STIHL’s Pro Products At SALTEX

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STIHL’s Pro Products At SALTEX: STIHL will be showcasing an array of new products at this year’s Saltex exhibition, the UK’s largest event for the grounds care sector, offering professional users more options than ever before to tackle the toughest jobs.

Taking centre stage will be a preview of STIHL’s new RMA 765 V PRO mower, which will be the latest addition to STIHL’s expanding range of high-performance professional models. Packed with innovative features, the new cordless mower is designed with a 63cm magnesium twin blade cutting deck, height adjustable front wheels for zero turn, and variable speed, controlled via the digital cockpit. In addition, the solid mono handlebar ensures users can empty the tough fabric 80-litre grass catcher box with ease.

STIHL's Pro Products At SALTEX

Visitors to the stand will be able to see up close the new MSA 220 C-B, the most powerful cordless chainsaw in the STIHL range. Powered by a 36 V Lithium-Ion battery, the new saw comes as standard with the STIHL exclusive 3/8” Picco Super 3 (PS3) full chisel saw chain with a guide bar length of 35cm/14”. The powerful MSA 220 C-B makes quick work of any task and guarantees consistently high-quality cutting performance for felling, snedding, firewood processing and much more, regardless of the battery charge level.

The new STIHL BR 800 C-E will also be on display, the latest addition at the top of the range of innovative and high-performance blowers. Producing an impressive blowing force of 41N, the 80cc STIHL 4-MIX® engine runs on a fuel-oil mix just like a 2-stroke model and offers the benefits without the compromises of 4-stroke power. The STIHL 4-MIX® engine provides fast acceleration, more power, added torque, and lower noise during operation to complete jobs quickly and more easily. In addition, the engine offers reduced emissions and increased fuel efficiency.

To make getting up and running even easier, the BR 800 C-E is designed with a convenient starting system featured on the side of the machine, allowing users to re-start the blower while wearing it. The simplified starting system also features an automatic choke reset and a switch position on the control handle that is always ‘ON’, ensuring that the professional user can start the BR 800 C-E with ease.

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

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1st Products Tackles Tough Task At Royal Norwich Golf Club

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1st Products Tackles Tough Task At Royal Norwich Golf Club: Royal Norwich Golf Club has already been benefitting from Toro machines as it builds its new golf course from scratch, but now course manager Peter Todd has also enlisted the help of a second Reesink Turfcare brand, 1st Products.

With construction traffic at the club creating compacted turf, Peter needed a robust attachment able to break down compacted soil easily, and it was the 1st Products UA60 AERA-vator that proved up to the task.

And it’s no surprise considering Peter’s long history with the product. “I used the AERA-vator at my previous club in London for 20 years,” he says. “The fact we had that machine for so long just proves how robust and capable it is.”

This time however, Peter has made a significant upgrade with the addition of an optional seeder. “The seeder option saves a lot of time because I can now re-seed new turf at the same time as breaking down the soil. Having used the AERA-vator before, I knew that it would do the job well and would be able to deal with tough conditions easily but with this extra feature it’s even more impressive.”

Despite initially being brought on board to deal with the compacted soil from tracks made by construction traffic, Peter has long term plans for the AERA-vator.

“There’s currently a lot of construction going on as we gear up to our opening this Autumn,” he says. “As a new site with a lot of ongoing activity, it’s inevitable that there will be a lot of compacted areas in the first few years. However, I know from experience it’s also a long term issue for walkways and it’s going to be particularly vital to keep these in good condition here at Royal Norwich.

“We wanted to create a course that looked as natural as possible, so wherever possible we’ve opted not to have hard buggy tracks made from tarmac or gravel. Instead we have grass walkways and we will need the AERA-vator to carry out annual renovation work and keep them in good condition.”

And with Peter’s experience with Reesink Turfcare, there was no question in his mind that they would provide what he needed.

“Reesink products always present excellent value for money,” concludes Peter. “With machines and equipment that do the job well and are competitively priced, alongside excellent service – I didn’t have to think about the decision. I knew instantly I wanted to go with Reesink Turfcare and 1st Products.”

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An Update From Scott MacCallum

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I must start this month by passing on the thoughts of all at Turf Matters to those groundsmen and their fellow staff at Bury Football Club. The euphoria of promotion last season had not long died down when the doors closed for the last time with expulsion from the league structure.

 

It is absolutely devastating for all the staff and supporters who had taken huge pride in supporting a club which had been part of the Bury community since 1885 and it shows just how precarious the situation for a great many clubs within the football league structure.

Bolton Wanderers were given a reprieve well into Fergie time and we all hope that their struggles are now behind them, but it does not require a huge leap in imagination to see similar Bury and Bolton scenarios occurring in other clubs.

Reputation and history counts for nothing. Just look at Rangers north of the border. After going into liquidation in 2012 the blue half of the Old Firm returned, but only in the bottom tier and it took a number of years to return to the Scottish Premiership, filling the ground of ever hosting club along the way.. It is good to see them back, but Steven Gerrard is operating on a fraction of the budget of Neil Lennon at Celtic, albeit still much more that the rest of the other rival clubs.

I’m sure Bury will not die entirely and will no doubt return in reduced form well down the football structure but that will be of no solace to those who relied on salaries to pay the bills.

To change sports and offer a comment on a brighter note – wasn’t Ben Stokes something else? Sporting moments like that at Headingley can galvanise a country. So well done, Ben, for achieving something no-one else has accomplished for quite some time.

Cobra’s Breast Cancer Mower

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Cobra’s Breast Cancer Mower: Cobra garden machinery are proud to have teamed up with the Breast Cancer Now charity to produce a limited edition pink Cobra GTRM38P electric lawnmower with the aim to help fund the future of breast cancer research.

“We have colleagues, family and friends who have been effected by this life changing illness and so we decided that this would be a great idea to raise money for this excellent charity. Breast Cancer Now is the UK’s largest breast cancer research charity and are dedicated to funding research into this devastating disease,” explained Peter Chaloner managing director of Cobra.

Cobra's Breast Cancer Mower

The company donates £25 from every sale to the charity and the entire stock will be sold, making a total donation of £5000. The electric machine has a 38cm/15” cutting width and its rear roller will deliver those much sought after stripes.

Grass cuttings are either collected in the 40 litre bag or can be discharged as a mulch to help fertilise the lawn.  It has seven different heights of cut and comes with 10 metres of electric cable.  The machine has a two year guarantee and sells for £99.99 in specialist Cobra garden machinery dealers. See cobragarden.co.uk for further details.

“We have been delighted with the customer support for our pink mower and plan to offer it for sale again in 2020,” says Peter,  “We hope to make even more money for Breast Cancer Now.”

Cobra products are available to buy online at the Cobra store or via a network of expert dealers across the UK.

For more information visit www.cobragarden.co.uk

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GSK Couldn’t Be Without ELMO

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GSK couldn’t be without ELMO: British multinational pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has explained the benefits of having adopted Husqvarna Automower® technology to maintain the green spaces around its Global head office in Brentford over the past three years.

GSK house in Brentford has relied on ELMO, a robotic lawnmower manufactured by Husqvarna and named by GSK staff, to work unassisted and maintain a large lawn area surrounding its headquarters.

GSK couldn’t be without ELMO

ELMO stands for Electronic Lawn Mowing Operative and is a Husqvarna Automower® – a robotic lawnmower which is able to maintain green spaces up to 5000m2 per machine. Installed in 2017 by Sodexo, GSK’s grounds maintenance provider, the robotic mower has quietly gone about its business and without disturbing office staff, cutting little and often through its random mowing pattern, ensuring that grass of GSK house remains a lush, healthy green.

The Husqvarna Automower® has freed up time, allowing the grounds staff to spend more hours on maintaining other, more labour intensive areas of the GSK site. Husqvarna Automower® is an environmentally friendly machine and means that the team now does not need to use as many petrol machines in order to keep the grounds looking pristine.

Sodexo’s Senior Facilities Service Manager for GSK, Michelle Chapman, commented: “ELMO has truly become part of the family at GSK house – our staff just love watching the robot work and GSK couldn’t be without ELMO now.

“For us, the Husqvarna Automower® means time saved and an environmentally way for us to manage the green spaces at our headquarters whilst improving the lawn appearance. It gives the grounds team more time to focus on other, more crucial things and the fact that it’s silent in its working means it does not disturb staff when cutting the grass.”

The little and often cutting principle of Husqvarna Automower® means the mower feeds micro-clippings back into the soil as natural fertiliser and its random mowing pattern improves lawn quality. The extremely low noise levels also ensures that the machine can work away without disturbing people.

UK Manager – Husqvarna Professional, Kevin Ashmore, commented: “Sodexo’s close relationship with Husqvarna was key in them being one of the first in the UK to trial Husqvarna Automower® in public spaces. The result was that GSK Brentwood recommended the Husqvarna Automower® to many of its main Global sites.”

Husqvarna has an impressive list of commercial installations across the UK, ranging from municipalities (Edinburgh, London & Glasgow), botanic gardens, multi-national headquarters, stately homes, sports facilities, universities & schools and zoos & animal parks.

To learn more about its technology and for more information on the Husqvarna Automower® range visit: http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/robotic-lawn-mowers/

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