750,000th JCB engine comes off the line

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750,000th JCB engine comes off the line: JCB is celebrating a major milestone for its award-winning engine.

The 750,000th engine has just come off the line at JCB Power Systems in Derbyshire where production first began in 2004.

750,000th JCB engine comes off the line

750,000th JCB engine comes off the line

Engine production was extended to India in 2011- helping to power JCB to the landmark figure.

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “750,000 engines is quite some milestone when you consider that we only started manufacturing 17 years ago. So much has been achieved over that time with our engines including two world land speed records. With the development of our new hydrogen motor, there is so much more to come and the future for our engine business looks very bright.”

More than half of the 750,000 engines have been made at JCB Power Systems which produces a range from 55-212kW. The engines are used to power JCB’s products as well as those of customers producing equipment as diverse as road sweepers, screeners and crushers and barges.

JCB India’s Delhi plant currently manufactures around 48 engine variants for the Indian market and for export.

Among the highlights of the past 17 years of engine production was a Queen’s Award for International Trade for JCB Power Systems in 2016 honouring a 325% growth in third party sales.

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Reesink’s winning combination

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Reesink’s winning combination: Reesink Turfcare has long recommended renovation for irrigation wherever possible. It solves a multitude of issues, keeps costs down, minimises disruption and brings the system bang up to date. And with Reesink’s training support on hand too, it’s been a winning combination for Breadsall Priory Golf Club.

Renovating its irrigation was an approach recommended to John Smith, course manager at Breadsall Priory, by Reesink when the system started experiencing communication errors and electrical breakdowns on both its systems on both its courses in 2018.

Reesink's winning combination

Reesink’s winning combination

At the time John said: “Completely replacing everything would have resulted in huge costs, but with the help of Reesink’s Toro irrigation team, including Peter Newton and Cevan Edwards, we discovered we only needed to upgrade the two control systems and we’ve saved a lot of money thanks to renovating rather than replacing.”

The existing wiring and pipework were found to be compatible with being updated to Toro’s Lynx central control system which would control the irrigation on both courses: “The biggest difference is that now we can water both courses at the same time,” says John. “Before we had to water the courses over alternating nights, so this is game-changing.”

Another benefit to having the system come into its own over the Pandemic: “The remote control aspect has always been really useful and convenient, but never more so than during the Pandemic,” says John. “It meant that irrigation was never disrupted even with a reduced team and restricted access to the club over certain periods. I could activate it throughout and even put ‘rain hold’ on when the weather changes and I wasn’t on site. It played dividends to the state of the turf over that period.”

Since 2018, John has been updating the sprinklers on the course to Toro Infinity for the Championship Priory course and T7s on the Moreland course: “It’s an ongoing project, we’re replacing 20 a year until they’re all done.”

When it comes to irrigation training Reesink is unique with its offering, from learning how the system works to get the most out of it, to dealing with any issues, John cites the service as “brilliant”: “Honestly the support Peter and Cevan provided myself and Neil Morgan, our irrigation technician with couldn’t have been better. It’s been vital actually and a real partnership has formed. When we’ve had a fault in the wiring, which is over 30 years old, for example, they showed us how to use the ground fault locator which detects through pulses where in the wiring the break is, meaning you can be specific about where you dig up the turf. That saved us so much disruption, time and effort. Whether it’s over the phone or in person on site, the level of service has been brilliant.”

Cevan comments: “Both John and Neil were keen to understand everything about the system so they could take autonomy for it. We’ve helped them along the way, topping up their knowledge, assisting with fault-finding and helping add elements to the four-year-old system.”

This has been in conjunction with also using Toro’s National Support Network, which as the first dedicated customer support network in the irrigation industry provides complete central control system operational assurance. And alongside Reesink’s support is, says John, “the perfect amount of support to keep you irrigating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no matter what.”

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BIGGA postpones BTME to March 2022

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BIGGA postpones BTME to March 2022: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has made the decision to postpone its major exhibition and trade show, the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME), which was due to take place in January 2022.

Taking into consideration the uncertainty regarding the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the National Board of Management of the association convened on the evening of Thursday 16 December and made the unanimous decision to delay the exhibition and associated education programme, Continue to Learn, which are held at the Harrogate Convention Centre in North Yorkshire.

The new dates for BTME 2022 will be Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 March 2022, with Continue to Learn taking place from Sunday 20 to Wednesday 23 March 2022.

BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton will take to Facebook Live at 2pm on Friday 17 December to provide further clarification regarding the decision and to answer any questions relating to the postponement. Head to the BIGGA Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/golfgreenkeepers to get involved.

Jim said: “The uncertainty regarding the Omicron wave of coronavirus has led us to engage in consultation with key stakeholders and consider contingency courses of action for our flagship event, BTME. We know all sides of the industry are keen for the show to take place and after due consideration of all options the BIGGA National Board of Management, working closely with BIGGA’s team of staff, has taken the decision to postpone BTME until March 2022.

“It is heartening to see the success of the booster vaccination programme, but we are committed to running a safe show for all attendees and with all the information available to us, we do not believe this would be possible in January 2022.

“This decision has not been taken lightly and has involved an incredible amount of logistical organisation to make a postponement possible. I am grateful to all of the key stakeholders that make BTME possible for their rapid responses to our decision, which has enabled us to confirm the postponement as early as today.

“Our thanks go to those who have supported BIGGA in this decision and we are excited to be hosting the full BTME and Continue to Learn experience in March 2022.”

Attendees who have signed up for the show will automatically be registered for the new dates. Continue to Learn bookings will also be carried over and BIGGA will be in contact with everyone who has booked a place on the education programme in the coming days to discuss arrangements further.

BIGGA acknowledges that this postponement will present challenges to many exhibitors and visitors to BTME and the team is committed to assisting all those who need support to transfer their commitments.

The BIGGA National Board of Management is the elected body of BIGGA members from across the country whose voluntary role is to provide strategic direction and ratify key decisions on behalf of the association. They are supported by a network of volunteers at all levels of BIGGA and the core BIGGA staff team.

Anyone who requires further information or assistance as to the postponement of BTME is encouraged to contact BIGGA via the following channels:

Website: www.btme.org.uk

 

Don’t risk your investment this winter

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Don’t risk your investment this winter: One of the best things you can do for your mower this winter is to gift it the best possible replacement parts. And when it comes to a Toro mower, Toro Genuine Parts are the best there is.

It’s more than likely that two deciding factors for choosing Toro machinery are the superior quality of cut and good return on investment and to risk that by choosing cheaper, spurious parts is a false economy, according to Reesink Turfcare.

Don't risk your investment this winter

Don’t risk your investment this winter

Michael Hampton, parts manager at the company, explains: “The considerations that go into deciding which brand to get your machinery from should also influence the decision you make when it comes to which parts you choose. Things like performance, quality of cut, longevity, return on investment, all stand up for parts too.

“Choosing parts that aren’t Toro Genuine Parts, especially when it’s for a Toro mower, can wreak havoc with the machine’s performance and can even risk damaging the cutting units, costing more in the long-term.

“Taking a cylinder mower as an example, the scissor-like shearing action that gives the fine finish it is famed for requires the bedknife and cylinder blades to be sharp, matched and in close relationship with each other. The fit you get with a brand that isn’t specifically designed for the intricacies of the mower will never be exact and that’s where the problems can start. The fact is well-maintained kit with the right parts tends to be trouble-free with far less down-time.”

With cutting in the winter months going down to three times a week, now is a good time to strip back the machines and take an in-depth look at the cutting unit. Keeping on top of general maintenance of tines, filters and belts, ensures machines are in the best possible condition for the hard ground conditions of winter and going into the demands of spring. It can be tempting to cut corners when it comes to servicing and that can be expensive.

For those clubs without a workshop manager or team with the know-how or time to take this sort of job on, Reesink’s dealers and service centres, which are located across the country, can step in. The benefits of a genuine service include second-to-none local support, comprehensive stock reserve, 24-hour delivery service and trans-Atlantic freight service. This represents the kind of reassurance Reesink wants to give turfcare professionals: minimum downtime, maximum productivity and more customer service.

Winter machinery maintenance is a key part of the greenkeeping calendar and the quality of the replacement parts are vital to the machine’s performance in the toughest season of the year. Toro Genuine Parts guarantee the highest possible standards and the best possible backup so, when it comes to which parts to pick, choose the best: choose Toro Genuine Parts.

To stock up on Toro parts or for winter machinery maintenance advice, customers can get in touch with their local Toro Genuine Parts dealer or service centre or contact Reesink via reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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SALTEX hailed a success by exhibitors

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SALTEX hailed a success by exhibitors: The SALTEX 2021 post-show survey confirms the exhibition’s place as the must-attend event for everyone involved in grounds management and turf care.

This year, 93% of exhibitors said SALTEX generated new sales leads, while 96% believed SALTEX was perfect for promoting and maintaining their company profile. In addition, 81% of exhibitors said that exhibiting at SALTEX was important to their overall business strategy and 82% believed it was a perfect opportunity to meet existing customers.

SALTEX hailed a success by exhibitors

SALTEX hailed a success by exhibitors

When asked to rate their primary target audiences, the below sectors received the highest number of responses

  • Professional sports – 48%
  • Local authorities, councils, parish, town planning – 48%
  • Contractors – land construction, grounds – 41%
  • School, colleges, universities – 40%
  • Dealers, distributors, retailers – 40%
  • Landscapers – 33%

Furthermore, 71% of exhibitors stated that they will be returning to exhibit at SALTEX 2022.

In fact, many have already rebooked with a large percentage increasing the size of their stand. An influx of debut exhibitors has also been reported by the Grounds Management Association (GMA).

“For us it is the number one grounds industry show,” said Les Malin, managing director of Etesia UK. “There are a number of other exhibitions, but they tend to have their own sector that they work in. SALTEX on the other hand attracts a mix of customers right the way through the entire grounds industry.”

Ray McNally from AS Tractors chose SALTEX to launch Mitsubishi Tractors to the UK market and wasn’t disappointed. “This is our launch, and it has gone beyond our expectations,” he said. “Everyone in the horticultural and grounds industries attend this show and these are the demographics Mitsubishi Tractors is targeting. It’s the perfect platform for us and it has been wonderful.”

It was the first SALTEX for Origin Amenity Solutions since bringing together four major industry brands and Richard Fry, marketing manager, was feeling positive. “There was a lot of soul searching and sleepless nights before the opening day of SALTEX, but wow, it has been fantastic. There has been a two-year break since the last show, but the industry has responded. We are very pleased and there has been great footfall from the get-go.”

SALTEX 2021 celebrated its 75th anniversary and remarkably there were two companies on the show floor that have exhibited at all 75 shows – Lloyds & Co and Dennis Mowers.

“We value the loyalty that the Grounds Management Association has always shown us, and we’ve always stuck with them,” said Clive Nottingham, managing director of Lloyds & Co.

“I’m pleased that so many people have come through the door, and it has been a lively show. We’ve had lots of conversations, and there will be lots of quotations, enquiries and work to follow up.”

Ian Howard, managing director of Dennis Mowers also underlined the importance of exhibiting at SALTEX. “I think it is critical to come and meet existing customers, to meet new customers and to listen to what people have got to say. It is the customers that come up with the innovations at the end of the day and every Dennis product that we have got, both petrol and electric, is a result of what customers have said to us. SALTEX is an investment for the future.”

SALTEX 2022 will be held at the NEC, Birmingham on 2-3 November.

For more information visit www.gmasaltex.co.uk

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @GMA_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/GMASALTEX

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