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Toro fleet expansion for CGM Group

July 13, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Toro fleet expansion for CGM Group: One of the largest grounds maintenance and landscaping firms in the East of England, CGM Group based in Downham Market, Norfolk, has purchased four Toro LT3340 triple flail mowers to aid the 150-strong grounds team operating across East Anglia and the East Midlands for eight months of the year. […]

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

July 13, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’: As the only club in Essex to make it onto the England Top 100 list, Thorndon Park in Ingrave has a reputation to uphold for its putt-perfect greens and feature fairways. A combination of two years of drought, combined with some extensive leatherjacket damage, had done its very best […]

Toro fleet expansion for CGM Group

July 13, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

July 13, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Toro fleet expansion for CGM Group

July 13, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Toro fleet expansion for CGM Group: One of the largest grounds maintenance and landscaping firms in the East of England, CGM Group based in Downham Market, Norfolk, has purchased four Toro LT3340 triple flail mowers to aid the 150-strong grounds team operating across East Anglia and the East Midlands for eight months of the year.

The company started its journey with Toro machines in January 2020. Marcus Glover, operations director at CGM Group, explains: “Our teams are working solidly for two thirds of the year cutting sports pitches and maintaining school sites and commercial grounds.

Toro fleet expansion for CGM Group

“We need machinery we can rely on, machinery that is flexible and adaptable. We are not only faced with a wide range of landscapes and environments, but the weather can apply added pressure to our work, particularly in 2021 when we’ve seen extraordinarily fast grass growth due to the wet and warm weather.

“The performance of the Toro mowers is excellent. We can expect fine finishes on cricket outfields to reliable, neat trimming for clients who require general monthly cuts throughout the season. The flexibility of the range of machines is superb.”

The four new mowers join five existing Toro machines, taking the overall fleet to nine. Famed for perfecting light trimming through to dealing with dense overgrowth, these mowers also come with kerb-climbing ability, making them particularly well suited to municipal sites.

Yet for Marcus, performance was just part of the equation. Marcus continues: “It’s also all about the support and back-up care. Although we’ve had no problems with use, the response time of the workshop is phenomenal. Replacement parts are sourced overnight so I know I’ll have machines back out on the ground the following day. It means that, from an operational perspective, we are working as efficiently as we can.”

Marcus’ experience with the team at Reesink Turfcare, the exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for Toro groundscare machinery, is testament to the importance of a good working relationship and he credits Danny Lake with being “excellent” to deal with.

Danny Lake, area sales rep at Reesink Turfcare, comments: “CGM is one of the biggest grounds contractors in the region so performance and reliability are key. We understand the seasonality of their business and work to support them as best we can with fast-response after-care.”

Marcus concludes by reflecting on the challenges presented by 2021’s unseasonably wet weather: “Now is the optimum time for us. Our busy teams are cutting more than normal due to faster-than-average grass growth and the Toro mowers have supported us brilliantly, performing well in all conditions. It’s that adaptability and reliability that means they are machines we can trust.”

Reesink Turfcare is the exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for Toro groundscare machinery. For further information on the range call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

July 13, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’: As the only club in Essex to make it onto the England Top 100 list, Thorndon Park in Ingrave has a reputation to uphold for its putt-perfect greens and feature fairways.

A combination of two years of drought, combined with some extensive leatherjacket damage, had done its very best to scupper that, but a switch in seeding strategy – from fescue to perennial ryegrass from Johnsons Sports Seed – has seen a recovery of the fairways that Course Manager David Byron can only describe as amazing!

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

When David took over as Course Manager in September 2020, tackling the loss of coverage on the fairways was his first major task. “It’s no exaggeration to say that what we were faced with was really just mud and dust” explains David, who heads up a greens team of nine. “Craig Spooner from DLF came in and conducted a course walk and we decided upon a switch to a bespoke Perennial Ryegrass mixture – featuring Dickens, Chardin, Clementine and Monroe – to give us quick, strong growth and recovery while we rebuild the soil profile – with the aim of later down the line, re-introducing fescue species.”

Ideally suited for the renovation of high traffic areas, perennial ryegrass delivers improved drought tolerance, high disease resistance and excellent year-round colour, and importantly for David, fast recovery. “We first sowed the Rye fairway mix in September so we’re less than a year into the programme and we have recovered all our fairways – in fact, coverage across the whole course is currently fantastic.”

“We’ve been using Johnsons’ J Tee on our tees for the last few years and that always performs well, and on the greens it’s J All Bent which was last sown at the end of May and this has given us a great initial strike.” While David is delighted with results course-wide, the club’s determination to rise even higher in the ranks means mixtures are always being reviewed and assessed with the STRI ratings. “We can be assured with table-topping cultivars that with Johnsons, we’re going to be getting the tolerances and resistances we need to always be improving.”

David concludes, “The Johnsons mixtures are also backed up with fantastic technical support, both from Craig and Richard Lewis at our distributor Indigrow. The support network and after-care advice we get is worth more to me than saving a few quid here and there on product. Buying into Johnsons you get the complete package.”

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

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Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

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Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’

Johnsons Perennial Rye mix hailed ‘amazing’: As the only club in Essex to make it onto the England Top 100 list, Thorndon Park in Ingrave has a reputation to uphold for its putt-perfect greens and feature fairways.

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