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Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

September 28, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham: The rise of battery-powered machinery has impressed Richard Dexter, Head of Grounds and Gardens at Oakham School, but he believes “Dennis Mowers has gone one step further and made it even better.” Oakham School, based in Rutland, East Midlands, is a vibrant, fully co-educational boarding and day school for 10–18-year-olds. […]

Deere keeps park in great shape

September 27, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Louise Parratt

Deere keeps park in great shape: Multi award-winning Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) attracts half a million visitors annually to its 500-acre estate near Wakefield. Fashioned around 18th century Bretton Hall, the Grade II listed historic park and garden features 100 sculptures and installations scattered across the valley destination, with north and south sides sloping down […]

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

September 28, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Deere keeps park in great shape

September 27, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Louise Parratt

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Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

September 28, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham: The rise of battery-powered machinery has impressed Richard Dexter, Head of Grounds and Gardens at Oakham School, but he believes “Dennis Mowers has gone one step further and made it even better.”

Oakham School, based in Rutland, East Midlands, is a vibrant, fully co-educational boarding and day school for 10–18-year-olds. The school’s strengths lie in the spectacularly wide range of academic and co-curricular opportunities provided.

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Sport has always been an essential part of Oakham School life and it has an enviable reputation for excellent coaching and mentoring in a variety of sports. Equally impressive and highly regarded are the sports facilities and stunning grounds which equate to just over 75 acres.

Richard Dexter is the man responsible for maintaining these areas. Originally from a greenkeeping background, Richard joined the school 15 years ago and, in that time, he has worked his way up to the position of Head of Grounds and Gardens.

According to Richard, it was the “variety of all the different sports surfaces”’ which enticed him away from greenkeeping. He admits to having his work cut out but wouldn’t have it any other way.

With a team of ten groundstaff to oversee, health and safety is of the utmost importance, and it is for this reason that Richard started exploring the possibility of battery-powered equipment.

“We wanted to reduce hand-arm vibrations (HAVs) across the site and make sure that staff were getting as little exposure as possible,” he said. “Also, as a school, we are looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint at every opportunity. Therefore, we felt the time had come to purchase electric mowers and we looked at two different brands.

“I wanted the rest of the team involved in the decision because they are the ones using the mowers. I took on-board their feedback and every one of them said they wanted the Dennis – I’ve never seen them smile so much. The battery-life on the Dennis E-Series was the big game-changer.”

For many years, turf professionals have been choosing Dennis for their superb cut quality and reliability, and recently the company introduced the next generation of its mowers. The new and exciting E-Series is a range of battery powered mowers that are no compromise alternatives to the range of petrol machines which meet sustainability and environmental initiatives, reduce carbon footprint, emissions, running costs and noise without any range anxiety.

Richard and his team decided on two mowers from the E-Series range – the Dennis ES-860 and the Dennis ES-510.

Users of the Dennis G860 cylinder mower will no doubt see familiarities in the new ES-860. This 34” battery powered turf management system delivers maximum versatility and the range of 13 interchangeable cassette options provide a solution to many day-to-day maintenance tasks.

This ES-510 is based on the Dennis FT510. With a choice of 12 interchangeable cassettes, the ES-510 is capable of scarifying down to -10mm. Ideal for fine turf it has the power to cut 10km on a single charge.

Both mowers feature a robust LCD keypad screen on the handlebar console providing the operator with a multitude of information options including speed, clip rate, service checks, lifetime running reports and battery information. Furthermore, traditional G860 and FT510 cassettes will also fit their battery-powered alternatives, meaning that customers will not have to purchase additional cassettes.

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Richard and the Oakham team use the ES-860 on the cricket squares and the ES-510 on the wickets, and he revealed that they give him a certain peace of mind.

“The squares are about a hectare in size and normally that uses about 35% battery, and most times we cut them twice with the ES-860 before charging. It is peace of mind because you don’t want to get caught short while mowing – it is a long walk to our charging station!

“Depending on the weather we will use the ES-860 to cut the squares from 18mm down to 13mm and it gives us a perfect finish. We’ll also use the verticutter cassette every ten days on the squares but with the ES-510 we’ll give the wickets a verticut every time we prepare them. I also like the easy height of cut adjustment which is achieved in just a couple of clicks.

“It is a really nice experience using these mowers,” continued Richard. “They are both enjoyable to use, and that quietness is amazing. If children are in classes, we don’t have to worry about noisy engines disturbing them.

“Battery equipment has come a long way in the last few years, but I believe Dennis has gone a step further and made it even better. We no longer have to wear ear defenders, have no nasty vibrations or noise. Electric is no longer the future, it’s the now.”

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 and 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

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Deere keeps park in great shape

September 27, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Louise Parratt

Deere keeps park in great shape: Multi award-winning Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) attracts half a million visitors annually to its 500-acre estate near Wakefield.

Fashioned around 18th century Bretton Hall, the Grade II listed historic park and garden features 100 sculptures and installations scattered across the valley destination, with north and south sides sloping down to two ornamental lakes.

Deere keeps park in great shape

This year YSP celebrates its 45th anniversary. The Park opens every day except 24 and 25 December, so the eight-strong grounds team knows the work to keep presentation pristine rolls on relentlessly.

Diverse demand across the Park stretches from amenity grass and close-mown turf to formal gardens, arb work, water management and even a living roof on The Underground Galley, notes Mark Chesman, Head of Estates and Projects, who started life here as a landscape co-ordinator.

“Exhibitions and events run year-round,” he says, “and visitors expect everything to look clean, tidy and well-maintained to set the sculptures off in their best light.”

Handling the scale of the park’s upkeep depends on minimal machinery downtime and helping the team in that capacity is a full, flexible service agreement with local John Deere dealer Balmers GM.

A longstanding Deere customer, YSP had no hesitation moving across to Balmers when it opened a branch locally in 2015 after the previous dealer closed.

“All the Deere kit is exceptionally reliable,” Mark says. “Balmers are just a phone call away if we have any snags and they respond swiftly with fast turnaround on machine replacements.”

The cost of the annual service, undertaken in autumn/winter when summer’s heavy footfall lightens, is spread over 12 months, “which helps improve cashflow and gives us added peace of mind in knowing what the outlay will be”, Mark adds. “We replace older machinery as and when we need to, with new Deere units, such as our wide area and front deck mowers, covered by JD Powergard protection.”

The fleet of five diesel Gator TH 6x4s does the donkey work of transporting equipment, tools, material and green waste around the park. “The tipping facility is particularly useful, while the Gator’s six tyres ensure lower ground impact in the more sensitive areas of the site,” Mark says.

Under his mission to switch over to electric tools and machinery, Mark has started the process by adding a Gator TE to the fleet. “Our environmental policy and action plan is designed to reduce fossil fuel use and minimise our impact on the climate,” he explains.

“The Gator TE delivers zero emissions, has less vibration and is cheaper to run because it is a far simpler vehicle – just a battery and motor. It’s charged up overnight using a three-pin plug and we get a full day’s work on that – particularly important because of the size of the Park.”

Covering the 30 hectares of grassed open space around the hall is the JD 1600 turbo mower, with front and two side decks, supported by a 1580 ride-on collector mower, which Mark says is “a fantastic machine that comes into its own at the start and end of the season and to ensure the Park is tip-top for exhibitions”. Summer and other peak periods see the Deere mowers on duty trimming the overflow car park, meanwhile.

Under Balmers’ aftercare service, the park team attend an on-site induction programme when new machinery is delivered, followed by an in-house equivalent that includes a rundown on tyre checks and grease points, ensuring everyone’s fully competent.

John Deere’s 997 zero-turn ride-on handles the critical cutting in confined spaces, Mark says. “We want to be able to operate in ever tighter areas, as the complexity of maintaining the park rises. The 997 is coming up for replacement so we’ll be discussing options with Balmers soon.”

For some work, machinery and tools cannot replace the age-old traditional methods, Mark explains. “The team has to keep a safe distance from the sculptures when using ride-ons.

“Close cutting is completed with hand shears as we cannot risk even the slightest chip on any of the artworks.”

YSP includes works by British and international artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore (one of the largest open-air displays of his bronzes in Europe).

The Park manages a stand of historic woodland of high conservation value that numbers native species such as oak, ash, beech and hornbeam, with some veteran specimens estimated to be more than 300 years old.

“All trees on the estate are surveyed regularly. We have 2,000 parkland individuals, excluding the woodland,” says Mark. “Our longstanding arborists, Earnshaws, manage the large mature trees, while everyone is qualified to complete ground level work up to 380mm.”

With a board of trustees whose members include the present Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, YSP has every opportunity to wax lyrical about its many qualities but Mark does a pretty good job himself.

“This is a wonderful place to work and members of staff tend to stay here a long time [Mark himself has clocked up 17 years] to face the everyday challenges of what is a complex though beautiful place.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Deere keeps park in great shape

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Deere keeps park in great shape

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham: The rise of battery-powered machinery has impressed Richard Dexter, Head of Grounds and Gardens at Oakham School, but he believes “Dennis Mowers has gone one step further and made it even better.”

Deere keeps park in great shape

Deere keeps park in great shape: Multi award-winning Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) attracts half a million visitors annually to its 500-acre estate near Wakefield.

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