Registration open for SALTEX 2025

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Registration open for SALTEX 2025: Registration is now officially open for SALTEX 2025, the flagship event for the European grounds management industry, returning to the NEC Birmingham on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 November 2025.  

This year’s theme, ‘Power Up Your Performance’, captures SALTEX’s ambition to energise the sector from smart technology and new skills to expert advice and opportunities to grow.

Registration open for SALTEX 2025

Registration open for SALTEX 2025

Organised by the Grounds Management Association (GMA), SALTEX continues to serve the sector with great purpose, as it has done since 1938. It’s the most influential event of its kind in Europe, bringing together thousands of professionals and volunteers from across the sector.

This year’s show promises to be the most dynamic yet, with hundreds of leading brands, industry-first product launches and cutting-edge technology on display across halls 17, 18, and 19. 80% of visitors who attend SALTEX are senior decision-makers, making it the trusted annual meeting place for professionals and volunteers across all areas of grounds care.

Whether you work in sport, education, local authorities or commercial spaces, SALTEX offers fresh ideas, the latest solutions and real-world expert advice that you can take away and put into action.

Sarah Hunter, Head of Events at the Grounds Management Association, said: “The 2025 theme, ‘Power Up Your Performance’, captures the ambition behind everything we’ve got planned for SALTEX 2025. We’re introducing fresh features and new thinking to create even more value for visitors and exhibitors. It’s shaped by what the industry’s told us it needs, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the NEC.”

Power Up Your Experience at SALTEX 2025:

  • Power Up Your Tech – See the latest kit and innovation from the industry’s leading suppliers.
  • Power Up Your Skills – Earn accredited CPD points through SALTEX’s renowned Learning LIVE programme.
  • Power Up Your Connections – Network with peers and decision-makers from across the sector.
  • Power Up Your Performance – Take away actionable insights and strategies to improve your impact on the ground.

Geoff Webb, CEO of the Grounds Management Association, added: “SALTEX is built around the needs of the industry, and this year’s show reflects exactly that. From grassroots to elite level, every detail of the 2025 show has been shaped by the real-world needs of groundspeople today. And what makes SALTEX truly unique is that all revenue is reinvested directly into supporting the sector.”

Join thousands of grounds professionals and power up your performance at SALTEX 2025. Registration is free and now open at www.saltex.org.uk.

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SGL launches TurfRobot

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SGL launches TurfRobot: SGL, global leader in pitch management solutions, introduces TurfRobot – a fully autonomous robot that sustainably battles grass diseases and keeps pitches in top condition. TurfRobot is powered by UVC light technology and requires minimal manual input.

By preventing and reducing grass diseases with maximum efficiency, it supports grounds teams in maintaining healthy sports turf and ensures consistent playing conditions for top-level performance, day after day.

SGL launches TurfRobot

SGL launches TurfRobot

Sustainable disease control

TurfRobot provides an efficient and sustainable solution for treating grass diseases on sports fields. Operating autonomously, it uses UVC technology to target and eliminate fungi without the use of chemicals, making it an environmentally friendly alternative. This innovative approach ensures effective disease management while promoting a more sustainable future for pitch maintenance.

How UVC light protects turfgrass

UVC light eliminates harmful fungi by disrupting their DNA, preventing them from reproducing or causing damage. TurfRobot emits light at 253.7 nanometres, a wavelength proven to neutralise pathogens without affecting the grass. Grass cells are far more resistant to UVC than fungal cells, allowing TurfRobot to safely target disease-causing microorganisms while leaving the plant unharmed. This proven technology reduces disease pressure and helps maintain a consistently healthy, high-quality playing surface.

Autonomous operation

TurfRobot runs independently, allowing the grounds team to focus on other important maintenance work once the treatment is set up. After scanning the pitch during installation, the robot follows a pre-set treatment route without further intervention. Its 3D LiDAR object detection system ensures smooth navigation, enabling other maintenance to continue simultaneously.
While total treatment time may be longer than traditional spraying methods, TurfRobot requires no manual handling during operation. This hands-free process helps reduce workload, freeing up time and attention for other essential pitch tasks. This makes it a valuable addition to every clubs’ Integrated Pest Management strategy.

Data-driven

Data from TurfBase, SGL’s advanced data management dashboard, helps groundsmen use TurfRobot to its full potential. The key modules to support TurfRobot are the Disease Forecast and Observations module. The Disease forecast provides a 7-day prediction of disease pressure for more than 10 common grass diseases and alerts groundsmen. The Observations module helps to create a logbook of what groundsmen observe on the pitch, empowering them to track, analyse, and improve pitch management based on firsthand observations.

Contact information

For more details about TurfRobot, contact Jesse de Koning at j.dekoning@sglsystem.com or call +31 7 959 338 01.

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Gary Neville’s mission to improve pitches

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Gary Neville’s mission to improve pitches: Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville has launched a Best Worst Pitch Initiative to breathe new life into underfunded grassroots football pitches.

The Best Worst Pitch initiative will provide line painting and pitch maintenance equipment, as well as maintenance training to 50 UK grassroots clubs.

Gary Neville's mission to improve pitches

Gary Neville’s mission to improve pitches

Read the full story here

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FSI B31-980 proves ‘no lightweight’

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FSI B31-980 proves ‘no lightweight’: Over 300kg lighter than his previous machine, and with no compromise on build quality or powerful performance, an FSI B31-980 is proving itself to be ‘no lightweight’ for Dave Williams of Tree Stump Solutions.

A big fan of the FSI equipment, Dave was looking to replace the largest stump grinder on his fleet when FSI introduced the higher horsepower model to the range – and he wasted no time in getting his hands on one!

FSI B31-980 proves ‘no lightweight’

FSI B31-980 proves ‘no lightweight’

Offering stump removal services to domestic customers from Northamptonshire to Cambridgeshire, owner Dave Williams established Tree Stump Solutions in 2011. Over that time, he’s used various makes and models of stump grinder – but admits that the FSI machines have always been his firm favourite. “I’ve been using a pedestrian FSI B20 stump grinder for over five years now and the build quality of that is outstanding – I’ve never had to repair or replace anything, not even the bearings” Dave explains.

With the FSI B20 catering for tasks at the smaller end of the spectrum, the need arose to replace his largest machine and he knew just where to look. “I’d seen the FSI B31 with the 26hp engine which was an ideal size operationally, and when FSI combined this same narrow design and build quality with a 38hp engine I knew it was exactly what I wanted!”

Dave took delivery of his FSI B31-980 from DJB Machinery in March 2025 and it is already exceeding expectations. “The machine this replaced weighed close to 1000kg. This FSI B31-980 comes in at 680kg which makes a huge difference to transporting it to site and, also, exerts a lot less downward pressure when manoeuvring the unit over customer patios and gardens.” He continues, “It’s a very well-balanced machine, with a lot of processing power for a stump grinder of its size.”

“Not only am I a big fan of the machines themselves, the team at FSI and DJB Machinery are a pleasure to deal with” Dave adds. “I enjoy a stop on the FSI stand at trade shows and feel like my thoughts and feedback are really valued by the team – they’re clearly professionals who genuinely care about their equipment and the requirements of their customers. With FSI, it’s the full package.”

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New World Record at the TIMBERSPORTS® Championship

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New World Record at the TIMBERSPORTS® Championship: The original extreme sport lived up to its reputation at the 2025 British TIMBERSPORTS® Championship this weekend. Returning to the Royal Three Counties Show in Malvern, Worcestershire, the competition was back with a bang as Rachel Ferrington from Hay-on-Wye produced an awesome display on the Stock Saw to secure a new Women’s World Record.

But the edge-of-your-seat action extended throughout the whole weekend with the first competition, the Pro Qualifier, taking place on Friday 13 June. Featuring 14 competitors, including four from Ireland, it was designed to sort the best from the rest with the top 6 qualifying for the British Pro Championship on Saturday.

New World Record at the TIMBERSPORTS® Championship

New World Record at the TIMBERSPORTS® Championship

The high stakes certainly delivered an exciting competition with 32 new personal best times, a new Irish National Record for Daragh Clogher and a new British National Record for Gerald Lloyd, both in the Stock Saw. This discipline, where competitors have to saw two discs or ‘cookies’ from a log using a STIHL MS 661 chainsaw, produced personal best times for 28 athletes across the weekend, including Ferrington’s World Record.

Ultimately though, consistent times across all the disciplines is what is needed to reach the top of the podium and all three spots in the Qualifier were taken by the Irish athletes, Gav Thompson, Daragh Clogher and Seamus Ryan. The remaining three to qualify for the Pro Championship were Osian Williams, Martin Price and John Lewis.

Glen Penlington was looking to retain his Pro title for the fourth year in a row on Saturday, but he was anything but complacent about it; “You never know what could happen on that stage. Even the best athletes can make mistakes and I’ve had plenty of issues with my Hot Saw before,” said Penlington.

There were plenty of other competitors looking to take over the top spot, including the 2024 Team GB athletes, Rob Chatley, George Spencer, Graham Turner and Tom Redmond. Spencer produced personal best times in all of the first three disciplines, the Underhand Chop, the Stock Saw and the Standing Block Chop, but his competition was derailed when he received a disqualification in the Springboard after his axe head became loose. He managed to keep his cool and deliver a new National Record in the Hot Saw though, which meant he secured third place overall.

Going into the final Hot Saw heat of the whole competition, Chatley and Penlington were neck and neck on 60 points each, meaning that whoever won the heat would take the title. Athletes are given 60 seconds to warm up their saws before the start of the heat and Penlington looked increasingly worried as his saw failed to start at all during the warm-up period.

When judge Andy Hall issued the starting call of “Athletes ready”, Penlington had no choice but to get into position and pray. But as the whistle sounded his saw started on the first pull and he delivered a blistering time of just 8.73 seconds. Joy turned to panic again though when the judges called a video review in order to check that he had cut three complete cookies giving Penlington an anxious wait. But minutes later, Hall announced that both of the cuts were good giving Penlington the title, much to the delight of his nervous family, including sister Zoe Penlington and girlfriend Georgia Lewis, who were competing in the Women’s Championship on Sunday.

And the Women’s competition continued to deliver the drama, when Rachel Ferrington, who only took up the sport in 2023, achieved a new Stock Saw Women’s World Record in the first heat of the competition, cutting two cookies from the log in 8.82 seconds. That dominance continued throughout the event, recording impressive times, including a new National Record in the Single Buck.

“I actually can’t believe it,” said Ferrington afterwards, “I’m still in shock! I’m never confident that I can win, but I guess I can start to believe in myself more now!”

Georgia Lewis and Cat Eccles rounded out the podium in second and third places. Eccles, from Ayr in Scotland, was particularly pleased after recovering from a serious injury in 2023 to return to the sport and credits her performance to the training she had been doing with her son Logan McCubbin, who was competing in the Rookie competition too.

The Rookie Championship was another fiercely-fought battle, and without the 2024 Rookie champion Jack Morris to defend his title, there were plenty of athletes looking to step up. Rowan Luxton and Zac Powell had been training hard ready for the competition but with six competitors making their TIMBERSPORTS® debut, it was hard to predict who would finish where in the results.

Once the competition started though, Luxton, from Llandrindod Wells in Powys, revealed his strength finishing with the fastest times in all five of the disciplines. Guest athlete Nicola Trecarichi from Italy pushed hard but could only achieve second place in the standings, followed by Jake Bufton in third place.

For full results from the weekend’s competitions, visit the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® database.

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