping-based Copped Hall Estate.

Copped Hall is a Georgian mansion surrounded by luscious and landscaped parklands. Copped Hall is also home to a multitude of charming gardens, which are looked after by the dedicated grounds management team, headed up by Stephen Potts and Graham Stewart.

Hayter donates Harrier 56 Pro

Hayter donates Harrier 56 Pro

Matthew Coleman, UK Sales Manager for Professional Landscape Contractor & Siteworks Equipment at Hayter and Toro, oversaw the donation of the mower to the estate: “We are so happy that we could help by donating a Harrier 56 Pro to Stephen and Graham who are extremely dedicated to keeping such a beautiful site in amazing condition. The Harrier 56 Pro is the perfect mower to help them get the job done effectively and efficiently.”

The Harrier 56 Pro has a 53cm rear-roller that provides the widest stripe in its class, which will allow Stephen and Graham to not only ensure the classic British striped finish, but to also increase productivity by reducing mowing time. The lawnmower is manufactured from steel for strength and durability and features a two-piece rear roller design, ensuring superb manoeuvrability and avoids any turf marking.

Matthew continued: “The Copped Hall Estate is a lovely place to visit and being so close to our headquarters in Spellbrook, it’s a great feeling to be helping a local organisation and heritage site keep up its appearance.”

Stephen Potts, from the grounds management team at Copped Hall said: “We are incredibly thankful to Matthew and the rest of the team at Hayter for the donation of the Harrier 56 Pro – it’s a brilliant feeling to be able to add such a great piece of machinery to our equipment.

“Matthew delivered the lawnmower and explained its operation to us and was extremely polite and helpful while doing so. It was a real pleasure working with him and we are incredibly grateful for such a generous donation from Hayter.”

For more information please visit www.hayter.co.uk.

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