Major brands return to SALTEX

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Major brands return to SALTEX: The Grounds Management Association (GMA) is delighted to welcome back the grounds industry’s leading global brands to SALTEX 2024, the premier event in grounds management. This year’s exhibition is set to be a landmark occasion, showcasing the latest innovations, and providing unparalleled networking opportunities. 

After a year of remarkable growth and development within the industry, SALTEX 2024 will welcome back industry giants including Kubota, Toro and Iseki, all reaffirming their support for the GMA’s vision of excellence in grounds management. These returning brands represent the pinnacle of quality and innovation, offering visitors an exclusive look at cutting-edge products and services.

Major brands return to SALTEX

Major brands return to SALTEX

Visitors can expect to see these big brands (just to name a few!) making their presence known on the show floor:

  • Reesink UK/Toro UK
  • Kubota
  • Dennis Mowers
  • EGO
  • WEIBANG
  • Hilltip
  • Milwaukee
  • Ariensco
  • Grillo
  • Husqvarna UK
  • Kioti UK
  • Cramer
  • ISEKI
  • Origin Amenity Solutions
  • SGL

This year’s show will see DeWalt exhibiting as part of Infinicut’s expanded stand for the first time, as well as McConnel’s making a much-anticipated return for 2024.

Sarah Cunningham, SALTEX Event Director added: “I’m really excited to welcome back our old industry friends and can’t wait to meet our new exhibitors this year. Having these top-tier companies here shows just how important SALTEX is for sharing knowledge, growing professionally, and pushing our industry forward. Their commitment really highlights how much they value being a part of SALTEX.” 

This year SALTEX is also set to welcome an exciting array of new exhibitors broadening the horizons of the grounds management industry. These new exhibitors are poised to introduce innovative products, cutting-edge technologies, and sustainable practices that promise to revolutionise the way we think about grounds management.

Stogger Turf Care, an internationally recognised tech innovator based in the Netherlands, said: “Stogger Turf Care is very excited to participate at SALTEX 2024. We can’t wait to present our new product line and state-of-the-art technologies to this large audience. Let’s ignite your growth potential with Stogger Turf Care.” 

Hayley Group, one of the UK’s foremost value-added suppliers of leading-brand engineering components, consumables, and related support services, are also exhibiting at SALTEX for the first time, and said: “We are delighted to be exhibiting at SALTEX for the first-time in 2024. We’ve got a strong presence in supporting grounds management professionals with their bearings and maintenance consumables, this exhibition will help us build on that. We are looking forward to showing visitors to our stand the full range of products on offer, and how we can be a single-source contact for critical components and consumables they use on a daily basis.”

Their presence signifies the ever-growing interest and investment in the sector. With a commitment to excellence and advancement, these new exhibitors will undoubtedly enrich the SALTEX experience, offering fresh perspectives and opportunities for learning, collaboration, and growth within the grounds community.

SALTEX 2024 promises to be an event brimming with educational sessions, live demonstrations, and interactive exhibits, all designed to empower grounds management professionals.

For more information on SALTEX 2024 and to register for the event, please visit https://www.saltex.org.uk/. You can see the full list of exhibitors here: https://www.saltex.org.uk/exhibitors

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Pro Flora helping to boost biodiversity

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Pro Flora helping to boost biodiversity: After witnessing good results with the Johnsons J All Bent mixture, Woolley Park Golf Club are now enjoying similar success with new eco-friendly areas created with DLF’s Pro Flora range.

The project to enhance habitats and encourage diversity of wildlife has gathered pace in recent years under the stewardship of Head Greenkeeper John Rowbottom who, with the help of DLF’s Stuart Yarwood, has not only boosted biodiversity but brought new life to previously unmanageable areas.

Pro Flora helping to boost biodiversity

Pro Flora helping to boost biodiversity

The West Yorkshire club are longstanding users of seed mixtures from DLF. “We’ve used many different mixtures over the years, and specifically J All Bent for the last five. This just seems to really suit our conditions” explains John, who has worked at Woolley Park since its inception in 1995. “We’ve got USGA spec root zone and we’ve found that the bent grass thrives here, the benefits of which are two-fold – improving the quality of the sward and helping us in the constant fight against Poa, with the Bent outcompeting fescues and other varieties.”

Oversown twice a year during spring and autumn renovations, the reliability and results of the J All Bent programme on the greens is ongoing, allowing John to turn his attention to the viability of other areas. “During the COVID lockdowns we had the time to fully appreciate the rich abundance of wildlife that returned to the site while the course was closed. This really kickstarted our trials with wildflower areas, and since then we’ve worked on another patch of land each year with the results getting better and better! It’s been great to see that, as a result of this work, much of the fauna that returned over that time has stayed.”

“For me, it is essential that whatever we do on the course is sympathetic to the environment around it” he adds. So, when a major renovation project two years ago left a large area of ‘unmanageable’ land, it was then that John consulted with his DLF Regional Technical Manager Stuart Yarwood for advice. “I didn’t want bright, bold colours, instead something more subtle and in keeping with the surroundings that would provide some cover and habitat for pheasants and ground nesting birds.”

Stuart recommended Pro Flora 13, delivering a species-rich mix of UK native origin wildflowers and fine leaved low growing grasses. “This has given us exactly what we wanted from an ecological perspective and, visually, blends in brilliantly beside our in-play areas.”

“I believe it is our responsibility as custodians of land to ensure we are doing what we can to protect the environment, and this is something both Stuart and I are keen to continue developing with our wildflower projects. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to look after 150 acres of land and seeing golfers and wildlife out there enjoying what we craft is priceless.”

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Green-tech supply materials for tree planting

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Green-tech supply materials for tree planting: Set in the vibrant town of Ipswich, Wolsey Grange is a growing community of newly built homes by Taylor Wimpey

As part of the Construction Environmental Management Plan, a sustainable surface water drainage system (SuDS) was implemented, designed to reduce rates of stormwater run-off. An Attenuation basin will control water flow from the site into the existing watercourse. These sustainable drainage features will also create a range of water habitats for wildlife. A maintenance regime has been established to ensure the future performance of sustainable drainage features.

Green-tech supply materials for tree planting

Green-tech supply materials for tree planting

Attenuation basins are a common sight on most new build sites and allow for safe and contained storage for excess rain and stormwater as it allows for its release over time into the sewer system at a controlled rate. They remove much of the potential flooding risk caused by the inability of excess water to drain safely.

Cox Landscapes is the experienced landscape contractor on this large-scale project and has vast experience in the landscaping of attenuation basins.  They were responsible for the planting area outside of the attenuation basin which involved planting potted plants and bare root trees and protecting these by staking and installing Tubex tree shelters.

Green-tech is Cox Landscapes supplier for landscaping materials and supplied circa 500 stakes and Holdfast natural tree hessian ties for securing the stakes to the trees, as well as 60cm Tubex tree shelters. In Keeping with this biodiverse and sustainable project the Natural tree ties are made entirely of natural fibres and are fully biodegradable. Unlike other tree ties, a spacer is not required when using with Natural tree tie. You can form a spacer by using the tie itself.

15 rolls of Ecomatt weed control fabric were supplied and installed before being planted and finished off with decorative bark. The Ecomatt offers a great biodegradable tree weed control option that degrades over two growing seasons. It is manufactured in the UK, exclusively for Green-tech Ltd from 100% recycled materials: and is needle punched onto a film backing, to allow both air and water to pass through the layers.

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Nothing beats the ProFlex 120

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Nothing beats the ProFlex 120: Following more than 12 years of reliable service, a ProFlex 120 at Mid Herts Golf Club has been joined by… well, another ProFlex 120!

Delivered by Vanmac’s James Boyle in April 2024, the five floating rotary decks on the Progressive unit conform to the peaks and troughs of the terrain at the Hertfordshire club making the like for like purchase a straight forward one for Course Manager Jody Wilson.

Nothing beats the ProFlex 120

Nothing beats the ProFlex 120

One of the oldest golf clubs in the country, Mid Herts offers a classic heathland terrain with rippled fairways and quick greens, nestled within traditional grassy hollows. While the picturesque countryside undulations pose a challenge for players, they make no match for the contour following ability of the ProFlex! “12 years ago we tried and tested a range of rough mowers and found the ProFlex 120 was the best suited to our conditions. Fast forward to this year and we went through the same process again, only to find there’s still nothing in the market better than this machine!”

The Progressive ProFlex 120 delivers a uniform cut on both flat and uneven ground, the five floating decks covering an area of 3.0m in a single pass and evenly dispersing clippings for an immaculate finish. The ability to quickly and easily adjust the HOC on each individual deck makes the mower incredibly versatile, and the ideal choice for stepped or transition cutting.

“The build quality has always been exceptional, and our new ProFlex is no different” Jody explains. “We’ve kept hold of our older machine for the weekly cutting of the practice ground. It still cuts exceptionally well and, with a good jet-wash, would still clean up a treat. Besides the expected wear and tear, we’ve rarely had any downtime or costly repair bills, and with the sealed blade spindle bearings on the new ProFlex, the routine maintenance will be even easier.”

The recent delivery complements a range of other equipment from Vanmac already in the Mid Herts shed. “For the summer, we’re now set for mowing the roughs and practice ground with our pair of ProFlex’s, then in the winter we’re big Trilo users – with two blowers and an S4 vacuum collector helping us to keep on top of playability and presentation.” He added, “The service from Vanmac is always first-class. It’s great product with great back-up.”

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Royal Golf Club Bahrain receives Club Car fleet

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Royal Golf Club Bahrain receives Club Car fleet: Club Car®, global industry-leading manufacturer of small-wheel, zero-emissions electric vehicles, has delivered a new fleet of golf vehicles to the prestigious Royal Golf Club in Bahrain.

The world-class venue hosted the Bahrain Championship on the DP World Tour in February and welcomes 42,000 rounds a year on its two courses – the magnificent Colin Montgomerie-designed 18-hole championship layout and a 9-hole par-3 course.

Royal Golf Club Bahrain receives Club Car fleet

Royal Golf Club Bahrain receives Club Car fleet

Royal Golf Club chose the market-leading Club Car Tempo golf car in Metallic Blue Onyx complete with premium features including Visage (GPS technology), alloy wheels and comfort seats.

The vehicles were delivered through Luxury Carts, the Club Car distributor in the Middle East, and also have coolers, sand bottles and inbuilt USB ports.

Royal Golf Club General Manager, Juan Manuel Fuentes, said: “Our players use golf cars here because of the high temperatures and course design. That is why we commit to offer our members and guests an exceptional experience during their rounds with us.”

“Club Car has given us just that – the 80 new cars are fantastic.”

The new cars were used to transport VIP guests during the Bahrain Championship earlier this year – the DP World Tour’s first return to the Kingdom since 2011 – held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

“Club Car is an easy choice because the product is superior and the level of service is excellent,” Fuentes added. “The cars were delivered quickly – there was not a long wait after ordering.”

Nicolas Le Glas, Club Car Regional Manager Middle East and Africa, said: “Royal Golf Club Bahrain offers its guests world class service, and we’re proud to play a part in that with these new vehicles.”

“I’d like to express my gratitude to the board of Royal Golf Club Bahrain, Juan Manuel and Troon for continuing the longstanding relationship with Club Car.”

Club Car Tempo has many customisable options including colour, seats, storage, wheels and three programmable drive modes to maximise performance.

For more information on Club Car visit: www.clubcar.com

For more information on Royal Bahrain Golf Club visit: https://www.theroyalgolfclub.com

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