Stylish Sirius for Tottenham

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Stylish Sirius for Tottenham: The role of head groundsman is pivotal at any facility, but especially one the size of Tottenham Hotspur’s. That’s why the club has recently invested in the Sirius, an electric buggy from STAR EV for its Head of Playing Surfaces and Estates.

Darren Baldwin has been at the club in North London for 26 years and has 18 acres to get around including 15 grass pitches and the world’s first dividing retractable stadium pitch, and a team of 45 to manage, so it was essential he had his own transport – and for that the STAR EV Sirius 2+2 was perfect. Unlike other brands that repurpose fleet cars, the Sirius was designed specifically as a personal transportation vehicle.

Stylish Sirius for Tottenham

Stylish Sirius for Tottenham

Darren says: “Being responsible for the delivery of pitch maintenance to the highest standards, managing a team of staff to deliver the highest quality playing surfaces and having first team commitments to work around, being able to work flexibly is really important. I need to be able to get around the grounds at ease and speed. When it comes to vehicles that do that well, it’s not rocket science, but it’s not always done right. When it comes to the quality, the finish, and the details of STAR EV, it’s above and beyond what other brands offer.”

As well as for his own use, Darren also uses the Sirius to host VIP tours and that’s when the quality of the Sirius really comes to the fore, as he explains: “A part of my role is to do VIP tours, and this buggy is a good marketing point for that. Being all-electric the ride is quiet, smooth and there are no fumes. The quality of the seats, alloy wheels as standard, easy read digital display, the built-in screen on the dash – that’s something not all brands have, all amounts to delivering a stylish ride for guests.

“It has a sporty look, too, which is very attractive, and we’ve branded it up, so it really does look the part and is just a pleasure to use.”

Darren opted for the canopy design with a glass screen and wiper, which brings the best of both worlds to those using it, keeping passengers cool, allowing for air flow, providing shade from the sun and shelter from the rain, while offering the best possible visibility in all weathers.

The Sirius joined the club alongside a fleet of 18 other all-electric work machines and ambulance vehicles and is probably as big a leap from the technology present at the club when he started as could be. Daren explains: “When I started it was just me, I had one pedestrian mower for the stadium, a set of three gang mowers for the training pitch and a compact tractor. There was no electricity or water to the shed. I’ve literally seen it go from the worst facilities to the best in the world.

“Now the club leads the premier league when it comes to reducing its emissions and we’re doing our part on the grounds side of that. We use battery-powered mowers for maintaining the pitches and with the arrival from STAR EV now have an all-electric fleet for the grounds too. It really represents how far the club has come.”

Contact Reesink about the STAR EV range by calling 01480 226800 or go online at reesink-evehicles.co.uk

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S&C Slatter hand over the baton

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S&C Slatter hand over the baton: Leading sports construction specialists S&C Slatter, in partnership with Beynon Sports, officially handed over Alexander Stadium’s new World Athletics Class 1 facilities in May

Working with world-leading athletics track manufacturer Beynon Sports, S&C Slatter has successfully delivered a full design and build package for the state-of-the-art athletics facilities, under McLaughlin & Harvey’s ultramodern Alexander Stadium redevelopment project.

S&C Slatter hand over the baton

S&C Slatter hand over the baton

Boasting two cutting-edge athletics tracks with natural grass infields, as well as an additional dedicated practice throws area, the facility has attained a World Athletics Class 1 Athletics Facility Certificate, required for hosting the highest level of international competition – including the Olympics and World Athletics Championships.

For S&C Slatter’s experienced team, it was no sweat. Between them they’ve delivered athletics tracks across the country, from community to elite level.

Steve Ayres, Contracts Manager, S&C Slatter, commented:

“This project presented an immovable deadline and demanded the highest standards, but with our expertise, scale doesn’t impact our ability. Strong communication, adaptability and experience are what ensured our programme was delivered to schedule. Others might find the extra scrutiny a challenge – but we produce the best we can, whether for a local school or the highest levels of competition.”

An industry leader in North America, with over 7,500 installations in the last 40 years, the Alexander Stadium redevelopment marks the first UK installation for Beynon delivered under their exclusive partnership with S&C Slatter. Together, the leading manufacturer of World Athletics Class 1 Surfaces in the United States and one of the UK’s leading sports construction specialists, know what it takes to deliver superior sports facilities.

Jason Douglass, S&C Slatter Group Director, commented:

“We were delighted to work with Beynon Sports on this truly exciting project, producing world-class athletics facilities as part of the Alexander Stadium redevelopment.  

With a proven history of delivering sports facilities for the very highest levels of global performance, as well as for community use, we’re thrilled to have provided an outstanding facility for the City of Birmingham and elite athletes across the nation.” 

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Etesia UK welcomes new dealer

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Etesia UK welcomes new dealer: Etesia UK is delighted to welcome Abrey Agricultural to its vast dealer network.

The Abrey’s are originally a farming family which went into the machinery trade, and son Toby started importing specialist agricultural machinery from Austria. He did so for twelve years, before starting a groundcare division in 2012. This side of the business quickly grew, and he now supplies a variety of leading groundcare brands.

Etesia UK welcomes new dealer

Etesia UK welcomes new dealer

Etesia is the latest brand to be added to the Abrey portfolio after Toby saw it as an opportunity to grow the business.

“I’m certainly hoping to reach new customers with the Etesia machines,” he said. “I want to progress and do more work with the Cambridge colleges, and you need good brands to offer them. If you haven’t got enough in your range, then you are limited. Etesia fits a treat in this respect.

“There are also many affluent areas around here and we have customers with big gardens. They all need something bigger, stronger, and better than what they are using, and this is where Etesia comes in.”

Etesia has been leading the way in building high quality grass cutting machinery for both the professional and domestic market since 1989. Over the years the company has grown rapidly and now offers a wide range of products that include a variety of walk-behind, ride-on mowers, green technology, the popular Attila range of brush cutters and the all-new award-winning ET Lander electric utility vehicle.

Toby added that his first experience of using an Etesia machine was hugely positive.

“I originally tried an Etesia Hydro 124 diesel ride-on mower, and it was raining at the time,” he said. “It wasn’t a problem though and it picked everything up in the wet – there was no doubt about it. I didn’t have to unblock it – it unblocks itself. It is a very impressive machine.

“Another big benefit of the Etesia machines is that you can take the grass box off and put a drop chute on the back in seconds. You can’t do that on many other machines.

“The Etesia brand has a great reputation; they are very versatile, strong machines that do the job.”

Abrey Agricultural, based in Saffron Walden, Essex, will be offering the full-range of Etesia products within an approximate 30 mile radius.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK

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A quasquicentennial celebration for Canmore

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A quasquicentennial celebration for Canmore: Canmore Golf Club is celebrating 125 years with delivery of the industry’s first and only fairway hybrid mower, the Reelmaster 5010-H from Toro.

It’s quite the achievement to reach your quasquicentennial milestone and Canmore Golf Club in Dunfermline, Fife decided to combine that with also making it the year they chose distributor Reesink Scotland to help address several problems it was experiencing, all of which were solved thanks to this brand-new budding relationship and one of Toro’s most revolutionary inventions: the Reelmaster 5010-H.

A quasquicentennial celebration for Canmore

A quasquicentennial celebration for Canmore

Golf course manager Graeme Holland, who has been overseeing operations at the club for over 30 years, explains the decision-making process: “It was time to make some changes. We needed to reduce fuel consumption and noise pollution and just felt the time was right to go the hybrid route for environmental reasons, and we needed a dealer we could rely on.”

Recognised as the industry’s first and only fairway mower with a true hybrid drive system, the Reelmaster 5010-H represents an absolute breakthrough in technology and is a big highlight in the turfcare machinery journey towards electric power. And now two are part of Canmore’s arsenal.

Graeme continues: “The reliability is there with Toro. They test the machines a lot more than the competition so they’re a lot more user-friendly and easier to work with. They have similar controls as the greens machines and that means we can swap machines with no issues. Sometimes we don’t even need to call in a mechanic because we can work out the problem ourselves as they’re so intuitive.

“The price of fuel is horrendous right now so any savings we could make and redistribute to other parts of the golf course were most welcome. We’re saving around 20 percent on fuel now and that works out to be quite a substantial figure on the total cost of ownership.

“Three quarters of the course is surrounded by houses, so noise was an issue when we started work in the mornings. Now we carry on with our routine as normal but with less disturbance. Pollution-wise, they’re a lot cleaner than diesel and of course there’s no risk of hydraulic oil spills.”

Graeme further comments on the performance of the Reelmaster and how he had some reservations at the start:

“We have a lot of slopes to cut so we needed a fairway machine that had four-wheel drive and enough power to get the job done,” he explains. “I was a bit sceptical as the 5010-H only has a 25hp engine but with the batteries also producing power, it’s more than enough and we can safely work in any conditions on the course. We’re getting a very consistent cut throughout and thus there’s a much better level of play on the fairways.”

The decision to change dealers came into play as the service the club was receiving from its previous dealer was not up to par with Graeme’s standards. He comments: “The overall experience is better with Toro and Reesink. The service department at Reesink Scotland, from the reps to the mechanics, is brilliant. Their back-up and knowledge of the machinery is fantastic – they know everything there is to know. Their service van holds maybe fifty common parts that we would use, so all it takes is a quick call and they’ll have whatever it is we need ready the next day.

“We’re always extremely busy as we’re a small club with just about one of every machine. So, if one goes down, we need that quick turn-around to allow us to keep things always moving. Reesink fits the bill for that, and we couldn’t be happier we made the switch especially in such a key year in our history.”

To talk to someone about Toro technology and how the Toro range could suit your course, call 01480 226800.

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Pro-Cast & Wiedenmann double improves efficiency

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Pro-Cast & Wiedenmann double improves efficiency: Greentech Sportsturf, based in Stirling, combines a construction company with a separate sales operation for specialist turf products, including quality seed and sand.

In May, their construction team pre-empted a busy summer of renovations with a timely purchase of a Pro-Cast PC 4 bulk top dresser and a Wiedenmann Terra Spike XD 8 deep aerator from dealer, Fairways GM’s Glasgow depot.

Pro-Cast & Wiedenmann double improves efficiency

Pro-Cast & Wiedenmann double improves efficiency

Contract Foremen Ryan Melling, left, and Gary Leonard, right, received the machines from Wiedenmann UK’s Scottish Sales Manager, Mike James, centre.

“The machines landed in the yard just as renovation season took off,” said Gary Leonard, “Pretty much, that’s the only time, they’ve been idle as they are now either on site or in transit.”

Greentech’s clients include professional and amateur clubs as well as a host of schools’ projects from full grow-in and establishment works to maintenance visits.

“When we chose the top dresser, we considered both the PC 3 and PC 4 versions. The PC 4 won because its 3,500-litre capacity brought more efficiency. We took the optional PTO pump and tank system so everything was self-contained. The twin spinners have a reach of about 16 m and spin sand consistently and evenly. It’s doing a great job,” said Gary.

“The XD 8 is our first Wiedenmann aerator and its strong and dependable. Reliability is important because when you are in the thick of a job you don’t want any breakdowns.

“In a typical renovation project, the Terra Spike comes into its own at the end of the sequence with a good deep spike and gives everything a final iron. Changing tines is a lot easier than before and they can get down 275 mm. Getting spare tines is easy and there’s plenty guidance available from the Fairways GM team.”

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