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NEWS ARTICLES

QuadChip 160 means access is no issue

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QuadChip 160 means access is no issue: Offering the ultimate flexibility for kerbside working, a QuadChip 160 from GreenMech is the chipper of choice for Andrew Steel of AS Treecare – assisting him in delivering domestic tree works in and around Surrey and South West London.

With parking and space at a premium in tight urban and suburban locations, the 360-degree turntable of the QuadChip improves the speed and efficiency with which both timber and brash can be processed.

QuadChip 160 means access is no issue

QuadChip 160 means access is no issue

After purchasing his first QuadChip eight years ago, Owner/Operator Andrew has recently upgraded to his third unit – a MK II model supplied in April 2020 by GA Groundcare. “The turntable gives us convenience that shouldn’t be underestimated” explains Andrew, who established AS Treecare 17 years ago. “With 90% of our workload comprising of domestic garden projects, it’s common to have to contend with restricted parking space and in many situations, you can’t secure enough space behind a conventional chipper to process brash. With the QuadChip, we can angle it so that brash can be piled up on a driveway or path and loaded straight into the infeed chute.”

Powerful twin vertical feed rollers offer exceptional pull and crushing capacity for timber and brash of up to 6”, with consistent processing quality provided by GreenMech’s patented Disc-Blade chipping technology. “Our last two QuadChip machines have been fitted with the Disc-Blade system which undoubtably offers an extended lifespan compared to traditional straight blades. They also give you the option of turning the blade to a new sharp edge if damage occurs, which is great when you’re out on site.”

Andrew also has a GreenMech CS 100 pedestrian chipper, which he calls upon when access is even more restricted. “This is a great little machine for garden tidy-ups and those projects where you can chip, and leave that chip, on site. We’ve been known (on more than one occasion!) to take the CS 100 through a house to access the garden which, by doing so, has reduced two-day jobs down to one.” He concludes, “The combination of our two chippers mean we’re well equipped to tackle projects of all sizes, no matter how restricted we are on access, with the added benefit of fantastic back-up support and service from Ashley at GA Groundcare, as and when we need it.”

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Tributes paid to Boldon legend

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Tributes paid to Boldon legend: Tributes have been paid to a ‘cricket legend’ who dedicated himself to Boldon Cricket Club for over 60 years.

Michael Fitzsimons died at the age of 79 on July 11 after a brave battle against a long illness.

He joined the club as a batsman aged 16. He would become first team captain, before taking over duties as groundsman years later when he stopped playing. His work there was entirely voluntary.

He did play for other teams for a while on Teesside. But his heart most definitely belonged to Boldon. He was also a scorer in local leagues, as well as being a fan of Sunderland AFC.

As well as his life in his beloved cricket, Michael was an electrician, most recently for South Tyneside Council.

He was also an accomplished musician, playing keyboards in folk band Seganainm, which is a Celtic word meaning “Untitled”. He performed alongside his wife Trish, who played accordion and fiddle. The couple were married in 1974.

As well as his sporting and musical achievements, he was renowned for a tremendous sense of humour. He was known as something of a king of the one-liner.

One of his other great loves was for travel. He was especially keen on Gran Canaria.

Trish said: “He was an absolute legend. He was a great character and very funny.

“Sometimes you could be horrified by some of the things he came out with. But people would still see the funny side – even umpires and the opposition.”

Club member and former player, Steve Golightly, said: “He was a really funny man and a great servant to the club. Fiti will be a huge miss in the community and to his many friends around the cricket and folk music scene.”

Michael’s funeral took place at South Shields Crematorium on July 20. His ashes have since been scattered over the Boldon cricket pitch, which he tended to with such distinction.

Boldon Cricket Club’s over-60s are staging a game against Yorkshire in Michael’s memory at their Sunderland Road ground at 1pm on Tuesday, August 25. A JustGiving page is also to be set up to create a memorial.

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New Bobcat track loader

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New Bobcat track loader: In the UK, fly-tipping is an increasing problem. Government reports show that in England alone, local authorities dealt with over one million fly-tipping incidents from 2018 to 2019, an increase of 8% over the same period in 2017/2018 and the highest in a decade.

Another problem faced by local authorities in the UK is the removal of asbestos – a recent report estimates there are still six million tonne of asbestos inside 1.5 million buildings in the UK.

New Bobcat track loader

New Bobcat track loader

The removal of these materials requires the expertise of specialist companies such as D J Cleaning Ltd, based in North Newbald in East Yorkshire, which holds a full three-year licence from the UK Health & Safety Executive to remove all types of asbestos such as asbestos insulation board (AIB), artex and cement products. Formed in 1967, D J Cleaning also offers a wide range of site, property and garden clearance services, including the removal of rubbish and often hazardous materials, resulting from fly-tipping.

New Compact Solution

To meet the increasing need for a new compact solution for this work, D J Cleaning has just purchased a Bobcat T450 track loader from AMS Bobcat, the Authorised Bobcat Dealer for the counties of East and South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the UK.

Dan Stephenson, Owner and Director of D J Cleaning, said: “Because it is illegal, much of the fly-tipping takes place in the middle of the night in hidden away places, such as gulleys, narrow, out-of-the-way lanes and overgrown areas and we have been looking for a solution for work in these tight and/or inaccessible places, where larger vehicles cannot access.

“The compact size of the T450 now allows us to take the machine to site on a trailer and drive it right up to the rubbish/waste materials and remove them with the Bobcat grapple attachment also supplied by AMS and load it into another trailer for removal from site. One of the first jobs for the T450 was to clear rubbish dumped in a valley area, where the local council couldn’t work out how to get at it, but to their amazement, we were able to clear it in less than an hour using the new compact loader.”

Best-in-class Pressurised Cab

The cab on the T450 at D J Cleaning is fully enclosed, including a front door and wiper system. This provides a best-in-class pressurised interior space that keeps dust down to a minimum, keeping the operator clean and comfortable. The one-piece seal and unique, curved door pocket ensure that the driver enjoys the best-possible protection for asbestos removal work.

Dan Stephenson added: “With the peace of mind provided by the enclosed, pressurised cab on the T450, we can equip the machine with lifting tines and drive it on to the most confined of asbestos removal sites to pick up hazardous materials we’ve bagged up for safe removal from site.”

T450 joins Bobcat ‘Pocket Rocket’

Harvey Stephenson, Dan’s son and a company director, has taken over much of the day-to-day running of the business. He said: “In the past, we have hired in compact machinery when needed, but increasing workloads have meant that we require the T450 all the time. We have been purchasing Bobcat equipment from AMS Bobcat for over 10 years and have always found the products to be well built and sturdy performers. And the service from AMS is second to none.

“The new T450 is a perfect fit with our existing Bobcat T2250 telehandler and E16 mini-excavator. Both of these machines have been great for us – I call the T2250 the ‘pocket rocket’ – it has serious poke for working in our yard and on site for driving into piles of debris we have to remove. We also have the advantage of interchangeability of attachments such as buckets with the T450.”

Paul Hyslop, Bobcat District Manager UK North, commented: “We are delighted that D J Cleaning has expanded its Bobcat fleet with the addition of the new T450. The company provides a great demonstration of how the diverse products in the Bobcat portfolio can be brought together to provide a unmatched selection of solutions that works for a wide range of different applications and customers.”

Improved Performance with Compact Track Loaders

As tool carriers, Bobcat compact track loaders like the T450 offer many advantages over the comparable wheeled machines. They can provide increased productivity in many conditions with a lifting capacity approximately 25% more than the equivalently sized wheeled loaders. While wheeled machines may outperform tracked machines for sheer manoeuvrability on hard surfaces, the rubber tracked undercarriage on track loaders ensures improved traction on rough terrain; soft, sandy surfaces and in wet, muddy conditions.

Harvey Stephenson added: “Like all Bobcat track loaders, the T450 offers exceptional manoeuvrability and fast cycle times. It is therefore ideal for use in the clean-up work after the severe storms and flooding we have had in Yorkshire, particularly in areas where the use of larger machines is restricted. In fact, we have been using the T450 to clear away ballast bags that became submerged by the torrents of water we had to deal with in the floods.

“We also have to be very careful when we start work on a new fly-tipping site – the tracks on the T450 provide much more protection than wheeled machines against damage from sharps in the dumped materials. The much better traction of the T450 provides 15% more pushing force than the equivalently sized wheeled machine, allowing it to push heavier loads without getting stuck.“

Approximately three times less than wheeled machines, the low ground disturbance of Bobcat compact track loaders like the T450 allows them to work on delicate surfaces, such as established lawns or asphalt, minimising damage and reducing the need for tidying up after the job is complete.

Picture caption – Dan Stephenson, Owner and Director of D J Cleaning, with the new Bobcat T450 compact track loader.

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit www.bobcat.com

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Foamstream flows in North Yorkshire

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Foamstream flows in North Yorkshire: Locations in North Yorkshire are getting the green treatment with a brand-new weeding machine which works without using herbicides.

The revolutionary machine uses hot water insulated by a biodegradable foam, made from natural plant oils and sugars to keep the liquid hot, to kill weeds, moss and algae right at their root without the use of harsh chemicals.

Foamstream flows in North Yorkshire

Foamstream flows in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council is trialling Foamstream, developed by Weedingtech in 2011, as a new way of keeping some of the county’s roads, streets and pavements tidy and weed-free.

The machine is expected to be used in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon, cleaning up town centres to ensure they look their best following the Covid-19 pandemic. If the technology is deemed successful after the pilot, it could be rolled out to more towns across North Yorkshire. It’s the first time the technology has been used in the region.

John Putsey, Maintenance Manager for Highways, Area 6, said: “It’s a really exciting device and one we’ve never seen in the North East before. It’s very safe to use, there are no pesticides and it’s very effective at killing weeds. It’s very good for pedestrian areas, for roads in areas where weeds gather. It’s very quick, you can do up to 200 square metres an hour and it can also be used to clean signs, street furniture and bollards, along with cleaning off chewing gum.”

Foamstream works by super-heating vegetation to 95 degrees. The foam insulates the heat in the hot water, keeping the temperature in the kill zone (57°C+) for long enough to kill or sufficiently damage the weed. Foamstream sterilises surrounding seeds and spores to stop weeds spreading and then kills or damages the plant to prevent regrowth.

As well as killing weeds which, for North Yorkshire’s use will be the main function, Foamstream has cleaning attachments for low and high-pressure cleaning including chewing gum removal from roads and pavements.

“We’re very pleased North Yorkshire County Council is trialling Foamstream.” Says Weedingtech UK Sales Manager Aaron Matthews. “It’s a first time for us in the region and we’re confident the system will prove wholly effective for them. Foamstream is already used by many councils around the UK including Hammersmith and Fulham, Southwark and Manchester City Council as well as by some of the nation’s biggest contracting companies such as idverde and Urbaser.”

To learn more about Foamstream you can call Weedingtech on +44(0)2039090050, info@weedingtech.com

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Online garden design service for goes “live”

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Online garden design service for goes “live”: An innovative new service for landscapers is now fully up and running after COVID-19 lockdown gave its creator time to develop his idea and turn a dream into reality. 

My Garden Design is a user friendly online platform that allows landscapers to offer garden design services under their own branding. In a nutshell, the landscaper uploads the client brief, “before” pictures and site survey details to the My Garden Design website. Clever programming has created an online garden design questionnaire which breaks the client brief down into a series of yes/no answers. When all information has been gathered, qualified garden designers will set to work to turn the information into a beautiful concept plan. The completed garden design will carry the landscaper’s own logo and contact details. And all at trade prices.

Online garden design service for goes “live”

Online garden design service for goes “live”

Creator Paul Baker, who is a Director of both Holland Landscapes and Tapestry Design Studios, has been mulling over the idea for some five years. It wasn’t until COVID 19 temporary closed his landscaping business that he had the time to bring his plan to fruition.

“As a fairly active member of the APL I regularly speak to other landscapers and completely understand their frustrations around garden design. Some clients don’t realise they need a garden design, others may have sketched their own design which looks good on paper but is difficult to build. This service is especially for those landscapers whose clients are reluctant to engage a professional garden designer and just expect the landscaper to offer a complete design and build service.”

Paul adds “My Garden Design allows landscapers to offer an in-house garden design service without losing focus on what they are good at – landscaping.”

He goes on to say that “Many landscapers design and build themselves to a very high standard but struggle with planting ideas. My Garden Design can create planting plans to add an even bigger “wow” factor to a finished project.”

The whole concept of My Garden Design is based on saving landscapers time and freeing them up from costly site visits. Information can be gathered whilst social distancing and if the site is too complicated to survey, MGD offers a complete survey service as an optional extra. In fact the whole service is as simple or as detailed as the landscaper needs. Need more than just a 2D concept plan? You can request 3D designs, planting plans, lighting plans and even construction drawings should you need them.

To discover more about this innovative service, visit https://mygardendesign.co.uk

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