FSI Stump Cutters introduce FSI B23

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FSI Stump Cutters introduce FSI B23: FSI Stump Cutters proudly introduces the FSI B23, the successor to the popular FSI B22. Combining familiar design elements from both the FSI B21 and FSI B22, the B23 is engineered for everyday professional work by arborists, landscapers, contractors, and hire companies.

With the FSI B23, you get to choose between a 14hp Kohler engine or an 11hp Honda engine, while enjoying the benefits of hydraulic wheel drive. The B23 combines power and user-friendliness with well-known and well-loved design features to make stump grinding easy and efficient.

FSI Stump Cutters introduce FSI B23

FSI Stump Cutters introduce FSI B23

New features of FSI B23:

  • Auto-Sweep Release: Automatically releases the sweep lock when the wheel brakes are applied, allowing you to reposition the machine quickly and safely at the stump.
  • Closed Bearing on Cutterwheel Housing: Pre-greased and sealed from the factory for over 1,000 hours of operation, eliminating daily greasing and reducing maintenance concerns.
  • Safety Bar: Stops the machine when released for increased operator safety.

Other new features also include a larger sweep for increased cutting range, recoil start of the engine, and a document tube and hour meter now included as standard.

“With FSI B23, we’ve refined what already worked well,” says Launy Luckmann, Development Engineer at FSI. “It’s a compact, reliable machine designed for professionals who want straightforward performance — with the comfort and simplicity that FSI is known for.”

The FSI B23 reflects Danish engineering at its best — simple, robust, and made to perform day after day with minimal maintenance. For more information and technical specifications, visit www.fsi-stumpcutters.com/product/engine/fsi-b23/

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See what’s new at SALTEX 2025

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See what’s new at SALTEX 2025: Europe’s cutting-edge grounds management show, SALTEX, is once again proving why it’s the go-to show for innovation, as a host of top industry brands prepare to launch their latest products and services exclusively at this year’s event.

Taking place at the NEC Birmingham on 12-13 November, SALTEX will offer visitors an exclusive first look at the latest innovations transforming the future of grounds management. From cutting-edge technologies to smart solutions, the show floor will be alive with fresh thinking and dynamic ideas – each designed to elevate performance across every aspect of grounds management.

See what's new at SALTEX 2025

See what’s new at SALTEX 2025

“SALTEX has always been where the industry comes to see what’s next,” said Sarah Hunter, Head of Events at the GMA. “It’s the launchpad for innovation and manufacturers choose SALTEX to debut their most exciting products because they know this is where the people who use them every day come to see them.

“For visitors, it’s a unique opportunity to discover the latest technology and get hands-on with solutions that are shaping the future of grounds management. Year after year, SALTEX proves why it’s the must-attend event for grounds people who want to stay ahead of the curve.”

This year’s exhibitors are bringing a wave of new product developments and exclusive unveilings, including:

AriensCo (C056) – Launching the AS 920 ESherpa 2WD alongside the AS 990 Tahr RC and Ariens Summit Pro Series, offering enhanced performance and operator comfort.

Campey Turf Care Systems (C050) – Unveiling the new lightweight Imants RECYCLINGDRESSER® 1.3, engineered to reduce labour and material costs by recycling and redistributing existing soil across the playing surface.

Raw Stadia (C110) – Demonstrating a new software solution linking surface data with performance decisions, including a live demo and video showcase of its real-world applications.

GreenBest (A060) – Expanding its SmartLawn range with SmartLawn FreshStart Lawn Seed, SmartLawn Hand Spreader and SmartLawn ProCast 20 Push Spreader, built for smarter, greener turf management.

Allett Ltd (B130) – Revealing the LEDMASTER UVC 100, designed for professional mowers and engineered for professional mowers. It is completely autonomous and functions independently of the mower, thanks to its own powerful battery, based on the reliable Metabo LiHD technology.

ISEKI (C100) – Launching the all-new Raymo remote-controlled range, delivering the first of the new GPS Models on show equipped with the 48” Craft Deck a 150Ah battery and a full range of Raymo accessories.

Rhenac (E038) – Presenting the RML 400 lighting product featuring Rhenac’s largest and most advanced mobile lighting system, designed to deliver full-spectrum LED light across 400 m² of turf.

STIGA (G130) – Unveiling a suite of next-generation mowing solutions including the AXL, a Fflly autonomous mower delivering AI-powered precision for large and complex turf areas. ePark Pro – STIGA’s first fully electric front mower, combining zero-emissions with high performance for noise-sensitive and urban environments and Vista Robots – autonomous robotic mowers featuring AI-powered camera recognition, GPS RTK guidance and STIGA’s unique AGS technology.

SMG Machines (A110) – Introducing the TurfBoy TB1 Eco DC, powered by a powerful, emission-free 48 V electric motor with 1,000 kW, which also guarantees low-noise operation at just 99.5 dB.

Net World Sports (H110) – Taking visitors behind the scenes of its FIFA-accredited equipment testing process and showcasing how FORZA goals are engineered to perform at elite level.

Turfcoach (D125) – Launching a brand-new mobile app that brings together all Turf IQ features in one user-friendly platform.

Chappell Enterprises UK (F115) – Introducing new advertising and recruitment services to better connect employers and professionals in the grounds sector.

Plus many more exhibitors who will be showcasing innovative solutions across the show floor, making SALTEX the must-attend event for discovering what’s new and what’s next in the world of grounds management.

Register for FREE and be in with a chance of winning a Cramer Tools Lawn Mower, complete with charger and battery worth £2,240!

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Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service

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Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service: After proving the validity of his concept by using it to manage his own working life, Duncan Cheslett, for decades a successful self-employed cabinet market, who turned to greenkeeping in the immediate aftermath of Covid, is expanding his business to provide freelance greenkeeping support for clubs across the UK.

After retiring from his furniture business of several decades, Cheslett, a keen golfer, turned to greenkeeping as a way of combining his love of golf, and in particular golf architecture, with earning a living. “I worked at several courses around the Manchester area, and I loved it, but when you have worked for yourself all your life, your mind is always turning over business ideas,” he explains. He conceived The Relief Greenkeeper concept initially as a way of being able to work part-time while expanding his horizons and working on a variety of courses that interested him.

Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service

Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service

Cheslett set up The Relief Greenkeeper as an umbrella under which he could market his services, on a freelance basis, to courses that might need an extra pair of hands for a few days from time to time, perhaps to cover sick leave, or to provide more labour at peak times. And he found that hard-pressed course managers loved the idea.

“Because I was self-employed, I could go and work for a club for a few days, and they would not have to incur any of the many costs that arise when you have people on staff,” Cheslett says. “No National Insurance, pension contributions or the like. I could charge an hourly rate that was  good for me, but was much cheaper for the club than paying a member of staff. And from my own point of view, working on a variety of courses was a great way to keep work interesting, and helped me make friends and contacts across the golf industry in the North-West.” He has worked on over 20 courses and events, including Wallasey for the English Amateur, St Anne’s Old Links,  and Hesketh in Southport. He also worked at Royal Portrush for the Open.

Cheslett realised that the Relief Greenkeeper concept had the potential to do much more than manage his own working life. “At every course, people would ask me about what I was doing, and express interest in doing the same – and nervousness about leaving a staff job and having to find work,” he says. “And everywhere I went, course managers told me that they would use a service like this. It was clear to me that some sort of agency that could connect greenkeepers and clubs would be a good thing for both parties.” So he took  his first additional freelance greenkeepers onto his books, and began placing them with golf clubs requiring extra short-term staff.

“I’ve been able to supply my greenkeepers with steady work, saving them the time and stress of continually having to find and negotiate their own contracts, and generally earning them a higher rate of pay than they would have received working at their former course,” he says.

Naturally, to date operations have focused on Cheslett’s home region, but now he has decided to roll the service out nationwide. “I know that the idea is sound, and there’s no reason that greenkeepers and clubs in all parts of the UK won’t find it as useful as those in the North-West do,” he says. This expansion has already started, with Relief Greenkeepers at work in Lincolnshire, the West Coast of Ireland, Aberdeenshire, and the Central Belt of Scotland. And Cheslett says that he is ready to take on more. “I constantly have clubs calling me, saying they’ve heard about my service, and can I provide them with someone,” he says. “If I had more greenkeepers on my books, obviously I could and would. So if any experienced greenkeepers fancy going freelance, they should email me at duncan@thereliefgreenkeeper.co.uk, via our website www.thereliefgreenkeeper.co.uk, or call me on 07720 285376. Any clubs who would like to have reliable, experienced freelance greenkeeping resource for between £23 and £30 an hour should do the same.”

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Gareth Phillips joins Tim O’Hare Associates

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Gareth Phillips joins Tim O’Hare Associates: Tim O’Hare Associates (TOHA), the industry’s leading independent environmental consultancy specialising in soil science, landscape engineering, and sports agronomy, has welcomed Gareth Phillips in the role of Senior Agronomist to its Wallingford-based team.

Gareth brings over 35 years of experience to the practice, working across the full spectrum of sports turf management and agronomy. He joins TOHA from Ecosol Turf Care, where he provided agronomic and project management support. Prior to that he held significant roles within a leading sports turf design and agronomy consultancy, contributing to various sports turf projects, from racecourses to bowling greens. Gareth also has extensive lecturing experience, teaching at the Welsh College of Horticulture and Reaseheath College, where he delivered courses on sports turf and amenity horticulture.

Gareth Phillips joins Tim O’Hare Associates

Gareth Phillips joins Tim O’Hare Associates

His expertise has been invaluable to a range of high-profile clients, including racecourses; premier, championship, and football league clubs; international stadia; and prestigious organisations such as the Rugby Football Union and Sport England.

Tim O’Hare, Principal Consultant at TOHA, which he set up in 2006, said:

“We are delighted that Gareth has joined us and brought with him his wealth of knowledge and experience in sports and amenity agronomy. Sports pitch design and agronomy is an increasingly important part of our business, where our clients are often from high stakes environments that depend on receiving quality consultancy on their sports surfaces; I am pleased to say that they are already benefitting from Gareth’s expertise.”

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Avant Optitemp® Cube Provides Portable Power

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Avant Optitemp® Cube Provides Portable Power: Avant Tecno’s subsidiary Avant Power started manufacturing batteries for their electric loaders in 2024. They have produced over 500 battery packs that enable a full day of work with a single charge for the Avant e-series loaders.

Quickly gaining popularity, the OptiTemp® batteries signaled a new era for electric loaders in terms of capacity, longer operating time and lifecycle, safety, sustainability, and affordability. Now they’re taking the OptiTemp® concept further by introducing Avant Power’s first mobile and compact energy storage solution: the OptiTemp® Cube product line.

Avant Optitemp® Cube Provides Portable Power

Avant Optitemp® Cube Provides Portable Power

Mobile power for any application

The OptiTemp® Cube 50 is Avant Power’s answer to a growing demand for portable energy storage solutions in the loader and work machine market. It is an ideal companion for Avant’s e-series electric loaders. The OptiTemp® Cube 50 can provide the 27 kWh OptiTemp® battery with two full charges, and four charges for the 13,5 kWh battery.

“As our battery production increases and more e-series loaders are being adopted, we have discovered that the OptiTemp® technology works equally well within portable energy solutions. Our loaders are often used at work sites without charging facilities. A portable power unit is ideal for providing more juice at construction sites, remote outdoor locations, forests, events, and many other applications. They are also great accessories for rental and leasing companies,” Avant Power’s COO Mikko Piepponen highlights.

While similar solutions exist, the OptiTemp® Cube is a unique product thanks to its immersion cooling technology, robust structure, and reliable performance in any environment. “The OptiTemp® Cubes are like our loaders in many respects: they are compact, durable, highly portable, quiet, and extremely safe,” Mikko says.

OptiTemp® guarantees premium performance

Despite their compact size, OptiTemp® batteries have a high power density that enables premium capacity and rapid charging. The OptiTemp® thermal management system keeps temperatures optimized when the battery is in use or plugged into a charger.

All cells are surrounded by a cooling liquid in the battery’s submersible structure. The immersion cooling system controls temperature and guarantees optimized performance in both freezing and hot weather. In cold conditions, the battery automatically pre-heats before use, and the temperature management system maintains operating temperature during use.

The system also ensures that the battery won’t overheat, making it extremely safe to use.

“While the OptiTemp® Cube 50 is intended primarily as a companion for Avant loaders, the upcoming OptiTemp® Cube 100 will provide portable energy for all kinds of machinery, including mining and forestry. These products will pave the way for our larger solutions in the future. Stay tuned!” Mikko concludes.

OptiTemp® Cube 50 Specifications

Dimensions:  120 x 80 x 116 cm (L x W x H)

Weight: 700 kg

Protection: IP54

Capacity:  50 kWh, nominal voltage 400 VDC

Input: Type 2, 220–250 VAC, 3,3 kW

Output for Avant charging:  48 VDC, 150 A

Output for external socket:  230 VAC, 10 A, 50 Hz

Internal protection for overload,  overheat, short circuit, low battery

Readiness for bidirectional charging

For more information, please visit www.avanttecno.com/uk

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