Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium

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Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium: James Williams, Head Groundsman at the London Stadium, has praised the simplicity and efficiency of the new Hunter I-80 rotary sprinklers which were supplied by KAR UK.

Originally built to host London 2012, the Olympic Stadium, as it was formerly called, is now known as the London Stadium and is home to West Ham United FC – but that’s not all. The stadium also hosts UK athletics and concerts and has been a venue for the Rugby World Cup, The Race of Champions, Major League Baseball and the RFL Four Nations.

Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium

James, who started in the industry as an apprentice at Swansea FC, is now the man responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the pitch at arguably one of the most iconic stadia in the UK.

With a team of five, the young groundsman does a stellar job in keeping the pitch in immaculate condition despite the heavy usage but, ever the perfectionist, James is continuously looking at improvements he can make to raise the bar even higher. Therefore, when he felt that he wasn’t getting the best out of the previous irrigation system, he knew that it was time for a change.

James looked to see what was available on the market and it wasn’t long before a meeting with KAR UK was arranged. KAR is the UK’s leading wholesaler of irrigation equipment, and after admitting that he was hugely impressed with everything the company showed him, James’ attentions soon turned to a new Hunter Industries irrigation system which included the most technologically advanced commercial rotor on the market – the all-new I-80.

Engineered for sports turf, the I-80 is built with a robust, dirt-tolerant gear drive that offers the highest torque output of any rotor in the commercial sphere, and extends a radius range from 11.3 to 29.6 meters. The I-80 features a wide range of highly efficient, dual-trajectory, wind-fighting nozzles for highly efficient performance in a range of applications. It also provides total top serviceability (TTS) via its integrated, surface-mounted snap-ring for no-dig easy maintenance – something which James is particularly impressed with.

“It is just so simple – you can take off the turf caps and grow them in in a shed or under a light and then you can just put them straight back on. Even cleaning them is so much easier because you just whip them out like a normal sprinkler instead of having to dig them all out every time.”

James had eight I-80 rotors installed in the pitch and his system is further complimented by the ACC2 controller which is ideal for delivering advanced water management to meet the demands of large-scale commercial projects and the Roam remote – which eliminates the need to go back and forth to the sprinkler controller.

“This new Hunter system is so modern and advanced and the remote is brilliant,” he continued. “In the click of a button you can change the times of the sprinklers, so for instance, on a match-day we can water at half time as and when required.

“The ACC2 controller is also easy to use and that is what I wanted. I didn’t want it to be too technical because I want all of my staff to be able to use it as well as myself.”

James reported that the manager and players are pleased with the new system and he went further in explaining how he uses it in the run up to match-days.

“Obviously a lot of it is dependent on weather, but we tend to give the pitch around 8mm of water on a Thursday or a Friday to prepare the surface for a game. We will then give it a top up before kick-off and then again at half-time if it is required.

“I see it similar to the way you would build a sandcastle. If you use wet sand to build a sandcastle then it will hold it all together and you’ll have a good castle. If you use dry sand then it will just all fall out. It’s exactly the same with a football pitch – keep it wet and it will stay nice and firm and hold together.”

Hunter Industries is distributed in the UK by KAR UK. For more information, please visit www.karuk.com or www.hunterindustries.com.

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Duncan Ross at Queen Elizabeth’s

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Duncan Ross at Queen Elizabeth’s: Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn, aim to increase the use of their sports field using new primary and secondary drainage from Duncan Ross Ltd.

The pitches on the field are used every day throughout the school year and are home to two local football teams at the weekends, consisting of two adult teams and one junior section.

Duncan Ross at Queen Elizabeth’s

In the two years before the work, the pitches began to hold water during the winter months, preventing students using them regularly and causing fixtures to be called off.

Having recognised the issue, the school, through director of business and finance, Paul Atkinson, enlisted Professional Sportsturf Design (PSD) to carry out an initial survey of the site.

Paul explained: “There was an existing drainage system that had been installed several years ago, but it was no longer doing the job, and as a result, the pitches started to become unplayable in the winter. That then began to affect our students who couldn’t use them regularly and our income at the weekends because the fixtures would be called off.

“Now the pitches are looking fine, and we’re confident that they’ll be ready for the new school year. We did all the work in one go with a view to having them in operation for the academic year, which is the 2nd September 2019, and we’re confident that will be the case.

“Working with Duncan Ross has been very smooth. They stuck to the programme of works and kept us informed with what was going on. They worked well with our groundsman, and he was also kept informed about everything. He’s very happy, and he’ll start to mark the pitches out in the next couple of weeks, and he’s very confident that we’ll be playing on them in September. We’re looking forward to using the pitches all year round, especially throughout the winter months.”

The initial survey was done by PSD project manager, Mark Higgs, who recognised the need to install new pipe drainage to replace the older pipes that had become capped off over time. Secondary slit drains were also installed to make the pitches better equipped to deal with downpours and ensure water drained efficiently from the surface.

Duncan Ross at Queen Elizabeth’s

As well as the drainage work on the entire field, particular attention was paid to Pitch 1, the main match pitch, which had a layer of thatch. This pitch was fraise mowed with the Koro Field Topmaker to remove 85-90% of the existing vegetation before the pipe and slit drains were installed and the surface seeded.

Mark has now worked with Duncan Ross Ltd on a number of projects and commends Duncan’s ability to think on his feet and offer quick solutions when issues arise.

He said: “Duncan went to the site prior to the drainage installation and he had to dig down and prove some of the existing drainage. He phoned me straight away to tell me he’d found something that meant we had to adjust our specification slightly. What’s good when you’re dealing with Duncan is that he’ll improvise, he doesn’t just phone you up and say ‘that won’t work’, he’ll say ‘I’ve found this, it isn’t ideal, but I’ve thought about it, and this is how I think we can achieve the finish on the job’. That proactive approach makes the process a lot quicker and reduces any downtime, which means we’re able to meet our deadlines.”

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New to the UK – GrasPro

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New to the UK – GrasPro: GrasPro is a simple pitch management tool that gives users the ability to record pitch data, generate visual reports and gain a greater depth of understanding about their pitches.

During the development of GrasPro, making it a time effective, accessible tool for groundsmen was vital. The task of keeping daily spreadsheets or paper notes has been replaced by an online system that can be accessed anywhere and used by multiple team members, with administration access to pitches at the discretion of the primary account holder. Ensuring your pitch information remains your own is an essential aspect of GrasPro, and with no third-party involvement, your data is never shared.

New to the UK – GrasPro

With GrasPro, simplicity is key. Users can track their daily activities such as mowing, fertilising, aeration and marking as well as pitch usage in a fast and convenient way. All registered activities are then summarised and visually presented with statistical reports available for N-P-K calculations, water usage, playing hours and more.

Photographs and comments can be attached to work logs, so any out of the ordinary conditions, like grass disease, can be tracked visually as well as statistically. Sophisticated weather reports at three-hour intervals join all of this to give a full picture of how pitches are performing in certain conditions.

New to the UK – GrasPro

By using this information, users can generate visual reports that highlight how the usage of pitches and maintenance practices are impacting the turf. In turn, this allows groundsmen to collate information for budget projections and accurately forecast the amount of paint, fertiliser and staff-hours they need.

The result of being able to harness all of this information is a deeper understanding of your surfaces, allowing for increased pitch usage and detailed information for future planning. Already, groundsmen, consultants and football governing bodies around the world have benefitted from using the system on individual pitches and in a tournament scenario.

New to the UK – GrasPro

For a free demonstration of the GrasPro Pitch Management System or to find out more about how it could benefit your site, visit www.gras.pro.

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Ventrac sales award for Tom Bailey

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Ventrac sales award for Tom Bailey: Tom Bailey, Area Sales Manager at RT Machinery, has won Price Turfcare’s Dealer Sales Achievement award and has been presented with £300 worth of store vouchers in appreciation of his efforts.

Rupert Price, Managing Director of Price Turfcare, the UK distributor of Ventrac said,

Ventrac sales award for Tom Bailey

“As a young company we are heavily dependent on our dealer network and the enthusiasm of their sales teams. RT Machinery has readily accepted the challenge of promoting Ventrac and Tom, in particular, has excelled with some serious sales in his territory. He fully understands the attributes of the machine and its accessories and has targeted large estate owners in his area, with outstanding success.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank not only Tom, but all of our dealers and their sales staff for their fantastic commitment to Ventrac since we launched the business just under three years ago. We have certainly arrived in the UK groundscare market and it is thanks to their combined efforts.”

Tom joined RT Machinery in June 2015 as a trainee Area Sales Manager from the estate management team at SAS UK. He then completed three years of RTM training and has progressed to be one of the company’s highly skilled and dedicated Area Sales Managers.

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Etesia launch new Attila 98X brushcutter

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Etesia launch new Attila 98X brushcutter: Etesia UK has announced the launch of the new Attila 98X four-wheel-drive ride-on brushcutter, which was officially unveiled ahead of the 2020 season at IOG SALTEX.

The new Attila 98X has been designed to work in the toughest of conditions. This powerful workhorse effectively deals with clearing vegetation from a wide variety of sites – long grass, weeds, bracken and brambles on woodland paths, orchards, verges and embankments.

Etesia launch new Attila 98X brushcutter

Powered by the new Kawasaki FS691V 24HP electric start engine, the Attila 98X has a strengthened welded tubular chassis providing a better driving position for operators.

With a low centre of gravity, four-wheel-drive plus heavy-treaded tyres and differential lock, the new ride-on brushcutter to join the Attila family provides greater stability on slopes up to 30°.

Swing or fixed tip blades with a 98cm cutting height adjusted by a centralised lever with 8 working positions from 50mm-120mm plus transport mode enable this workhorse to cut through dense growth of up to 4.5cm diameter.

The new Attila 98X model joins the Attila range of pedestrian and ride-on brushcutters already available within the extensive Etesia portfolio.

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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