Exhibitors praise ‘Valuable’ SALTEX

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Exhibitors praise ‘valuable’ SALTEX: The SALTEX 2018 post-show survey has revealed that an overwhelming amount of exhibitors reported hugely successful business results with many claiming that it was the most valuable event to date.

The 300 SALTEX exhibitors travelled from 18 countries to SALTEX 2018 with the majority being based in the UK. European exhibitors included those from the Netherlands, Finland, Turkey, Sweden, Israel, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and France. Further afield, exhibitors travelled from North America, Korea, Canada and China to showcase their products and services at SALTEX 2018.

The core area at SALTEX was the machinery, power and hand tools segment with over half (56 per cent) of all exhibitors showcasing equipment in this category. A further 28 per cent specialised in sports surfaces and facilities; 27 per cent represented landscaping products and services; 24 per cent were from the turf, seeds, aggregates and treatments sector; 15 per cent represented arboriculture and horticulture; 13 per cent showcased commercial vehicles; 9 per cent specialised in synthetic surfaces and 7 per cent were manufacturers of play equipment.

The post show exhibitor survey revealed that more than 82 per cent of these exhibitors feel that exhibiting at SALTEX is integral to their overall business strategy.

“We come to SALTEX because it plays an important part within our marketing platform,” said Roger Moore, Dennis & SISIS sales and marketing manager. “We find the show ideal for the launching of new products and to meet existing as well as new customers. It is a fantastic flag-waving exercise. The 2018 show was incredibly busy, so SALTEX is very important to us.”

Survey results confirmed that every exhibitor was in agreement after an incredible 100 per cent of exhibitors thought that by attending the show they were able to maintain and promote their company profile. Ninety-six per cent said that they generated new leads, 87 per cent used SALTEX as a platform to launch new products and 82 per cent took orders as a direct result of the event.

“It was another successful show for us,” said Karen Proctor, director of global marketing at Ransomes. “It’s always a fantastic opportunity to network, meet current and potential customers, and to showcase our latest machinery to the industry. We had a lot of good leads at the show including many demonstration requests.”

Echoing Karen was Louise Amos, business communications and marketing support manager at Aquatrols, who said: “We had a busy stand and plenty of engagement with groundsmen and women that weren’t previously aware of our products. We felt the audience was right for the direction we’re going in and the general feeling from the team is that it was our most valuable SALTEX yet.”

Further results from the post-show survey revealed that 84 per cent of exhibitors rated the quality of visitors as excellent and it certainly didn’t go un-noticed that visitors from 44 different countries were in attendance.

“SALTEX is a great time of year for visitors and the NEC has great travel links, which is great for overseas visitors,” said Derek Smith amenity sales and marketing manager for Johnsons Sports Seeds: “We’ve had visitors to our stand from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark and Norway, so we’ve had a very good show and we are really pleased.”

Vince Brauns, European product manager at EGO Europe, believes that SALTEX offers a fantastic platform to showcase EGO products to a dedicated audience.

“We chose to attend SALTEX because we feel that it is a good platform to get close to the dealers and large end users, especially if we are promoting new products. There isn’t another show in the UK which has the same type of audience.

“The show seems to grow year on year – from 9am all the way through until close we were really busy on the stand.”

SALTEX 2019 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on October 30 and 31.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @IOG_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/IOGSALTEX

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New Pellenc Distributor in Ireland

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New Pellenc Distributor in Ireland: Etesia UK has announced a new partnership with Camsaw Ltd, which will see the County Laois based business exclusively distribute Pellenc battery powered equipment throughout the Republic of Ireland.

Established in 1987 by Philip Carney, Camsaw Ltd is one of Ireland’s leading providers and distributors of garden machinery and equipment and is the official Irish agent of Olec-mac and Weibang garden and forestry machines. Camsaw also manufacture its own Legacy brand of steel deck push lawnmowers.

After 31 successful years in business, the family owned company is renowned for providing customers with quality products and exceptional service. Phillip’s son, Paul Carney, took over the business in 2005 and explained that this new partnership outlines the future vision of the company.

“We are delighted to partner with a company like Pellenc. They have shown that their pathway to growth is through new product developments and innovations. It is an exciting opportunity for Camsaw to partner with a company so far ahead of its competitors in the market.”

“The market is more open to battery powered products than ever before and at Camsaw we wanted to take our first step into this sector by providing the highest quality product in the marketplace. In our opinion – that is Pellenc.”

In recent years, Pellenc has gained market recognition by offering a unique range of ‘zero emission’ battery-powered tools, thanks to the development of Lithium-ion ultra-high performance batteries. This technology, which is exclusive to Pellenc, allows for a drastic reduction in the production of greenhouse gases and noise pollution. It is also comfortable for users, meets new sustainable development demands and offers excellent economic profitability.

The extensive product range features an impressive portfolio – from chainsaws, pole saws and hedge cutters to grass strimmers, brushcutters and mowers and is unrivalled in terms of performance, lightness and durability. Not only will users be able to comfortably achieve a full day’s work without having to re-charge the battery but they will see a huge amount of savings by eliminating the necessity of purchasing fuel.
“We feel that Pellenc is the premium product in the marketplace – and we believe that it will be a huge benefit to end users from a safety and performance point of view,” Paul continued.
“We would like to establish ourselves with dealerships in Ireland and really become the go-to company for professional battery powered products, particularly with the likes of local councils, contractors and professional landscaping and maintenance companies.”

Stephen Muir, Etesia UK’s business development manager, commented: “We are delighted with this new partnership. Camsaw is an established business with a large dealer network within the country and is a well-known and respected business. We want to be associated with a company that can successfully promote and enhance the sales of Pellenc equipment in Ireland and we very much believe we have that in Camsaw.”

To speak to Camsaw about Pellenc equipment, please contact Paul on +353 (0) 57 8623809 or visit www.camsaw.ie.

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

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

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An Update From Scott MacCallum

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An Update From Scott MacCallum: Well, that’s the main exhibition season over for the next 11 months. With Saltex and BTME coming so close together, particularly with the festive period slap bang in the middle, it is probably the most intense time of the year… for the likes of us that is who don’t have sports pitches and golf courses to look after.

It was great to see so many people at both shows taking advantage of what the two shows have to offer – new products, professional development and mingling with like minded people. From a personal perspective it was also lovely to see how well Turf Matters – both the magazine and the website – is being received by its readership. So many people stopped Sinead and I to compliment us on Turf Matters and it makes us both believe that we are moving in the right direction as a title.

An Update From Scott MacCallum

We do care about what you want from your trade media and try to ensure that whatever we do is relevant and of interest to you. We will continue to produce well written, well presented features for you, as well as acting as a conduit for all the news and views from throughout our wonderful industry.

As I write, and look out of the window, we are in the middle of the coldest snap of the year. At least I hope it’s the middle and not just the start of a prolonged period of sub zero temperatures and all that that brings.

It’s at times like these that we all yearn from those heady days when the shorts are out and our knees are sunburnt. Hang in there guys and gals. It’s only a few months until spring!

Scott MacCallum

Vandals Target Golf Greens

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Vandals Target Golf Greens: Two greens at the Keilor Golf Club in Australia were last week ripped up after vehicles were deliberately driven across the course.

Brimbank infrastructure and city services director Neil Whiteside said the vandalism was unacceptable.

“Council is disappointed that reckless vandals have damaged the Keilor Public Golf Course by deliberately driving vehicles over the 2nd and 4th greens,” he said.

“Council works hard to care and maintain its public spaces for its community, so naturally any incidents of vandalism are upsetting and disappointing.”

He said the greens were vandalised some time between Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20.

It’s not the first time vandals have destroyed a much-loved Brimbank green area.

Last September, vandals rode a motorbike through the newly opened Sunvale Park, damaging lawn and garden bed.

The then mayor Margaret Giudice labelled the vandalism an “affront to our community” and said security around the park would be increased.

But vandals were undeterred, hitting the park a further two times within a month of it opening.

The attacks frustrated the community so much that groups vowed to patrol the park in a bid to establish an around-the-clock presence and ensure it remained secure.

The vandalism to the golf course has elicited a similar reaction.

Mr Whiteside said the golf course would be repaired in the near future and security efforts would be bolstered.

“Council will work to repair the course as soon as possible,” he said. “Council is also looking at the installation of security cameras and other security initiatives at the Keilor Public Golf Course. Theft and vandalism are serious offences under Victorian law and we continue to work closely with Victoria Police to investigate these types of matters.”

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Replay Operator Q&A

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Replay Operator Q&A: A Q&A with Replay Maintenance operator Michael Kelly

What is your current role at Replay Maintenance? How long have you been there and what was your route into the industry?

I became part of the Replay team following a recruitment drive day that Replay held. I have now worked at Replay for two years, as a Synthetic Surface Technician.

What training did you undergo when you started the job?

I began by shadowing an experienced member of the team who taught me the principles of the job and have continued to progress through the in-house training programme. Since starting, I have gone on to learn all of the various Replay Maintenance processes and completed my telescopic handler licence and forward tipping dumper licence. I have also attended first aid and health and safety courses.

Replay Operator Q&A

What time do you start work in the morning, what does an average day entail?

Generally, my start time varies depending on the jobs I have scheduled to do that day, though it is normally sometime between 6am and 7am. My average day usually entails two jobs, one in the morning and then another in the afternoon.

How much information do you receive in advance of a site visit? What technology do you use to track and monitor your work?

All information is fed direct to me on a daily basis through the Replay PitchPassport365 system. I receive the name of the job and the address, the name of the site contact and their contact details along with any information that is specific to that site such as the size, and type, of surface. PitchPassport365 has a job timer on it to which is started on arrival at the site and is turned off on completion. This helps us to track all of our visits. The average Replay Revive® visit takes approximately four hours to complete. The PitchPassport365 system also allows me to add before, during and after photos of the job, as well as alerting the office instantly of any issues that I find on the surface during a visit – fed through using Replay Rescue.

What are the essential pieces of equipment on your truck, to complete the days task?

The Revive machine, which uses a wet and dry filter, is the core piece of equipment I use. I also carry three sieves of different sizes, which gives me the choice of which to utilise depending on the type of surface I am working on, the size of the infill and the weather conditions on the day.  In addition, I have a leaf blower, refuse sacks, weed and moss sprayer and various other items in the van which are used during a site visit.

Most of your work is conducted independently – how much interaction do you have with the facility manager and are there many decisions you have to make on site?

On arrival at a site I will report to reception who will then point me in the direction of the caretaker who facilitates my visit. Working independently, I have to use my initiative when completing the job but if any major problems arise, I will speak with the main job contact.

Replay Operator Q&A

Have you experienced any changes during your time at Replay, and if so, how have these impacted on, or improved, the service you provide?

The main improvement has been the introduction of Replay’s PitchPassport system which has significantly improved the sharing of information between the Replay office, the customer and the operators on the road. The system instantly connects us all, and the work I carry out on the pitch can be viewed ‘as-live’.

Is there a particular service you enjoy conducting? 

There are many elements I enjoy, but in particular, I get a great deal of satisfaction conducting the specialist Revive visits. It’s the service we probably conduct the most often but it’s very rewarding seeing the improvement in the appearance of a surface. I also enjoy familiarising myself with people over the visits, getting to know them, their pitches and working together with them to produce a maintenance regime that works.

In your role you spend a lot of hours travelling between sites – what do you listen to and which song can you be caught singing along to?

When I’m in between jobs, I mainly listen to Radio 1 but if you’re going to catch me singing it’ll likely be to any song by The Courteeners.

How do you spend your free time? 

I spend my spare time with my girlfriend and enjoy socialising with friends. I also follow Nottingham Forest Football Club.

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