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Cultivating new turf technologies

September 28, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Pooja Kamat

Cultivating new turf technologies: Rolawn is furthering its commitment to the future of turf growing by calling on its history for new ways to overcome the industry’s biggest challenges. Rolawn, the UK’s market-leading supplier of turf and topsoil, thrives on innovation, a culture that was initiated in 1975 by the founding members of the family-run […]

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. […]

Cultivating new turf technologies

September 28, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Pooja Kamat

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

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

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Cultivating new turf technologies

September 28, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Pooja Kamat

Cultivating new turf technologies: Rolawn is furthering its commitment to the future of turf growing by calling on its history for new ways to overcome the industry’s biggest challenges.

Rolawn, the UK’s market-leading supplier of turf and topsoil, thrives on innovation, a culture that was initiated in 1975 by the founding members of the family-run business and that continues to inform the research and development which keeps Rolawn’s turf production at the forefront of the industry today.

Cultivating new turf technologies

Whether investing in state-of-the-art equipment or developing and building its own cutting-edge technology, Rolawn applies the depth of knowledge gained during its 47-year history, to meet and exceed the needs of the market and to drive the turf industry forward. Farming an extensive acreage of turf, Rolawn supplies to the domestic, amenity, landscape and house building markets and considers consistent upgrades to its turf growing process part of its commitment to quality, its customers, and the environment.

The expertise and experience Rolawn have in turf growing informs and drives much of the pioneering technology that is developed at the company’s Yorkshire-based facilities. Expert engineers at Rolawn are kept busy, devising, and developing leading-edge equipment to address and adapt to the ever-changing challenges as they arise. In-house projects include producing the world’s largest turf pneumatic seed drill, developing the patented ProFresh^®system as a unique way to tackle sod heating and, what is believed to be, the UK’s largest turf roll harvester.

As part of its growing fleet of vehicles, Rolawn has invested in an impressive line-up of sophisticated machinery including the Trebro AutoStack 3 harvester and a range of Fendt tractors. The machinery brings considerable benefits to production, particularly in improving Rolawn’s accuracy and efficiency.

Seed Drill Mark 2

Designed and engineered in-house, the Seed Drill Mark 2 has greatly enhanced Rolawn’s sowing process and is considered the secret to its seeding success. Specially selected, best quality grass seed is sown by the drill, using a multi-directional pattern to ensure weak spots are eliminated, providing a higher grade of turf. The drill’s dual seed application and its ability to level the ground provides unrivalled seed distribution which has resulted in improved establishment.

The pneumatic seed drill was entirely built by the Rolawn fabrication team and is believed to be the most advanced pneumatic turf seed drill in the country.

The Trebro AutoStack 3

Described as “the most refined, high-production machine on the market,” the AutoStack 3 from Trebro is an important addition to Rolawn’s fleet as it offers innovative features that set it apart from other turf harvesters on the market. Having already invested in the Trebro-TSR turf harvester, Rolawn is the first in Europe to have the Montana-made AutoStack 3, believing that it helps reinforce their commitment to quality and attention to detail.

The technology of this machine matches the ambitions of Rolawn, bringing the benefits of its many features, including sophisticated cutterhead accuracy and depth control, precise roll-up process, articulated steering for manoeuvrability, dual harvesting capabilities and improved weight distribution, which have allowed Rolawn to further increase productivity and build on the superior quality of the turf it grows.

Fendt Tractors

Rolawn uses three Fendt 314 machines. The power to weight ratio and onboard technology of the 314s offers improved accuracy when mowing, creating fewer scalpings and resulting in a better-quality product. With the aim of 60 hectares of mowing per tractor per day, this is now achievable with the flexibility and geared forward speed these Fendt machines offer.

Fuel consumption of the 314s is another distinct advantage. The AGCO engine, with Dynamic Performance power boost concept, helps the 314 reach 152 horsepower with lower emissions, being far superior on fuel and AdBlue than other tractors.

Rolawn’s fleet also includes the Fendt 516 tractor, which incorporates revolutionary live, real time grass plant analysis linked by sprayer and applicator control systems. This technology allows Rolawn to optimise field outputs, such as fertilisers, which has led to marked improvements in quality with reduced environmental impact.

All the Fendt machines Rolawn operates have been specifically chosen to boost efficiency and offer better overall turf consistency. Its move to Fendt machines has been “a real eye-opener” for the business and it intends to add more to its fleet in the future.

Commenting on the innovative turf growing approach at Rolawn, Jonathan Hill, sales director said:

“The consistent, superior quality of our turf is no accident. It is the result of years of research, refinement, and improvement. We are meticulous about the equipment and technology we introduce, investing time and money to ensure each element introduced positively contributes to the turf growing process and the quality of the product for our customers.

“We’re all driven by something,” Jonathan continues, “At Rolawn we are driven by innovation, by the desire to solve the ever-changing challenges faced by landscapers, groundskeepers, stockists, house builders and home owners, and to do it in a responsible way that limits our impact on the environment.

“We stand behind each and every one of our products, we take pride in our turf and we’re confident that it’s the technology, processes and people we put in place that make our products so exceptional.”

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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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Cultivating new turf technologies

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Cultivating new turf technologies

Dennis E-Series Excites at Oakham

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Cultivating new turf technologies

Cultivating new turf technologies: Rolawn is furthering its commitment to the future of turf growing by calling on its history for new ways to overcome the industry’s biggest challenges.

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.”

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