Machinery Imports’ Clive Carter Departs

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Machinery Imports’ Clive Carter Departs: Machinery Imports General Manager, Clive Carter, bid a fond farewell to his team this month, as he departed the business after 13 years.

Making a significant contribution to the business during his ‘bakers dozen’ tenure, Clive started with the Ferris and Wright brands whilst working at IPU Group, before transferring to the T H WHITE Group when the distribution of the brands was taken over in 2016.

Machinery Imports' Clive Carter Departs

Over the past 3 years as General Manager at Machinery Imports, Clive has steered the team through both the booming and more challenging seasons, sharing his extensive knowledge and experience of the industry, and offering a relentless wit that has kept the team laughing no matter what.

Head of Machinery Imports, Bill Johnston, commented “Clive will be missed by all of the Machinery Imports team, we wish him the very best of luck and are confident he will make a success of all his future endeavours.”

“In departing the business, Clive leaves it in a strong position, with a positive year behind us so far in 2019 and extensive plans for further growth over the coming months and years.”

Whilst Clive is no longer a member of the organisation, he remains a highly respected and well liked ‘unofficial team member’, with the team arranging a fitting send off for him last week. At the event Clive was presented with an engraved statuette of a Spitfire fighter aircraft amongst other gifts – a thoughtful souvenir relating to one of Clive’s many interests.

Bill concludes, “with an ever expanding and high-quality dealer network, a team of experienced and hard-working colleagues in Machinery Imports, and superior quality machinery brands, we continue to strive forward.”

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Innovation On Display At Research Event

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Innovation On Display At Research Event: The annual research event at the Sports Turf Research Institute, members of the Amenity Forum, had a strong focus on innovation and taking an integrated approach to weed, pest and disease management.

Those attending were able to visit a range of trial sites. Our chairman, John Moverley, was one of the visitors and he found it extremely interesting and worthwhile.

Innovation On Display At Research Event

On October 10th, the Amenity Forum is holding its annual conference and exhibition, an event which has become very much ‘must attend’ for all involved in or with an interest in amenity management. This year the theme is ‘21st Century Amenity Management’ and innovation and integrated management will once again be a key theme. Some really excellent speakers are set to present and there is a great exhibition area where delegates can network and hear about new products and techniques available. It will be held at the Pirelli Stadium at Burton on Trent.

John Moverley said ‘’ the conference is a major showcase for our important sector and all it does. We are in changing and challenging times and it is important that we adapt to this change in a positive way. It is an event not to miss and I look forward to seeing you there’

Tickets, whilst selling fast, are still available at £95. For further information, contact admin@amenityforum.net

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Football Focus On The North-West

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Football Focus On The North-West: At Burnley FC’s Barnfield Training Ground, the Premier League club’s first order for John Deere machinery from local dealership Balmers GM has bedded in at what is reportedly Britain’s first football facility of its kind.

The 10ha Barnfield site includes 15 pitches altogether, including four full-size Desso and a 60 x 40m goalkeeper area in the first team zone, plus three and a half full-size Fibresand surfaces and two full-size natural soil pitches (topped up with sand over the years) in the Academy areas. The site also includes a full-size outdoor Desso 3G and indoor Desso 60 x 40m 3G. All pitches are split up into sizes appropriate for different age ranges and all feature full drainage, with Rainbird irrigation systems throughout the site.

Football Focus On The North-West

Head groundsman Barry O’Brien leads a nine-strong team and has witnessed plenty of changes in his 11 years here, the latest his own doing. After lengthy spells specifying other major turf machinery brands, Barry thought it was time to try John Deere. Following extensive trials, he specified the equipment required to cope with exacting conditions both outside and indoors.

The new tractor and mower fleet meets fresh demands that are centred on changing turfcare practices at the ground. For example, gone is the early ‘fluffy’ cut after the team fitted different rollers and adopted a more aggressive maintenance regime of raking out and brushing. “We had a grass factory here, generating far too much growth,” says Barry. “It would challenge any kit, but we’re fine now after adapting the way we do things.”

Balmer’s golf & turf area manager Andrew Meeks, whose family are Clarets fans (although he supports Liverpool!), agrees: “We’ve grown with each other over the years, so it was just a question of responding to Barry’s needs and supplying them, while working closely with the team to deliver the results they wanted.” Barry adds: “In doing that, we’ve developed a trusted relationship that has also helped us to expand our knowledge base.”

John Deere’s all-purpose X950R commercial lawn tractor with rear collection has been proving a deal-maker nationally, and Barry O’Brien’s assessment is no exception. “The machine is very good at sucking up pitch debris across the site as well as leaves off our top pitch, which lies next to National Trust woodland,” he says.

“The X950R is one of the best of its kind anywhere, and fits perfectly into the different approaches our grounds team is taking with football pitches – lighter rolling, clearing out and raking. Also, it stands the grass up so that cutting is more effective and reduces the risk of matting. We’d like another one of them, especially fitted with slick tyres.”

Barry also sees the value of his three 7700A PrecisionCut cylinder mowers in this environment. “They serve the football application just as well as they do golf. Obviously the sports differ, but in many ways they lend themselves to similar machinery applications. The customised grass boxes and nylon rollers are also major benefits.”

With Burnley manager Sean Dyche casting an eagle eye over pitch presentation, the last thing needed is turf machinery making the wrong impression. Used for heavier duty tasks such as hauling sprayers and fertiliser spreaders, the John Deere 4049R compact tractor sports Galaxy turf tyres that fit the bill for the bigger pitches, leaving the manager with little cause for complaint. “He loves the softer tyres – they have a big footprint but leave no imprint on the turf,” says Barry.

Additional 1026R and 2036R compact tractors serve as all-rounders, moving indoors to pull drag brushes and other kit that the team uses to maintain the Desso cross-knit pitch. As Barry adds: “It’s not just about the machinery but what you do with the turf between times that allows you to achieve the best results and benefits. That said, I saw the brilliant back-up we were getting from Balmers and the team’s confidence in the kit, and knew the combination would win through.”

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Click & Collect With The Countax PGC+

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Click & Collect With The Countax PGC+: Countax garden tractors have been made in Britain for over thirty years and have a reputation for being tough, durable and built for British weather conditions. A key feature of the Countax is the Power Take Off (PTO) which drives the Powered Grass Collector (PGC) and a range of accessories.

Countax has now introduced the PGC+. An accessory which transforms a C or B Series garden tractor into a multi-use, year-round workhorse. The PGC+ is a cassette system which allows you to quickly and easily switch accessories, each one designed for a specific garden task. It means you only need one machine to maintain your lawn, driveway, path and other areas of your garden. The Grass Sweeper cassette comes as standard. Click it into place and fifty-one brushes rotate at over 1100rpm to sweep grass clippings, fallen leaves and other debris into the hopper, even when the grass is wet.

Click & Collect With The Countax PGC+

Scarifying a lawn to rid it of moss and thatch encourages thicker, lusher grass. Installing the Scarifier cassette into the PGC+ reduces the need for a separate scarifier. The easy-to-insert cassette makes light work of scarifying and takes considerably less time than using a walk-behind machine. Especially considering that scarifying and collection of the debris is done simultaneously.

Using the PGC+ is simple. There is no need to unhitch it. Just take off the collection net, remove the current cassette and load in the next. Considerable financial savings can be made using the PGC+. There is no longer the need to purchase separate, standalone equipment. Additional cassettes are coming shortly, including a Hard Surface Brush cassette which transforms your Countax into a heavy-duty powered broom for maintaining hard surfaces such as paths and driveways.

For more information contact Countax on 01844 278800 or visit www.countax.co.uk/dealers to find your local dealer.

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Healthy Water At Millets Farm

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Healthy Water At Millets Farm: With two mature lakes covering roughly four acres and home to hundreds of fish, Millets Farm Fly Fishing Club takes its water quality incredibly seriously. So, it’s no surprise it’s turned to Otterbine to help achieve the best water quality possible.

Having installed an Otterbine Fractional aerator last year in one of its lakes and seen vast improvements, the club has now opted to install a second Otterbine aerator which is vital to keeps its waters and fish healthy. Head Squared Aquatics chief executive Giles Head, who recommended and installed the Otterbine aerators for the club, explains.

Healthy Water at Millets Farm

“In the lakes at Millets Farm there’s a high level of anaerobic digestion, whereby bacteria break down organic and biological waste into carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane and this severely reduces the dissolved oxygen in the water. Plus, the lakes were suffering from thermal stratification, which is where the temperature changes at different depths in the lake which trout in particular are very sensitive to. It’s therefore vital to maintain high levels of dissolved oxygen to ensure the waters stay healthy, an even temperature throughout and suitable for aquatic life.”

And never has this been more evident to Giles than when one of the Otterbine aerators was damaged by fishing wire and had to be removed.

“Within just four days the oxygen levels dropped dramatically. Luckily for the fishing club they were loaned a replacement motor unit by Otterbine’s distributor Reesink Turfcare, so they could get the oxygen levels back to where they needed to be while their aerator was being repaired. But it just goes to show how delicate the water balance is and how quickly it can be disrupted.”

And with the poor results the fishing club were seeing with its last aerators, Otterbine has brought a welcome change, says Giles: “The club’s old aerators were only resulting in dissolved oxygen levels of between four and six percent. With the Otterbine Fractional aerators in place, the lakes are up to saturation point, getting the full amount possible.

“That’s why I recommend Otterbine systems,” he says. “I’ve been in the industry for a long time and seen that for every pound spent on an aerator, you’ll get twice as much dissolved oxygen in the water from an Otterbine than anything else. Plus, the customer service from Otterbine and Reesink is second to none.”

With the larger of two lakes at the club now benefitting from two Otterbine aerators, there are plans to potentially install another two in the other lake. Although smaller and served by a spring, and therefore not suffering as much and requiring the same urgent attention as the larger lake, ensuring water quality is the best it can be is very important to the club.

Eric Evans, fishery manager at the club concludes: “After speaking to Giles about the issues we were having, he supplied and fitted an Otterbine aerator after only three days, and within the week dissolved oxygen levels had reached super saturation and completely transformed the lake.

“We are thrilled with the service from Head Squared Aquatic and Reesink Turfcare, particularly with their loan of a replacement unit while ours was damaged, and we thank them both for their continued support.”

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