Campey keeps customer care top priority

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Campey keeps customer care top priority: Campey Turf Care Systems is bolstering its dedication to customer support with the addition of four new team members.

Workshop Manager Bob Nixon, Outside Service Engineer, Dave Juke, Sales Demonstrator Archie Thomas and Product Specialist for Tom Weston, join Campeys as the company continues to meet customer demand and expands into its new premises.

Campey keeps customer care top priority

Campey keeps customer care top priority

The second Campey branch in Bosley, Macclesfield, includes a showroom and walk-in retail shop as well as additional servicing facilities. The increase in workload from the new site and customer demand for new and used machinery has been met with several strategic appointments in all departments, as well as increasing the presence out in the field with a new Product Specialist Tom Weston.

Tom covers a large strip of the country from Macclesfield to Greater Manchester, down to Stockport, across to Chester and covering parts of the Peak District too. As an experienced greenkeeper spanning 24 years, Tom 41, has worked his way from assistant to head greenkeeper in clubs in the Stockport area, to becoming deputy course manager at Sale Golf club in Manchester, and is well placed to understanding the needs of both greenkeeper and groundsmen. He already has substantial knowledge of turf maintenance equipment and will be a real asset to Campeys.

By taking a proactive approach to staffing, Campey can ensure customer care is kept as a top priority in the workshop and out in the field in the build-up to a traditionally busy time for the turf care community.

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GrasPro provides critical analytics

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GrasPro provides critical analytics:Leading Greek turf consultants and laboratory, Grassform, is using GrasPro as their analytical tool of choice on Greek Super League pitches.

Pitch inputs and usage are the main areas being tracked, with GrasPro’s detailed reporting function being used to deliver an insightful time and cost-saving maintenance strategy for clients.

GrasPro provides critical analytics

GrasPro provides critical analytics

Co-founder of Grassform, Antonis Grimotsis, started his career in 2004 as an agronomic manager in sports pitch construction and maintenance projects. As an experienced independent consultant, he was accepted to join the Register of Independent Professional Turfgrass Agronomists (RIPTA) in February 2022.

Independence has a large part to play at Grassform as a company that focuses on using the best options available, GrasPro for analysis being a must-have among them. Antonis, alongside co-founder Fontini Mentesidi, started Grassform in 2017 and now utilise Greece’s only ISO 17025 specialised mobile laboratory to evaluate the quality of pitches according to FIFA and EN specifications. Using GrasPro to process this data is now a crucial part of the Grassform process and one that Antonis’ clients have quickly benefitted from.

“In the upper echelons of professional sports, such as high-ranking football clubs and stadia, the client’s need to achieve the best standards of performance and gain the highest ROI remains a constant and goes hand in hand with technological advances in the sports turf industry,” Antonis begins. “Advisers, therefore, must satisfy expanded expectations while readily adapting their services and operations within this very demanding and ever-evolving sector.

“Monitoring the maintenance of a playing surface properly, especially for professional sports, is a key stage in the process of assessment, and to ensure playing quality and the safety of players.

“GrasPro is an immensely valuable tool when it comes to identifying issues and problem patterns and then working to resolve them quickly.

“When it comes to developing and evaluating the maintenance programme for a playing surface including renovations, repairs, irrigation, application of fertilisers and nutrients, turf problem diagnoses and treatments, a consultant needs a reliable tool to log and analyse all the important task-related information to monitor progress, report to the client, and devise solutions.

“GrasPro allows me to follow up on what’s being done step by step and the effects of inputs on the pitch conditions. Thus, it enables me to make informed decisions about further actions.

“Based on data, a consultant can propose tailor-made solutions and precise interventions. This includes limiting amounts to what is required, and a combination of products such as type of fertiliser and biostimulants, etc. So, by optimising the outcomes, both quality and cost-effectiveness are achieved.

“A comprehensive collection of data can facilitate a more insightful and time-saving management strategy, and I feel confident of my sources, knowing that the proposals I put forward are data-driven and based on measurable results.

“Importantly, the platform is easy to use with a straightforward interface that allows for quick data entry, and it was easy for administrative staff to pick up without prior knowledge.”

Since 2021 Grassform has been applying its three-axis of observation, evaluation and design to Greek Super League pitches as part of the league’s pitch upgrading scheme for 2021-2022. This includes 14 football pitches and their associated training grounds.

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Fixed fountain easy with Otterbine

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Fixed fountain easy with Otterbine: Turning a floating fountain into a cost-effective fixed fountain is easy with Otterbine.

For those who have a floating fountain from Otterbine’s C3 range – including all of the decorative patterns and Fractional series – all you need to do is remove the float from the fountain and attach the three-legged stand from the fixed system to anchor the fountain to the bottom of the pond basin. And voila, you have a fixed fountain.

Fixed fountain easy with Otterbine

Fixed fountain easy with Otterbine

This in turn removes the back float from the floating fountain (or, if you were going for a bespoke fountain fixture, the piping and valves) from sight for an aesthetically pleasing result.

Simon Powell, business development manager at Otterbine, says: “This simple system provides a solution to the aesthetic problem of having some of the fountain’s parts visible, as can be the case with floating fountains. This is a cost-effective, off-the-shelf and simple to install solution in comparison to the alternative which is a bespoke build.”

Each stand comes assembled with adjustable legs that can be positioned at different heights to accommodate sloping bottoms of varying depths between 22 to 30 inches, while the rubber feet can be removed for earth bottoms.

Made from corrosion-resistant and durable marine-grade stainless steel, the pump chamber fits flush with the surface and comes with power control centre cable with quick disconnect for ease of installation. They are backed by a robust five-year warranty and can be fitted with Otterbine’s Fountain Glo™ RGBW light systems to enhance the fountain’s display and give rich vibrant light through a variety of coloured displays and sequences at night.

To find out more about the Otterbine range of aerators and fountains, contact Otterbine’s UK distributor Reesink Turfcare on 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk. 

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Quick compaction relief at Phoenix GC

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Quick compaction relief at Phoenix GC: Tackling compaction on previous untouched ground, a Redexim Verti-Quake® 2516 has dramatically improved the downward movement of moisture at Rotherham’s Phoenix Golf Club.

The Verti-Quake®, delivered in September 2021, complements the aeration work conducted with their existing Redexim Verti-Drain®, with Multi-Sport Complex Manager Mark Smith citing outstanding results on some of the sites historically waterlogged areas.

Quick compaction relief at Phoenix GC

Quick compaction relief at Phoenix GC

Constructed on clay-based land, the 65 hectares that make up the complex includes cricket facilities, a bowling green and nine football pitches, alongside the 18-hole parkland golf course. Working with Mark on the maintenance is a team of five, meaning that operations such as aeration have been limited by time and resources. “The Verti-Drain® has traditionally been utilised on the greens but not on larger, open areas because of staffing levels” explains Mark.

“We’d seen a contractor utilising a linear aerator on our football pitch and decided something like that could bring benefit to areas, such as the fairways, on the golf course.” After exploring the options, Mark opted for the Redexim Verti-Quake® 2516 – offering a 1.6m working width and effective compaction relief down to 250mm. “As soon as it was delivered by our local dealer Cheshire Turf, we were out on some of the historically challenging areas and the results spoke for themselves. We went into the winter, and emerged the other side, so much drier than we ever have before.”

“Considering a lot of the areas we used it on had never been aerated previously, the Verti-Quake® broke straight through the compaction and helped to move the water down and towards the water courses – providing a much more cost-effective alternative to installing drainage.” After making such a strong first impression, Mark is now looking forward to the further improvements the Verti-Quake® can deliver. “If it’s open land, and it’s likely to get wet, we’re going to get the Verti-Quake® on it!” he says.

That mantra extends to work on other areas of the complex, including the football pitch, reducing the reliance on external contractors. “We’ll get the Verti-Quake® out during the end of season renovations, giving us important compaction relief and getting the ground repaired and recovered in time for the busy playing season.”

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ICL products key to new pitch construction

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ICL products key to new pitch construction: A range of ICL products have helped Lincoln City FC’s new Fibresand pitch get off to the best possible start.

At the start of the 2021/22 season, Lincoln City had its pitch at the LNER stadium completely rebuilt. The huge project included a new gravel carpet, drainage system, multiple sand layers and the amelioration of Fibresand for added stability.

ICL products key to new pitch construction

ICL products key to new pitch construction

To do the new construction justice it was vital that the pitch received the correct products, and it was at this point that Head Groundsman Craig Housley liaised with Craig Lalley, Technical Area Sales Manager for ICL.

“A new Fibresand construction can take a bit of time to settle,” said Craig Lalley. “Therefore, when putting the programme together with Craig, we wanted to really concentrate on achieving good rooting to aid playability and recovery.”

Within a six-week window before the start of the season, Craig focused on three products in the form of Sierrablen Plus with Pearl Turf Starter, H2Pro TriSmart wetting agent, and Vitalnova Links biostimulant.

The first product applied was Sierrablen Plus with Pearl Turf Starter and was incorporated into the growing medium. “The organic acids that are produced by the rooting utilises the phosphorus and the magnesium from the Pearl technology which really aids early establishment and good strong rooting,” said Craig Lalley.

Through independent trials, data has revealed significantly increased rooting when Sierrablen Plus with Pearl is used as part of a seedbed preparation and during turf-laying. Furthermore, there was a 2.5 x increase in rooting when compared to another existing high-performing product.

To complement the grass seed and the Sierrablen Plus with Pearl Turf Starter, Craig then turned to TriSmart wetting agent. Containing three water management technologies consisting of surfactant and polymer blends, TriSmart is renowned for providing great water penetration, an even water spread through the rootzone and can improve the water holding capacity of sandy rootzones.

Craig Housley said: “Moisture management was key when the seeding first took place to aid moisture around the leaf which can help with seed germination. We needed that seed to be established as fast as possible.”

Craig confirmed that the two products had an instant impact: “I had never heard of the Pearl technology, but Craig Lalley told me that it would be ideal for a new construction and that it would really help with the germination of new seed. We decided to give it a go and I have never known grass to come through so quickly, uniformed, and strong – the sward health was exceptional.”

Four weeks after seeding, Sierrablen Plus with Turf Starter and H2Pro TriSmart were applied, Craig recommended ICL’s Vitalnova Links biostimulant which is a new unique formulation consisting of the popular Vitalnova Blade and Vitalnova SMX.

ICL products key to new pitch construction

ICL products key to new pitch construction

Vitalnova Links was tank mixed with TriSmart, and Craig Lalley explained why this was applied monthly: “It is a great soil drench spray. Vitalnova Links aids microbial stimulation, reduces biotic stresses and further develops the rooting; while TriSmart continues to manage the moisture and ensures that the pitch doesn’t dry out in warmer temperatures.

“Ultimately, we had quite a small window to utilise these products and ensure that the pitch was at an excellent standard in time for the start of the season. I believe we successfully achieved that.”

Craig Housley, who is continuing to adhere to an ICL integrated turf management programme, believes that the products have massively benefited the newly constructed pitch.

“Everyone knows that it takes a while for a new Fibresand pitch to really grip itself together, but I have been really surprised at just how good the pitch has been in its first year,” he said.

“We’ve also managed to maintain excellent grass coverage. In terms of playability, the pitch has benefitted the players and the style of football the manager wants to play. He has fast players that turn very quickly and to have the pitch underneath them with that kind of stability has really made a difference.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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