Pellenc maintains Scotland’s most exotic garden

Pellenc maintains Scotland’s most exotic garden: The team responsible for maintaining the incredible Logan Botanic Garden have noticed several benefits since investing in a wide-range of Pellenc battery-powered equipment.

Regarded as Scotland’s most exotic garden, Logan Botanic Garden is located at the south-western tip of Scotland on the Rhins of Galloway. The Garden is warmed by the Gulf Stream which enables plants from Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America, Mediterranean and Southern Africa to thrive.

Pellenc maintains Scotland’s most exotic garden

Pellenc maintains Scotland’s most exotic garden

Garden Supervisor Colin Belton has been working at the Garden for 23 years and there are many reasons as to why he has stayed in the job for this amount of time.

“It is a great part of the world to be in,” he said. “It is very quiet, laid back, no rush to life and I’m part of a great team. We all work together as one unit.”

Colin revealed that plans were already in place to reduce carbon emissions after being encouraged to do so by the government. In fact, Logan Botanic Garden unveiled the first carbon neutral glasshouse in the UK. This was five years ago, and Colin’s attentions then turned to battery-powered equipment as an alternative to petrol machinery.

“I first became aware of the Pellenc equipment about 20 years ago,” he said. “I was at a horticultural show, and I saw the Pellenc chainsaw in action. I thought it was modern and different and so I took a brochure away with me. I still have that brochure to this day!

“A lot of other companies started bringing out battery-powered equipment, but to my knowledge, Pellenc has been around the longest and it was the one brand that really stuck with me.”

A forerunner when it comes to lithium-ion technology, Pellenc has established itself as the number one choice in the ‘zero emission’ professional power tools market for the maintenance of urban and green-spaces.

Light, odourless, noise-free, with no starting problems and enough power to enable professional users to work for a full day on a single charge, it’s no wonder more and more professional users are turning to Pellenc. It is an attractive alternative to those who have, for several years, been relying on fuel-based machinery.

Colin arranged for a demonstration of Pellenc equipment to be carried out at the Garden and he now boasts a fleet consisting of Airion blowers, Helion compact hedge-cutters as well as the Helion telescopic model, an Excelion strimmer and Excelion brushcutter, and the Selion T220/300 telescopic polesaw as well as the Selion C21 HD pruner – which were all supplied by Allan Wright of Agrovista Amenity.

“At the demonstration I think the light weight and the quietness impressed everyone the most,” said Colin. “We no longer have to endure an engine tucked under the ear droning away. Generally, it felt as though the petrol machinery was starting to take its toll on all of us.

The Pellenc equipment has certainly made our lives easier and safer.

“Take the Helion telescopic hedge cutter for example. The Helion enables us to reach the full height of the hedges, so we no longer have the hassle of assembling, moving, or relevelling our scaffolding tower. It’s a huge time saver and we can cut those hedges in half a day rather than a full day now.

“In fact, we can complete a lot of jobs much more quickly now and this is because we can work without disturbing our visitors. Previously we would get complaints about the noise from the petrol machines, and so we would be limited to a two-hour window to carry out jobs like hedge-cutting and strimming, before opening to the public. We can use the Pellenc equipment all day now because it is so quiet.

“There are just so many benefits to using this equipment,” continued Colin. “The Airion blowers, for example, have a huge advantage over the old petrol ones. Many of our paths are gravel based and trying to blow the leaves without taking the gravel with it was impossible with our old petrol blowers. However, the Pellenc Airion blowers have that low setting which is just enough to move the leaves along without interfering with the gravel.

“Then we have Excelion brushcutter with the City Cut head, and this enables us to work in the Garden without fear of debris flying towards visitors. In the past we have had to be extra careful and wait until no visitors were around.”

All the Pellenc tools at Logan Botanic Garden are powered by two ULiB 1500 batteries – the most powerful in the Pellenc range.

“We start work at 8am and we finish at 4.30pm and we get a whole day’s use out of them without the batteries being anywhere near flat. Some of the lighter pieces of kit we have run for days.

“To be honest, I think that initially, we were all sceptical as to whether the Pellenc products would be as powerful as a petrol engine – but they are.”

Pellenc is distributed exclusively in the UK by Etesia UK.

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

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

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The Turf Tank UK Roadshow

The Turf Tank UK Roadshow: Turf Tank is taking robotic line marking on the road with five dates across England, starting at Manchester University on 7th July.

The roadshow will also visit Bournemouth and Leeds universities on 12th and 19th July, Liverpool Football Club’s LFC Academy on the 20th, and finish at Surrey University on the 26th.

The Turf Tank UK Roadshow

The Turf Tank UK Roadshow

Live demonstrations will take place, including the Turf Tank One’s set-up, programming and operation along with the base station. Any questions can be answered during every stage, and lunch and refreshments will be provided during the demonstration, with games and prizes also on offer.

Having already completed two dates in Belfast during May, Turf Tank UK Country Manager, Matt Murray, is looking forward to welcoming people to the roadshows in England.

“Over two days in Belfast, meeting people and showing them what the robot can do was fantastic,” Matt explains “I think the real benefit of people coming to a location similar to their own is they can see how the robot can work for them, how it can handle their conditions and ultimately, how seamless the process is.

“It’s also an excellent opportunity to ask any questions they might already have about robotic line marking, how the GPS side of things works or anything that comes up during the day.

“We like to keep it fairly informal, and everything is based outside on the turf, so it’s a solid four-hour session that people get a lot from.”

Free online registration is now open for every venue, and alex@turftank.co.uk or matt@turftank.co.uk can answer any questions regarding the events.

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Sponsor Torquay United’s pitch

Sponsor Torquay United’s pitch: Torquay United are so proud of their much-praised Plainmoor pitch that they’re offering fans the chance to sponsor it.

Read the full article from Torbay Weekly here

Sponsor Torquay United's pitch

Sponsor Torquay United’s pitch

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Hartpury maximises efficiency

Hartpury maximises efficiency: Embracing electric and improving efficiency were two of the standout reasons why Hartpury College and University turned to John Deere when it needed a new fleet of machines to help maintain a varied and challenging site.

Located in Gloucestershire, the 360-hectare campus is home to both Hartpury College and Hartpury University. Traditionally, the latter has been best known for its agricultural and land-based subjects, but in recent years the site has developed cutting-edge sports facilities, alongside the world’s largest equine educational facility.

Hartpury maximises efficiency

Hartpury maximises efficiency

The grounds team made the decision to switch providers when the challenge of maintaining the site proved too much for their existing kit.

“The machines were fine but we thought they would save us time, when in reality they were costing us more time and the efficiency wasn’t there,” Matthew Newman, Grounds and Sports Turf Manager at Hartpury says.

And both saving time and maximising efficiency are essential on a site with so many different demands.

With eight grass pitches for football and rugby, two synthetic pitches, a nine-hole pitch and putt, a golf range, a short game practice area and a multitude of amenity grounds, the challenge of maintaining the site calls for the very best equipment.

“Organising personnel to cover the site is a challenge as it’s so big,” Matthew says.

“It’s not easy because we’re dealing with nature. But we need to provide an excellent service so that our students’ experience is exactly what it should be.

“They need top quality pitches to play on. And we want the grounds to look the very best they can, because that’s how we advertise the college – when people drive down the main drive, we want them to think to themselves ‘I want to come here’.”

Tied into a deal with another machinery manufacturer, Matthew didn’t think they would be able to change the fleet until he consulted Phil Taylor, Turf & Commercial Area Sales Manager for the Tallis Amos Group, the local John Deere dealer.

Phil already had a close relationship with the team at Hartpury so, when they approached him to demo a John Deere TE Gator, he was able to explain how he could help them leave their current finance package and purchase new kit on a five-year lease, all while providing them with the backup from a dealership they desperately needed.

“We have improved the quality of the pitches and saved the operators a huge amount of time by mulching and not collecting,” Phil says.

“We went to Tallis Amos and the relationship blossomed – we have a really good association with them,” echoes Matthew. “I know that if we are really up against it and a machine is down, that I can ring Tallis and if they can lend us another machine they will.

“This is by far the best relationship I’ve had with a manufacturer or supplier over the past 10 years and hopefully it will continue.”

Matthew is also as enthusiastic about the new kit they’re now using on site.

“We’ve got mulching mowers now so the efficiency is better than it’s ever been,” he explains. “The 8800 is by far the best mower we’ve ever had.

“We’ve changed from diesel gators to electric gators; we started moving to electric for our smaller kit about six years ago when we changed to electric strimmers, followed by our blowers and hedge cutters.”

In total, Hartpury has purchased six TE Gators, one 8800A surrounds mower, one 4066R tractor on galaxy turf tyres and a second 4066R on standard tyres with a 440R Loader, two Z994R with a 60” cutting deck and one 220SL greens mower.

Tallis Amos also supplied two robotic mowers, a tine aerator, four cylinder mowers, slitter and rotary deck roller mower.

“The choice of kit was based on covering what both the sports and grounds teams need because the machines do need to interchange,” Matthew explains. “And we based it on how we could support both the environment and maximise efficiencies.”

Reducing carbon footprint will play a considerable role going forwards, determining both the kit selected and the way it is used.

“Hartpury stages five international horse events – the issue we had with our diesel Gators in the past was that they were quite noisy,” Matthew says.” This year we will be using electric – it will be interesting to see how noise-free vehicles are welcomed by the competitors and spectators.”

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Horticulture specialist pledges armed forces support

Horticulture specialist pledges armed forces support: The Nurture Group signs Armed Forces Covenant as part of the nation’s promise to support current and former service personnel and their families. 

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation to those who serve. It says we will do all we can to ensure they are treated fairly and not disadvantaged in their day-to-day lives. This includes offering injured servicemen and women and bereaved families extra support where appropriate.

Horticulture specialist pledges armed forces support

Horticulture specialist pledges armed forces support

Gavin Jones, part of The Nurture Group, has a longstanding history of maintaining a wide variety of MOD sites and recently commenced a seven-year working relationship with the VIVO Defence partnership at the start of the year.

Consequently, the Group has cemented its commitment to its ongoing support of veterans and their loved ones, alongside existing team members who give their time voluntary to cadet operations as part of the Reserve Forces, and actively championing awareness activities such as Remembrance Day and Armed Forces Day.

Already a Real Living Wage Employer, The Nurture Group is now eligible for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Bronze Award, recognising employers that are aligned with the Covenant’s own core values. The ERS also encourages employers to support defence and inspire other organisations to do the same.

Simon Harrison, Head of People at Nurture Group, commented: “As an ex-serviceman, signing the Armed Forces Covenant is something I personally am very passionate about, and I am delighted and proud to be driving initiatives and pledging our wider support to those who give so much to our country. We are currently planning activities to further our work with the armed forces community, with ex- service personnel within our organisation keen to take a leading role and support.”

Further information about Gavin Jones and The Nurture Group can be accessed at www.nurture-group.co.uk.

For more about the Armed Forces Covenant, visit www.gov.uk/government/policies/armed-forces-covenant.

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