An Italian Japanese fusion

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An Italian Japanese fusion: Scott MacCallum joined the media pack on a visit to Italy.

It seems like a marriage made in heaven. Italian flair and imagination combined with Japanese efficiency and drive. That is exactly what has been achieved by the purchase of Gianni Ferrari by the Kubota company in 2022.

An Italian Japanese fusion

An Italian Japanese fusion

Even in that very short space of time the Japanese influence has been felt in the traditional and characterful, Gianni Ferrari factory in the outskirts of Bologne, and Kubota’s overall product portfolio has been significantly expanded, particularly through Gianni Ferrari’s excellent zero turn mower range and the launch of the XC3 and XC4 into the UK market.

The introduction of the new models like the FC2-221 and FC3- 221 has expanded the company’s portfolio for commercial users.

The Kubota power and influence now driving Gianni Ferrari is truly immense. Kubota is a 3 trillion yen company which, given the complication of so many zeros, makes my estimate of £15.6 billion open to some scrutiny. However, they operate in 120 countries and have sold 5.5 million tractors worldwide and 30 million engines so it is huge by any measure.

In buying Gianni Ferrari Kubota ensured that the gap in their offering for large sized ride on mowers was removed and means that as Kubota celebrates 50 years in the European market, it is strongly placed to build on the success started in 1974.

Since becoming Kubota Gianni Ferrari the company has introduced some efficiency solutions within the factory, removing one wall to make the production line less complex and bringing in light blue trolleys containing frequently required parts rather than the engineer having to return to a central point every time one was needed.

It is a common misunderstanding that Gianni Ferrari and Enzo Ferrari, of Formula 1 fame, are related in some way. As it happens Ferrari is the Italian form of Smith, and is a very common name on some areas of the country.

With the experience and support of Kubota globally, Kubota Gianni Ferrari have been working hard over the last two years to embrace the very best of the Japanese Kaizen approach to processes and manufacturing – which was evident in the streamlined approach to production visible during the factory tour.

In addition, Kubota’s advanced digital marketing has been used to communicate with Gianni Ferrari users about parts and service availability through Kubota dealers.

The assembled press, including all of the major industry titles in the UK, were also able to learn more about the current and ongoing developments within the product range such as the ‘conversion’ of the PG XPRO into the Kubota FC3- 261, and the FC4-501 which has become one of the most powerful, comfortable and operationally equipped mowers on the market.

While the unprecedented rainfall from the ironically named Storm Boris put paid to seeing the range in action, spirits were not dampened as all enjoyed gaining an insight into the approach – both now and that of the future – and the fascinating company ethos by speakers including Kosuke Ota, Vice President of Kubota Gianni Ferrari S.R.L.

Further presentations were also delivered by Henry Bredin, General Manager and Matt Wilson, Groundcare Product Manager, of Kubota (UK).

“It’s been fantastic to witness first-hand the enthusiasm and passion among the Kubota Gianni Ferrari team and to be able to share this with the media from the UK and Ireland was a real pleasure,” said Matt.

“All of us at Kubota are incredibly excited about the bright future we have with the FC range, not just in traditional groundcare applications, but also in other guises where it can also support the maintenance of artificial sports surfaces.”

Castle Gardens

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Castle Gardens: Scott MacCallum discovers that a successful garden is a key component to a successful Estate.

Kelso’s Floors Castle, in the beautifully unspoilt Scottish Borders, is a place where no two days are ever the same. If it’s a three day event on the equestrian diary; outdoor Shakespeare theatre in the summer; commercial farming; among the finest fishing and shooting to be found anywhere… or even a Michael Bublé concert, there is always something going on at Roxburghe Estate, to give it its correct title.

Castle Gardens

Castle Gardens

The grounds are stunning, stretching across a whopping 50,000 acres and including the Tweed and Teviot rivers. They also boast Floors, Scotland’s largest inhabited castle.

Also, if you listen carefully you might just hear a familiar cry and notice a rustling of the trees in the woods. The reason?

The castle featured in the 1984 movie Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes!

It takes a lot to run such an Estate, but key to much that goes on are the spectacular gardens which provide not just a tranquil sanctuary for those lucky enough to walk among them, but fresh produce for the Duke and the Castle’s residents and guests but for sale in the Castle shop too.

For example, there is a white board in the mess room identifying all the Estate shooting parties so that he can ensure there are flowers, looking their best, in each of the guest bedrooms.

The man tasked with making sure everything is looking as good as it is edible is Head Gardener Simon McManus.

Simon runs the gardens with a team of four who look after the vegetable gardens and the show gardens including the five acre Millenium Garden, which has around two miles of edging all of
which is now cut by strimmers, a task which takes two days given favourable weather and carried out once a week. The walled old garden is another four acres, and also contains a number of glass houses.

The Millenium Garden features two miles of edging, and is cut by strimmer.

“It used to be cut by hand shears and would take five or six of us all day. With a strimmer you can do it all edging in a day, weather permitting and it’s done once a week, but that’s going some.

“The groundsman does it and he’s got a routine. So he’ll start here and hopefully get back to here within the week, and then start all over again. It doesn’t take much to knock them off – an afternoon of rain or a machine breakdown.”

Simon has been at Floors for over 20 years and Head Gardener for the last two. His fellow gardeners have arrived at the Castle, and in the horticultural industry, following careers in anything ranging from grave digging to owning a recruitment business.

“We work well as a team, which is good. On the big jobs, we just get stuck in. Like today we’re picking apples and we’re all on it,” said Mark, adding that this was something new.

“Previously, the apples just went to waste as we didn’t get any revenue for them, Now, as a new venture, a company is going to produce cider for us and we need to collect all the apples we can to provide the juice,” he explained.

Castle Gardens

Castle Gardens

It’s not just the weather that can get in the way of the smooth running of the gardens.

“Breakdowns are a real nuisance. You’ve got a job on and then the machine doesn’t start. Last week, the Kubota machine had two punctures. One step forward and one step sideways!”

They do embrace modern technology and had introduced a robot mower to the team.

“We have a Husqvarna robot mower. It does a very good job because it’s cutting it constantly, it’s not like it gets to grow two inches and then cut back. We also got a new piece of kit last year, called the Foam Stream which uses heat to destroy weeds.”

How does the work fall on an annual basis?

“September is probably the quietest month of the year – everything’s done! Over the next few months we’ll be cutting back herbaceous borders and take them right back.

Then we’ll be on with the pruning, rose pruning, apple pruning, the plums. And that’ll keep us busy. Peaches, that’s quite labour-intensive because they’re all tied in a traditional method which looks great but takes time. It’s always been done like that and it’s nice to keep it going. When you get it done just perfectly, it does look good.

“And that’ll take us right up to Christmas and beyond,” said Simon, who also conducts pruning workshops in the garden.

The Castle gardens are very popular with the many visitors who are attracted to Floors and while many are pleased and interested to see the quality of the work carried out, others can be more critical.

“Sometimes they say that we should have had X or Y harvested by that time in the year. But if we did that they’d have nothing to look at! Also with just four gardeners there is a limit to what we can do and sometimes there have to be compromises made.”

The new year starts with seed sowing.

“We’ll start with leeks and onions,and the like and that will run through sort of into May, April, March and April when we carry our propagation and more seed sowing, bedding plants, veg plants, plants for the castle,” explained Simon, who nets the herbaceous borders.

Simon’s team are experienced in years but have arrived in the world of horticulture via previous lives. For example Kate McClorey, Assistant Head Gardener and current Scottish Garden Designer of the Year worked in the world or recruitment, while Mark Baldwin was a grave digger.

Claire Nicho also had various jobs before finally arriving at the Castle.

Prior to taking over as Head Gardener, Simon used to be in sole charge of the glasshouses.

“That was my thing. All I did was the glasshouses. Now managing the garden and the glasshouses is hard going, particularly when you’re hands-on.”

His ambition when he took over his new role was to make his mark.

“I wanted to raise the standard up to the sort of next level. And the feedback we’ve had this year from the visitors is all very positive. Many saying that this is probably one of the nicest gardens that they’ve seen.“

But he is aware that without bigger budgets, a dream to all but the very few, there are compromises that have to be made.

“If I had more staff, I’d have the lawns weed free and cut with a cylinder mower so we’d get beautiful stripes.”

It’s fair to say that in the last two years Simon has earned his own stripes and is delighted to be working as such a special place as Floors Castle.

“It’s a good place to work and it’s certainly not a drudge getting out of bed in the morning to come here.”

Simon and his team are a key cog in the whole Roxburghe Estate operation and the dedication and hard work shown by them show ensure that the Estate and the iconic Floors Castle will remain as one of the country’s foremost tourist destinations.

World class ambition

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World class ambition: Scott MacCallum caught up with Corey Finn, a New Zealander managing a United Nations of staff in Abu Dhabi.

As a 17-year-old boy, New Zealander Corey Finn wrote down what he hoped to achieve in life. He wasn’t giving himself an easy ride, as his goal was to be Superintendent of a Top 100 Golf Club by the age of 35.

World class ambition

World class ambition

Viya Golf in Abu Dhabi has three fantastic golf courses, including Yas Links, host to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which is ranked 32nd in the Golf Digest World Top 100 rankings. And yes, Corey is Director of Agronomy and very much the man in charge of the golf courses.

He achieved his ambition! Well, not exactly, as he was 36 when he took the job two years ago, missing his target by a year. But seeing what he has achieved since arriving in Abu Dhabi, no-one is going to hold that against him.

Under his charge is the aforementioned Yas Links, which has a greenkeeping team of between 45 to 50 for its 27 holes; Yas Acres, which has a staff of around 32, for its nine holes and large landscaped area, and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, with a team of around 40. Each are exceptional examples of their type.

“Saadiyat is probably the hardest of the three to manage due to its high-profile visitors and the size and quality of the properties on the site that we maintain,” revealed Corey.

The quality of all the golf courses, coupled with the nature of the members and guests, mean expectations and standards are air-thinningly high.

It’s not probably a true reflection on what golf is in the world. At Viya Golf members and guests have everything provided for them. From turning up and someone taking your bag out of your car; a comfortable locker room; golf balls ready for you on the range. Everything you could possibly want or need before you even hit the 1st tee.

“You go to New Zealand where I’m from, or to Scotland, at most golf courses you take your own range balls and pick them up afterwards.

So a lot of golfers out here have extremely high expectations.

And we have to meet them.

“Some of our members and guests started playing golf here and it’s all they know. They don’t realise that this is a golfing Disneyland, in terms of conditioning, and that it is consistently very good, virtually all of the year round.

“That said we are still always working with Mother Nature and it’s a challenge.”

Yas Links is, as its name suggests, a links course – not a style of course you would have a right to expect in the desert-like Middle Eastern topography.

World class ambition

World class ambition

“Every country around the world has its own unique climate. Here we have a few things to deal with – heat and humidity are the main ones, while we’re using recycled water on all three properties. It’s great that we’re using recycled water, but in reality it’s not the best quality.”

Viya Golf’s water is treated by the Abu Dhabi state before it reaches the golf courses and it doesn’t receive any further treatment.

“We don’t treat the water, but we’re using Paspalum, which is salt tolerant, to overcome the deficiencies in our irrigation water,” said Corey.

That Paspalum was found near the beach, so you could argue that, while it is completely different from those links grasses found in Scotland, it is still a legitimate links grass.

“It was found in a warm season climate next to the beach and was developed from there. Hence why it’s a good grass for us in the region. I’m not going to say it’s going to work in Scotland, or even that it’s going to work in Saudi Arabia, but it works for us,” he explained.

“It can handle the irrigation water, it can handle being next to the seaside breezes, which whip up, and carry salt through the air.”

Corey can get his grasses incredibly short, especially the recent versions of Paspalum which provides the firmness required for running a links course.

“We get our greens down as low as 1.3mm, surrounds to 2mm, while fairways are cut at 4.5mm.”

While they host regular Ladies European Tour and Challenge Tour events, perhaps the highlight of the season, and what gets the juices flowing for Corey and the team, is the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship which sees a host of the world’s best competing for vast sums of money.

Who can forget the astonishing holed bunker shot by Victor Perez on the 71st hole, which set up his win in January 2023?

When we spoke, Corey was about to start the prep for the next edition of the tournament, which has been moved by the DP Tour to a November slot.

“Going from a January tournament to a November tournament makes it a bigger challenge for us. That’s for sure.

“Our build-up is pretty much starting now (speaking in mid-August). It’s still incredibly hot and we are battling with water issues, but my goal is to have the golf course as good, if not better, than the January tournaments.

“We did some mock prep last year in November, when we knew the date was changing, to see where we were going to be and I was pretty happy with what we could deliver,” he said.

Like a Formula One driver trying to manage his car and nurse it over the line, Corey looks at how best to manage his team in uncomfortable circumstances.

“We start slowly as I’ve got to manage my staff through the heat. It’s still mid-40s and humid, so I’m trying to work out when I pull the trigger – when we’re going to push hard and push the staff that little bit harder.

World class ambition

World class ambition

“If I go too early, I’m going to burn these guys out. So that’s going to be a new challenge. There’s a lot of growth in November.

“We will produce a golf course fit for the occasion,” said Corey, who has built up an excellent relationship with Tournament Director, Miguel Vidaor and the DP Tour agronomists.

“If Miguel asks for 10 feet I make sure he gets it, but it’s not just that. Anyone can get fast greens, that’s easy, but holding a number, or holding a speed, is the challenge. If it’s 10 feet on Thursday, I want them 10 feet all week.”

Speaking with Corey is to appreciate that he is a greenkeeper through and through.

“I just love greenkeeping at the end of the day and doing what we’re doing out here,” said Corey, who attended the Ohio State programme at the age of 19.

From an environmental perspective at the time of talking, Viya Golf was on the verge of achieving its GEO certification, while it is already Audubon accredited.

The club recently recorded 194 species of birds, including one which was actually thought to be extinct – a striped whimbrel which hadn’t been seen in about 10 years. A whimbrel is a smaller version of the curlew, with a shorter, straighter then down-curved bill and pale crown-stripe.

“It’s not just about golf here for us. We are big on the environmental side of things,” said Corey who has recently worked with local schools on environmental projects.

“We use sustainable products wherever possible including a lot of organics and actually we don’t throw out a lot of fertiliser. When it comes to our chemicals and pesticides, we go down the preventative route,” he revealed.

There are obvious differences between working in Abu Dhabi and other parts of the golfing world, and not all agronomic.

When asked to highlight something he deals with which would be different from his colleagues in the UK, Corey talks about pulling together the skills of a team drawn from all corners of the world, many different religions, and a massive disparity in ability levels.

“My assistant, Jack, was trying to train a guy to reverse a machine and trailer and he just couldn’t get it. He just kept going backwards, without looking and couldn’t work out why it wouldn’t go straight back,” recalled Corey.

And then there was the “mechanic” who was instructed to go and grease a machine.

“He went out and spread grease over the entire machine!”

But Corey couldn’t be more complimentary of his United Nations of staff and he is seen as very much of a father figure to a team which very much wants to please, and occasionally do refer to him as “father”.

World class ambition

World class ambition

“I put a lot of trust in guys. They are from all parts of the world, including India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which are countries which have issues back home. Many of them come with no education, a wide range of religions, and we train them from scratch.

“In fact, I prefer to bring guys in who have not had any training so I can teach these guys to our way of doing things. But I’ve had guys who come from small villages where they’ve never even been in a car or even seen a car,” said Corey.

“I can go to a guy and say to him that I need him to go mow a green. They’ll go ‘Ok, no problem boss’. Then go and do something completely different!

“If I try and grab a shovel they’ll take it off me, as it’s almost a sign of disrespect to them,” said Corey, who added that he often has to force guys that don’t like drinking water.

“Every year the same guys get sick. You are always reminding them that they have to look after themselves and drink water, but still they don’t!”

Corey also finds himself helping them on outside of work issues, including how to make a doctor’s appointment or opening a bank account.

“That’s because they’ve always been in a village and haven’t the experience of living away in a different country. They haven’t acquired the life skills.”

“You’re managing the whole person, not just the working person. Yes, they’re working for you but they need a lot of other support and you’ve got to make allowances for that sort of thing.”

It’s a measure of how far Corey has come in his greenkeeping career that he has the maturity to handle all that comes his way. It perhaps suggests that while he just missed the goal the 17-year-old greenkeeper set for himself, he is probably better off for it.

“I now appreciate that the golf course is one big circle and not isolated from everything else.

If the guy that picks the golf clubs out of the car, drops them, the golf course is going to be disappointing, and in the restaurant, the food’s going to be lousy.”

“I’ve come a long way in the last five years in understanding and getting better at seeing the bigger picture. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I’ve now got the miles on the clock.

“I was that guy that used to wear emotions on the chest. I still do, but there’s a time where you’ve just got to hold it in and perhaps I wouldn’t have done had I become a Superintendent at 30.

“I strongly believe you need to work through all the steps and gain that experience and gain that knowledge.”

That experience is sure to ensure that Corey, and any golf club which benefits from his talents, are sure to have a successful future.

Style and flair to spare

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Style and flair to spare: Scott MacCallum speaks with Glenalmond College’s Head of Grounds Tim Holden, right, about how he uses his remarkable array of skills to enhance the environment of this amazing independent school.

Glenalmond College, halfway between Perth and Crieff in the glorious Perthshire countryside, is an amazing place. It is set in over 300 acres of ground, 240 of it maintained, while the range of sports catered for at the college is truly mouthwatering. As well as the usual rugby, football, cricket and hockey there is, among many others, the school’s own golf course, archery, mountain biking and bush crafts.

Managing the grounds, and such a diverse range of sports and pursuits, is a team of six, led by a man who is truly a Swiss Army Knife in human form.

Head of Grounds Tim Holden turns his hand to whatever is required, whether that be gritting the roads to allow access the school; maintaining all the vehicles and machinery to looking after all the thousands of trees on site thanks to his tree surgery qualification.

In addition, he is perfectly qualified to engrave the names on the school’s trophies or mend any of its clocks. Tim, you see, is a former qualified jeweller. Oh yes, add into that, should the college wish to add sailing to its sporting offering, you have the very man on site. Tim is a former national champion in the Javelin class.

Indeed, with Glenalmond College being landlocked, Tim would no doubt drive the minibus full of students to the marina as well.

But does Tim feel taken advantage of because his range of skills are more than fully ultilised and that he finds himself banking one salary for an output of three or four? Not a bit of it.

“Working here is fantastic. It is a glorious place and to be able to work in a setting as diverse as this is wonderful. We have kites, buzzards and deer. It is such a beautiful part of the country,” said the Mancunian, leaving us in no doubt that he doesn’t feel hard done by with the weight of his workload.

The College was actually founded by former UK Prime Minister William Gladstone in 1847, giving it a certain kudos from the start, but for many, its connection with Harry Potter is much more exciting.

Hogwarts’ Groundsman, Hagrid – in the shape of actor Robbie Coltrane – was an “OG”, that is to say a Glenalmond former pupil!

Glenalmond has shaped the futures of so many and it is easy to see why. The tranquil setting coupled with range of sporting opportunities make it a very special place.

“The boys play rugby from September to December and we have four dedicated pitches over that time including our first team pitch. In January, February and March they become lacrosse pitches for the girls. The boys play hockey from January through the March and the girls play hockey from September to December.

In other words we play hockey all the way through winter, it just swaps from boys to girls.,” explained Tim.

And that’s just rugby and hockey over the winter.

“In summer those pitches are swapped to athletics. We put down a 300 metre track and have a guy who comes in and marks it out for us. It would take us quite a long time but he comes in and does it in a day for us.”

Style and flair to spare

Style and flair to spare

The cricket, football and golf are played a little further away on the estate and could take a 400 metre track but logistically it is a little more inaccessible.

The wonderful rolling countryside of Perthshire is genuinely lovely, but not for sports pitches and many of the Glenalmond pitches have had to be levelled, some many many years ago.

“One of our pitches was created by digging up on one side and filling in the other and, on our cricket pitch, one side of it has completely different soil to the other.

“Earlier this year was when we had the MCC playing here and they had a cracking day, but it poured down in the evening and for the tournament the next day we had to pull the boundary in by five metres because there was a pool of water on one side from the overnight rain.”

What solutions are possible?

“You really have to live with the problem as you can’t really change it through the season. We can create secondary drainage to link to the primary and that is something we will look at, but it’s not really been an issue until the last 12 months when it hasn’t stopped raining. We’ve not had a week when it’s not rained since June last year.”

Being one of the most northerly premier educational establishments in the country does carry its issues and Tim has known times when there was snow a metre deep on the astro pitches. There is nothing to do but wait for the thaw in those circumstances as you can’t push 100 metres of snow to the back of the pitch when you only have five metres of space.

“We do have snow clearers. Living in a town the council comes round and clears it but not up here.

I do the surrounds and the roads to the college to enable students, teachers, food deliveries, medical etc. You have got to have access,” said Tim, who lives on site.

The golf course is nine holes with 18 tees, but don’t go thinking this is nothing more than an afterthought. It is a serious golf course as befits one designed by the great James Braid, who has Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Dalmahoy and Lundin Links included among his canon of work.

There can’t be too many students who have such a course at their beck and call but it does cause Tim and his team, with their fleet of machines logistical issues.

The weather does cause issues with the day-to-day maintenance schedules at the college.

“If the weather, or rather when the weather, causes problems it can knock out the scheduling of equipment and we can find that our triple mower or greens mower can be in the wrong place. To get from the 5th hole at the far end of the golf course to the other side of the estate is close to two miles so even getting people there and back is time consuming.

“We have the same mowers sharing different tasks around the site and if it’s wet we can miss our window for mowing certain areas and that can have a knock on effect and a big catch up to do. It can be quite awkward,” explained Tim.

“Sometimes we have to adapt and do the best job we can even if all we have access to is a different machine.

For example, the golf course and the cricket field is cut at 15 mil but if all we have is the roller deck mower we can cut at 20 mil, so at least we can get fairly close to what we need until we can get back with the correct mower for the task,” explained Tim, who is also the College mechanic.

Self-taught, he had a passion for mechanics harking back to the time when as a young boy he used to dismantle his dad’s lawnmower, usually just as he was about to put it to good use.

“I enjoy diagnosing the problems and finding out what needs to be done. The more you do the more you learn and I’ve built up a good range of tools. Most of our machines are second hand so warranties aren’t an issue and with me doing the work it saves massively in downtime as I can fix many problems in hours rather than machines being taken away to be repaired.”

The two latest additions to Glenalmond’s sporting portfolio is mountain biking and archery with brand new track for the former just completed at the end of May.

Believed to be the first bespoke mountain bike track at any school in the country it came as a result of the success of another OG. Charlie Aldridge recently won the World Under-23 Championship and he featured, strongly in the first two laps as it happens, in the remarkable Olympic race won by now double Olympic Champion Tom Pidcock.

Charlie eventually finished a very creditable eighth in the race but the Glenalmond track, which will soon be extended, will be something else for which he is known.

“The college has got to reflect modern day pursuits and mountain biking is not something which we would have considered 20 years ago but is now firmly established as an Olympic sport,” said Tim, who added that the guy who teaches the mountain biking is the same one who teaches bush craft and survival skills.

“It is very popular with the summer camps and the scouts who visit. It’s very Bear Grylls.”

Tim arrived at the college nine years ago having moved to Scotland from initially Manchester, but latterly Whaley Bridge, in Derbyshire, where he had his own jewellery business, hence his engraving and clock repairing expertise. Looking for a complete change, once arriving north of the border he trained to be a tree surgeon and worked in the capacity for six or seven years before applying for the job at Glenalmond.

Initially appointed Deputy Head of Grounds he took on the main role within a year and hasn’t looked back since.

Style and flair to spare

Style and flair to spare

“The challenges of the job can provide us with variation, even if they do cause headaches. It’s never dull. With such a big area to maintain there is a vast variety of tasks to do whether than be pulling out weeds to carrying out major tree work and everything in between.

“We usually lose one or two trees a year but when Storm Arwen came through we lost something in the region of 250 and we’ve still not been able to get to every one of those.

It’s a mammoth task,” said Tim, but again the college is lucky in having a qualified tree surgeon to carry out the work safely and professionally.

“We’ve got amenity areas, woodland areas, we’ve got the bike track and all the different sports in play which are so different. That is one of the main attractions of the job for me,” explained Tim, who was Javelin Class National Sailing Champion in 1998 and who still sails as a hobby, but now in a larger boat.

He is indebted to his small but hard-working team.

“The team is fantastic and all work really hard and I really appreciate the work that they do and the effort they put in. When you think about it with holidays we are only really working with five people for most of the year,” said Tim, who has recently returned to work after a knee replacement.

With that human Swiss Army Knife leading them, the Glenalmond College grounds team will continue to make the most of every minute of every day to ensure the estate remains as spectacular as ever.

New kids on the block

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New kids on the block: Scott MacCallum speaks with the three men responsible for the GroundsFest event which made such an impact on the industry last year and which is about to take another step forward in its second year.

If there was an industry-wide award for Best Newcomer for 2023 I don’t doubt that there wouldn’t be much complaint if it went to GroundsFest.

New kids on the block

New kids on the block

The two-day indoor/outdoor trade show, with a music festival in between, proved to be a big hit, so much so that the second edition of GroundsFest in September is already promising to be a much bigger version than the first, with record numbers of exhibitors, and even more brands, on display.

That GroundsFest hit the ground running at Olympic speed is credit to the team whose vision it was, and whose hard work it was, turned a good idea on paper into a wonderful event in reality in the grounds of the Stoneleigh Park, in Warwickshire.

Chris Bassett, Chris Bennett and Charles Neale are the three men who trusted their beliefs and launched a new show into what many had already described as a crowded market.

They took time to talk with Turf Matters a few weeks ahead of the second GroundsFest.

Turf Matters (TM): How did the idea and concept of GroundsFest come up in the first place?

Chris Bassett: We instructed an independent third party to carry out market research surveying the thoughts of potential exhibitors and visitors. We actually looked at other options, from a series of road shows, to having one national show but moving it around the country. However, based on the research we opted for one national show in the middle of the country. Then, after looking at around a dozen potential venues, including some abandoned airfields, we identified Stoneleigh as offering the best range of indoor and outdoor space. We wanted an event which was beneficial to not just the visitors but the exhibitors as well and as a result we were able to come up with a price point for indoor and outdoor what was cost effective for the exhibitors.

TM: The industry has long urged for the two main shows – BTME and SALTEX – to combine to create one show. You’ve come along with a third show. How did you persuade the industry that a third show was something that they should entertain?

Chris Bennett: I don’t think we needed to persuade them as the research we carried out showed that there was such an overwhelming appetite for what GroundsFest was offering. All the stats, all the feedback, pointed to an event that was held in September and which had a mix of indoor and outdoor space. It was what the industry wanted.

New kids on the block

New kids on the block

Charles Neale: When it came to our year one launch we had just shy of 15,000 square metres of booked space, which goes to highlight the backing we had from the start. And bear in mind that came about with us starting our planning and selling the show in just 11 months. Again I think that backs up the need for a show of our type.

TM: Were there any alarm bells clanging from the fact that others had tried to launch events and show without real success?

CBass: Well we do like a challenge, and to prove people wrong. It is fair to say that had we not carried out the extensive research in the first place we wouldn’t have done what we have done. Ok, it’s one thing to get the research, it’s another thing to get people to start backing you. But it quickly snowballed and we had a great response from the industry. We had a busy couple of months out on the road talking to as many people as possible and we found we had a lot of support. Some manufacturers did sit on the fence for the first year and sent dealers to see how it went. As it proved to be a good show they are coming back this time as manufacturers rather than sending their dealers.

CBenn: The team behind GroundsFest is very well known within the industry and has vast exhibition experience so that helped to give people confidence that we could actually deliver an event as well.

TM: How did you come about the time of year and the date for the Show?

CBass: Again that was all down to the research. There were three key times that stood out – November/December, January and then September – and September was the standout choice if we wanted to have an outdoor element to the show. Although the way the weather is changing at the moment, and what we faced that first day last year, nothing is certain! We also didn’t want to clash with the existing shows.

New kids on the block

New kids on the block

TM: Logistically, how do you go about putting on a new show? Do you wait until sales come in and then secure space, or do you secure the space and then seek to fill it?

CN: More of the latter really. On other exhibitions I’ve worked on I’ve preferred to sell off plan because I prefer the exhibitor to have a choice rather than have them send in their dimensions and drop them into the plan. I think it works better that way. We had a plan in mind in year one but it did change quite considerably from that original plan to accommodate the numbers who wished to book. How we have grown from even then to now is fantastic.

TM: What were the hiccups and hurdles you faced going into that first GroundsFest? You can reveal them to us now!

CBass: The biggest hiccup was definitely the weather. Obviously I died on my sword a bit by saying that our research had shown that September was the driest and best month for the show, and then we had a hurricane on the first day which wasn’t ideal for the launch. But in a funny way it actually worked in our favour. When, despite the awful weather at the start, the doors opened and so many people came through the gates I think the exhibitors where pleased and surprised. I think it brought everyone together.

CBenn: You aren’t going to get a sterner test for a launch event that facing the tail end of a hurricane (Hurricane Nigel) on the very first day.

CN: The wind speeds during build up were 40mph, The day before we had a gazebo fly from one side of the showground to the other.

TM: Talk us through your thoughts that first morning when the rain was tumbling down and the wind was blowing sideways.

CBass: When I opened the curtains in the hotel room and saw the weather I don’t mind telling you I did have a tear running down my cheek. You are praying for decent weather to give yourself the best possible start, especially in the first year, but that wasn’t the case. But the Operations Team was great and the GroundsFest Team was great. We just wanted to make sure that from a customer services point of view we were on point, from the set up to the breakdown. I think we achieved that. We received loads of comments about how great the wider team was and seeing
exhibitors saying that we made it as easy as possible for them for them to exhibit and sell products that was what we wanted to do. We didn’t want exhibitors to have issues while they were there. Whatever issue they did have, we would sort it.

CN: We were out there from minute one in the rain speaking to exhibitors, and that went down really well. Collectively the three of us picked each other up at times during the build up because, we’re not stupid, we had access to weather apps and could see the storm coming. I was down at one point, Chris Bassett, at one point and Chris Bennett at another time. We just kept picking each other up.

CBenn: I don’t sleep at the best of times but I remember looking out the window at the outdoor ring and the rain was coming in, the wind was coming in and there were nerves and anxiety. It wasn’t a nice feeling, but we stuck together and the team spirit really shone through.

TM: At what point did you think that this is going to work?

CBenn: I remember speaking to one exhibitor about 1pm in the afternoon of the first day and he said to me that he’d re-sign right away, just give him the form. I thought then that there was a huge appetite for this show and that people wanted an event like GroundsFest. That was only hours into the show. The second time was at the Festival when we were able to take a step back and as a GroundsFest team, grab a drink and watch the thousand plus people who had stayed on.

CN: About three or weeks after the show when all re-bookings were coming in.

CBass: For me, I knew it was going to be successful a couple of months later when reached the point that we had broken even and we could then begin to give back to the industry in the way of the Education Fund.

TM: What can we expect from GroundsFest 2024?

CBass: It will be bigger and better. We will see a shift towards GroundsFest becoming the national show to attend, We are already the largest show in the industry in terms of exhibitor numbers and brands on show. We have more exhibitors booked than BTME and Saltex combined. It is up to us to prove that we are here to stay, but I believe we are giving exhibitors and visitors a unique concept that no-one else can offer and because of where we pitch our pricing and with our indoor or outdoor options, we are bringing exhibitors back who haven’t been at shows for a number of years.

CN: We’ve increased the show in every way. We have taken all of Hall 1 and moved the Landscape Zone to increase that area. The Grand Ring outdoors area is completely full and we didn’t even take a third of it last year. We have over 17,000 square metres of space taken when last year it was 14,600 square metres. From three or four weeks into re-booking it’s gone crackers. Over 90% re-booked, while we’ve had just shy of 80 new companies who will be joining us this year – as it stands we have 247 exhibitors who will be showing over 500 brands.

CBass: There will be more live demos. Companies have taken bigger plots to be able to demo their products. We’ve got Machinery Nation Live where there will be comparison tests of like-for-like products. We have Grounds Training, both indoor and outdoor, and four seminar theatres will top quality speakers. We’ve moved the Festival to a larger hall and we’re bringing the catering indoors with an indoor seating area too. Due to popular demand we have brought back the Queen tribute band which went down so well, while we have another band and a couple of DJs. We also have Bumper cars which will be great fun.

New kids on the block

New kids on the block

CBenn: It’s not just the show itself. A big part is giving back to the industry and we were delighted, because of the success of year one, that we were able to start the GroundsFest Education Fund straight away. It had been scheduled for after year three but it was always one of the main reasons we launched GroundsFest. We recently went to visit some of the students who benefitted from the fund and it was really rewarding to speak with students who have used the fund to help them on their educational journey. A lot of rural colleges are situated out of the way, so we have helped fund driving lessons for some and been able to provide laptops, literature and allowed students to fund additional qualifications.

CBass: We have also been able to forge some very good relationships with so many of the industry bodies which I believe is crucial. With everyone pulling in the same direction it can only be good for the industry as a whole. We believe that GroundsFest has a key role in that going forward.

TM: Well, thank you all for your time and I hope you have another great show and manage to avoid any offspring of Hurricane Nigel!

GroundsFest 24; Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, September 10 and 11