£40,000 Mower At Inverness Castle

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£40,000 Mower At Inverness Castle: Highland Council is planning to use a £40,000 remote-control lawn mower to target difficult-to-reach steep slopes around Inverness – including at the city’s famous Castle.

While the lush green banks by the castle and the River Ness are regarded as a major tourist attraction, they come with serious grass-cutting problems.

The local authority, while aware that keeping these areas well trimmed contributes significantly to the visitor experience, acknowledges that the safe maintenance of the banks has presented significant challenges.

Over the last three summers it had employed a contractor with specialist equipment to safely maintain the steep slopes.

But next week, at the City of Inverness Area Committee, councillors will be asked to consider buying their own machinery and completing the work in-house.

Purchasing the equipment would also allow enhanced maintenance of similar locations throughout the city.

The health and safety concerns associated with cutting the steep banks including the castle and river banks are being drawn to the attention of councillors.

They will be asked to approve the funding from the Common Good Fund for the 2019 season contractor, costing £14,430.

But officers are recommending the direct purchase of their own machinery at a cost of £40,000.

This would include a contribution from the Common Good Fund of £20,000. The remaining capital cost, plus the annual maintenance and operational running costs of the machine, would be met by the service.

In a report before the committee members, amenities manager Debbie Sutton says: “If the option to purchase a remote mower was approved then the added value this could facilitate would be cutting at numerous locations throughout the city including General Booth Road, Suilven Way, Leachkin Road, Scorguie Drive, Overton Avenue and Balnafettack Road.

“In addition to this, numerous other steep bank locations could be identified which have not previously been considered as safe to cut.

“Furthermore, outright ownership of this machinery would give the council greater control over the timing of the operation to ensure that it takes place at the most appropriate time rather than depending on the availability of the contractor.”

Over the last three years, a contractor has been engaged to cut the north side of the castle banks and the banks of the River Ness two or three times per summer using a remote-controlled mower.

Ms Sutton continued: “Whilst this has resulted in a high standard of maintenance of these areas, better value for money for the council could be achieved through the outright purchase of this type of machine.”

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ALS Purchase GroundPro MT200

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ALS Purchase GroundPro MT200: Telford based sports contractor, ALS Contracts has taken delivery of a Maredo MT200 Flex-Verticutter to expand and update its range of scarifiers for estates, fairways and sports pitches.

The tractor-mounted scarifier was launched by GroundPro, a trading division of Wiedenmann UK. It provides a rapid response to difficulties that may occur in the vital area lying just beneath the turf surface.

ALS Purchase GroundPro MT200

Dave Harvey, Contracts Manager at ALS said: “Controlling thatch in the top layer is key; too much organic matter can be a problem. This removes thatch cleanly and at speed. With three independent floating heads and an ‘A’ frame with pivot point that makes turning simple, you get straight to business.

 “Depending on what the issues are we can have the Flex-Verticutter remove a lot of organic matter or let the blades just touch the top layer for a light grooming. The heads combine to offer a span of 1.9 m, each working to a depth of 25 mm so it’s what a contractor needs as it covers a lot of ground fast.”

GroundPro machines will be featured on the Wiedenmann UK  Stand A080 at Saltex.

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Ecoline+ The Choice For Watford

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Ecoline+ The Choice For Watford: Pitchmark’s Ecoline+ has become the line marking paint of choice for FA Premier League club Watford FC.

The demand for using a premium paint at the Vicarage Road stadium led to trials last season, since when Pitchmark have been further developing Ecoline+. Watford FC became the first to use the improved formula at the opening game of the season against Brighton and Hove Albion in August this year.

Ecoline+The Choice For Watford

In 2018 Scott Tingley, Head Groundsman at Watford FC, set out on what was originally a cost exercise and to see if they could establish the use of one paint for all marking.

“We were using top end paint for the stadium and bottom end for the other pitches,” he says, “we wanted to make it one paint but of course the cost had to be taken into account. We looked at Pitchmark and what we found different was their specialisation solely in line marking products.”

The club had been using Pitchmark’s Direct at the Watford FC training ground and academy, located at the University College London Union Shenley Sports grounds in St Albans. Home to five full-size and two goalkeeping/warmup natural grass training pitches as well as a full-size artificial turf training pitch and fourteen college/academy natural grass pitches, there’s a sizeable amount of line marking required. In the stadium only premium quality is acceptable. Ecoline+ offered the ideal all-round solution.  Ecoline+ is one of the most advanced, low volume, ready-to-use line marking paints available, especially when used in combination with Pitchmark’s Eco and Hybrid markers and special nozzles.

Scott says: “we trialled Ecoline+ and we had no issues, only benefits. We use a Pitchmark Hybrid marker which gives us the quality of a spray marker, without compromising the precision and quality of a transfer marker. Fixture dependent, we can mark up to three times a week and with the traditional wheel to wheel and four-wheel spray markers you lose ground cover and it’s too easy to transfer paint.”

The Pitchmark Hybrid overcomes these problems with a three-wheeled spray design, which is easily manoeuvred over wet lines. The cone nozzles give perfect deep leaf coverage, so you only need one pass.

“It’s easy to use, it feels like a normal wheel marker and you get premium quality.” Scott adds, “it’s quite complex though and needs looking after but if we have any issues Olly Boys, the Turfix rep, gives us second to none service and back-up.” (Turfix is Pitchmark’s recently formed sole UK distribution arm). Using advanced Ecoline+ Watford FC join the many examples of Ecoline+ premium line marking seen every week on TV from the best leagues in the world, including the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

Pitchmark is a British company based in Bristol +44 (0)1454 776666 www.pitchmark.com

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ROBOCUT To Launch At SALTEX

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ROBOCUT To Launch At SALTEX: McConnel ROBOCUT’s have earned a reputation for performing in the toughest working environments. Now the company are set to expand the ROBOCUT range with the launch of the ROBOCUT RC28, a mower developed for fine turf applications where a light footprint and minimal surface disturbance is paramount.

The ROBOCUT RC28 has been specifically designed for the amenities, landscape, and ground-care sectors.

ROBOCUT To Launch At SALTEX

Designed, developed and manufactured by vegetation control specialists McConnel, the all-new Robocut RC28 is now entering full production. Designed to allow remote controlled mowing of level land and suitable for tackling slopes of up to 55 degrees, the Robocut RC28 key features include:

  • Fuelled up and ready to mow, weighs under 500kg
  • Bi-directional 1.10m mulching deck delivers high quality cut
  • Safe working on slopes of up to 55 degrees
  • Automatic tracking for straight mowing on lateral slopes
  • Full proportional remote control at distances of up to 150m
  • Electric track motors and deck raise / lower eliminates hydraulics
  • Operates at speeds of up to 7.0kph
  • Mowing heights of 30 to 180mm
  • GPS Enabled and Autosteer ready

Powered by a 28hp / 21kW fuel-injected Vanguard petrol engine, the Robocut RC28 is the latest addition to the established McConnel Robocut family. Purpose designed for maintenance mowing, the Robocut RC28 is new from the ground up, light weight and high productivity listing among key design aims.

The new ROBOCUT RC28 will be officially launched at Saltex 2019 and can be seen on stand A095.  McConnel larger RC56 and RC75 ROBOCUT models will also be on display.

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Energy Purchase More Gators

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Energy Purchase More Gators: Leading event equipment supply company Energy Generator Hire Limited, based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, has recently added a record beating 51 John Deere Gator 4×4 utility vehicles to its UK hire fleet, which now numbers in excess of 170 units.

Supplied by Farol Limited of Milton Common near Thame in Oxfordshire and supported by John Deere Financial, the purchase of the XUV 855D two-seater models was already the largest single order for Gators in the UK, before they were joined shortly afterwards by another 12 S4 four-seater versions to keep up with customer demand.

Energy Purchase More Gators

Energy Generator Hire was established in 2004 with just one generator by owner and managing director Tom Carr, who identified a market opportunity to offer a one stop shop, full turnkey service to the events industry.

The company now specialises in short, medium and long term hire of power and generation equipment to various industry sectors, including events, construction, motor racing and, in the near future, the equestrian market. Energy will also be venturing into the electric vehicles sector in line with its sustainability and environmental policies.

“I was always intrigued by the events industry, and initially concentrated on temporary power supply services,” says Tom. “On visiting customer venues more frequently, we soon realised that all-terrain vehicles were also in great demand, and so expansion of The Energy Group began naturally from there.”

Energy bought its first John Deere Gator in 2015, initially for use at the company’s premises, but it wasn’t long before enquiries for the vehicle started flooding in. Due to Energy’s longstanding relationship with Farol area sales manager John Bennetts and John Deere Financial, the Gator fleet has increased rapidly due to a mix of repeat custom and new business.

“When you delve into a new aspect of any business, market and product research are key,” says Tom. “We studied all types of machine in the ATV market, and after gaining feedback from our clients, particularly festival organisers, it was John Deere who stood out as the number one choice.

“The new Gators were ordered with full specification to ensure they meet all our customers’ needs, delivering a premium product to stand alongside our first-rate service. They are fast becoming the industry standard and are more often than not requested by the end user due to their reliability and durability.

“We’ve found that the John Deere Gator can handle all kinds of terrain with ease, and due to their high specification they can also be used safely and efficiently 24 hours a day by our ever-expanding client base, both indoors if required as well as outdoors. In addition, all of our hire vehicles are Trackered and barcoded, not only for security but also to ensure fleet management and logistics are streamlined.

“This is vital, considering that the company’s entire machinery fleet now numbers more than 500 units. Add to this the fully comprehensive and strict maintenance schedule entrusted to Farol, and we can offer complete peace of mind to our clients countrywide.”

John Deere Financial area sales manager Christophe Verteneuil says: “This deal was the perfect example of consulting with a valued client to ensure the best available package was structured to suit both our lending criteria and the customer’s needs.

“Primarily, to manage a transaction of this scale, we arranged a credit line after gaining an understanding of Tom’s business challenges and opportunities. Flexibility was key, from identifying the most suitable financial product to being adaptable with regards to the payment schedule, which we were able to match to the seasonal cashflow of the business.”

Tom Carr adds: “Residual value is also very important when undertaking an investment of this magnitude. John Deere Gators, when serviced and maintained correctly, hold their market value well and this is extremely beneficial when renewing our fleet.”

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