PRO 34R perfect for the Pilgrims

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PRO 34R perfect for the Pilgrims: The head groundsman at Boston United FC, claims that the Dennis PRO 34R provides a quality of cut that he has never seen before in a rotary pedestrian mower.

For 12 years Jim Portas worked as a volunteer groundsman for his beloved Boston United FC, aka the Pilgrims. In 2020, he was offered the position of head groundsman and it could not have come at a more exciting time.

PRO 34R perfect for the Pilgrims

PRO 34R perfect for the Pilgrims

A new 5,000 capacity stadium has now finished completion and signals new fortunes for the club that will give them a stadium that they can finally call home.

Since being constructed and seeded in the summer of 2020, Jim has been keeping a close eye on the pitch and the Dennis PRO 34R rotary mower has certainly helped him.

“We looked at a lot of rotary mowers and I heard nothing but good reports about the Dennis PRO 34R,” said Jim.

The Dennis PRO 34R is a 34” (860mm) rotary mower which has been designed to help groundsmen achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches and lawns producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ while a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently.

The angle of the cutting deck and twin blades can be easily adjusted using a single ‘click adjuster’ ensuring the mower is suitable for changing conditions and meeting groundsmen’s requirements.

Unique features of the Dennis PRO 34R rotary mower include:

  • 5 forward and 1 reverse selection for speed of operation
  • 90 litre capacity grass box
  • Fully adjustable angle of deck for changing conditions
  • 2 section cast aluminium rear roller
  • Easy to use height of cut gauge
  • Single point height of cut adjustment for ease of operation
  • Optional front wheel or smooth/weile roller options
  • Front brush for standing grasses upright
  • Adjustable handlebars for operator comfort

“The main use for the PRO 34R is to clean the pitch after a game – the brush at the front will help to stand the grass up and it is fantastic at removing all the debris from the pitch.

“I have never seen a rotary mower that can cut like this – that is for sure. Furthermore, the grass box keeps the cuttings really compact which is beneficial.

“Being on my own, I need equipment that is going to be reliable and help me get the job done quickly and efficiently – the PRO 34R ticks all he boxes. I use it at a speed setting of 3-4 which is perfect for me. It is a sturdy well-built machine from a respectable and trustworthy manufacturer.”

The Dennis PRO 34R was purchased by Burdens Group for Boston United as part of a sponsorship agreement with the club at the new stadium.

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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

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Ransomes focuses on value

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Ransomes focuses on value: The world’s first mower manufacturer, Ransomes, is cutting a path to electric-powered commercial and municipal mowing under the Any Less Costs More campaign and its largest brand investment this century.

Ransomes’ new mission and vision are focused on providing short-term and long-term benefits to customers, consumers and the environment. The digital investment, unabated by covid, comes through a new web presence, which will provide an industry leading digital offering, whilst on the turf, the target of electric lithium powered commercial mowing has been firmly set for launch in 2022.

Ransomes focuses on value

Ransomes focuses on value

For everyone involved in the process, including Ransomes Marketing Manager, Adam Underwood, this has been an opportunity to speak to customers about what matters most to them and deliver value under the Any Less Costs More banner.

Adam explains: “We want people to be confident when they are sat on a Ransomes mower that they are sitting on the benchmark for commercial and municipal mowing. It’s very important for people to understand the value of incredibly specialist machinery, and we certainly are that. So, the Any Less Costs More campaign is really about the lifetime value of our products and how it pays to invest in us. It’s worth investing in the 200 UK-based specialists on-site at our factory, it’s worth investing in UK manufacturing, and it’s worth investing in machinery that is compliant with clean and green power.

“You know exactly where your products are coming from, and you also know that you’re going to get superior support from a dealer network that has sold our products in some cases for half a century or more.

“Getting that message out is important, but listening is even more important. We spent the last year engaging with consumers, dealer customers and colleagues to understand what Ransomes means to them and what great will look like for the next five and ten years for the brand.”

Throughout early 2021 Textron focused all mower manufacturing on Ipswich, and that has created a space where the sole focus is on building fine turf machinery. For Ransomes, this year provided the opportunity for 15 million test hours of lithium battery technology to be integrated into their commercial mower range.

“We’re excited about developing new technologies, and Ransomes will borrow a lot of the expertise from other brands within Textron,” Adam explains.

“As a result, we will be able to safely put technology that will be good for the environment, good for everybody and most importantly, gets the work done into our Ransomes products.

“We’re also celebrating the fact that all of our products are Stage V compliant. We feel those clean, green engines are worth shouting about and are important as we look forward to launching electric lithium technology and implementing it safely into the municipal and commercial market in 2022.

“You’ll see at our shows, events and launches throughout 2022 that we are going to be expanding our range into electric lithium technology, and in other parts of the business, we have already got turf machinery out cutting in environments that are a commercial or municipal setting.”

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Wildflower organisation increases capacity

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Wildflower organisation increases capacity: Leading wildflower organisation, Wildflower Turf Ltd, continues its successful expansion with the recent acquisition of new landholding in Shropshire.

With demand for the company’s products and services at an all-time high, the recently purchased Forge Farm will provide the business with an additional 60,000m2 of production capacity.

Wildflower organisation increases capacity

Wildflower organisation increases capacity

The wildflower specialists currently operate from sites in both Hampshire and Yorkshire, and this third production site will further enable Wildflower Turf Ltd to meet growing demand nationwide.

The Shropshire location is well positioned to deliver wildflower products to Wildflower Turf Ltd’s customer base in the West Midlands and across the rest of the UK.

The new production venue already has the infrastructure in place to commence operations, with the first turf grown at the Forge Farm site expected to be lifted in the summer of 2022.

Production capacity will be increased over time with Forge Farm playing an integral part of Wildflower Turf Ltd’s expansion programme.

James Hewetson-Brown, Founder and Managing Director of Wildflower Turf Ltd, said: “In recent years we have increased our team of passionate experts to support our growth and our expansion to Shropshire is a natural progression. Our acquisition of Forge Farm will ensure we have the increased capacity required and are in a position to respond quickly in response to anticipated business growth.”

He continued, “We are committed to developing and providing innovative and biodiverse wildflower solutions and will continue to announce new initiatives in response to increasing demand for our wildflower products and services.”

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SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

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SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC: Rykneld Bowling Club, in Derbyshire, has not only benefited from a new SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk5 but has also seen major improvements to the green after various committee members enhanced their greenkeeping knowledge through the Dennis and SISIS virtual bowls seminar portal.

Founded in 1918, Rykneld is one of the longest running bowling clubs in the county and over recent years has also become one of the most successful. It boasts a thriving membership and some of the best players in Derbyshire, which is testament to just how good the green has become.

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

“Lately we have been getting great feedback,” said committee member Malcolm Holden. “That is not only from our own members but also from visiting teams. The improved surface has enabled us to have a South Derbyshire Premier League team excelling at the club.”

Looking after the green at Rykneld is very much a team effort as five committee members work hard to maintain it. They have recently enhanced their greenkeeping knowledge after becoming members of the free Dennis and SISIS virtual bowls seminar portal.

On the portal, members have access to regular, updated video seminar sessions on a wide range of relevant topics written and hosted by expert speakers. At the click of a button, users can also ask questions to the various experts and tap into their vast amount of experience and knowledge. Other resources on the portal include downloadable PDF’s containing seminar content, case studies, more informative videos, links to key products and vital information on funding.

“We have been following the videos on the portal religiously,” said Malcolm. “The portal is fantastic, and it covers every kind of topic you can think of when it comes to greenkeeping. We document everything we do, and the virtual seminars are helping us to continuously improve the green.”

Thatch is one particular issue that Malcolm and the team have been trying to solve through the seminar portal. Recently their efforts were boosted after the club purchased a SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk.5.

The SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk.5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf. It features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for a clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. A variety of maintenance tasks can also be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

“The green has built up about 100 years of thatch, and it is slowing the green down,” said Malcolm. “It is not going to be a quick fix, but we are really stepping things up with the SISIS Auto Rotorake now.

“We’re already starting to see progress because of the amount of air it is helping us to get into the soil. Prior to the Auto Rotorake we were using a hand pulled spiker which was incredibly tough to pull – it was physically exhausting! The Auto Rotorake is just a brilliant machine which we are using on a fortnightly basis.

“That is what you get from Dennis and SISIS. Of all the suppliers we deal with, they have got to be the best. If they say they’ll do something, they will always do it – they keep their word, and I can’t fault them at all.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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

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EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

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EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark: Seven years ago, Skylark Golf & County Club in Hampshire in the south of England, was in a sorry state.

“The course was opened in the late 1990s, and it was known at Quinn Dell,” says course manager Simon Bell-Tye. “And when I got here in 2014, it had been neglected and run down for most of that time. It was a field with holes in it.”

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

But the arrival of its new course manager was a sign that the place was on the up. Acquired by local company JDI (Just Develop It) in late 2013, the renamed Skylark hasn’t looked back.

“My boss at the time, Dan Richards, an ex-golf pro, had a real vision for the place, starting with making the course more presentable and playable,” says Bell-Tye. “But it was a big job. There was a weed called toad rush in the greens. I didn’t know what it was – I’d never come across it before – and the bunkers were just scoops in the ground.”

Now, though, Skylark’s bunkers are among its best-regarded features, thanks to the installation of synthetic edging system EcoBunker over several years. “I’m a member at Royal Winchester and I saw them doing the EcoBunkers there,” says Simon. “I mentioned this to Dan and he said ‘Good idea, get them in’. Rich Allen came and explained their process, and we took him and their construction manager Llewelyn Matthews to the eleventh hole, which had our very worst bunkers. Then Llew spent a week showing us how to build the EcoBunkers, and we haven’t looked back since.”

But the ‘normal’ EcoBunker method wasn’t enough for Skylark. To reduce the bunker maintenance still further, EcoBunker CEO Richard Allen devised a new add-on, named EcoEdge – which sees top quality artificial grass, backed with rubber, used as a rim for the bunkers. Compared to the usual EcoBunker Advanced methodology, where natural grass is planted on top of the synthetic edge, this obviously reduces the maintenance requirement for bunker edging still further. “Skylark was the first club in the world to use the EcoEdge system, although since, a number of other clubs have invested in it,” says Allen.

The reaction to the EcoBunkers was immediate. “Members loved them, so I got a budget to do a number of bunkers each year,” says Bell-Tye. “Ultimately, we have added fourteen extra bunkers to the golf course. We build them all in house – last winter I used forty pallets of material in four bunkers – and they look wonderful. They are huge, and they just pop out at you.”

Skylark’s success has come both on and off the course. From hosting one or two weddings a year, the club now does 140-150. And the golf? “When I joined we had 200-250 golf members. Now we’re up to 750, and we are full, with a joining fee,” says Bell-Tye.

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