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Technology pays off for Gleneagles

July 22, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

Technology pays off for Gleneagles: As Gleneagles enters the fifth year of its partnership agreement with John Deere, its adoption of the latest precision spraying and mowing technology is paying off across the estate’s world-famous championship courses, The King’s, Queen’s and PGA Centenary, plus the 9-hole Wee Course. The award-winning luxury destination in Perthshire holds […]

Putting service first with Makita

July 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Ellie Toner

Putting service first with Makita: In a move that reaffirms its commitment to delivering outstanding customer service, leading power tool manufacturer, Makita UK is delighted to unveil its new Factory Service Centre (FSC) in Blakelands, Milton Keynes. Makita UK has relocated its Milton Keynes Factory Service Centre site (located at the company’s headquarters), to a […]

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

July 22, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

Putting service first with Makita

July 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Ellie Toner

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Technology pays off for Gleneagles

July 22, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

Technology pays off for Gleneagles: As Gleneagles enters the fifth year of its partnership agreement with John Deere, its adoption of the latest precision spraying and mowing technology is paying off across the estate’s world-famous championship courses, The King’s, Queen’s and PGA Centenary, plus the 9-hole Wee Course.

The award-winning luxury destination in Perthshire holds a unique position in golf as the first European venue to have hosted both The Ryder Cup (in 2014) and Solheim Cup (in 2019). John Deere was the official golf course and turf maintenance equipment supplier to Gleneagles for the latter event, with tournament support provided by local supplying dealer Double A at Cupar.

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

The next professional tournament scheduled at Gleneagles takes place in July 2022, when The King’s Course will host The Senior Open Presented by Rolex for the first time. This will be Europe’s only Senior Major Championship next year.

Gleneagles Director of Agronomy and Estates Scott Fenwick says: “We’re anticipating a great tournament next summer, particularly as The King’s Course also hosted what was then the Bells Scottish Open from 1987 to 1994. Hopefully a lot of the big-name golfers from that era will be able to play the course again, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Gleneagles.”

Scott Fenwick recently took delivery of the latest additions to Gleneagles’ extensive John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet, including the ProGator-based GPS PrecisionSprayer, WAM 1600T and 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough and finishing mowers, plus nine TS & TX Series Gator utility vehicles.

“We were the first UK golf course to receive a prototype of the GPS PrecisionSprayer for assessment, from the start of the John Deere contract,” says Scott. “We were able to do a lot of testing with it over three seasons, to help John Deere evaluate the machine in true commercial conditions.

“Accuracy is key for everything we do at Gleneagles. We were also one of the first golf venues in the UK to achieve GEO Certified status, and the environmental credentials of our business are very important to us. To be able to spray only target areas is obviously much better from an environmental point of view. We are now able to apply around 12 to 14 per cent less chemical at lower total volumes of water, which also means lower costs, so it’s a big win all round.

“Although autonomous technology is well established in agriculture, it’s new to our side of the industry. Once you get used to not having to steer the machine and allowing it to do everything automatically, it’s very operator friendly. Testing the sprayer over an extended period meant we could be sure that it did what it was supposed to do and have full confidence in the results.”

Precision is a feature of the A model mowers that Gleneagles uses, with the machines set up using the TechControl system so that they mow and turn at exact speeds. This helps give a consistent finish across all courses.

“This is particularly important on a big site like ours, with a 50-plus strong greenkeeping and gardens team and a lot of equipment,” Scott adds. “Every operator has a slightly different approach and feel, but with so many mowers being used by different people every day, we need to achieve consistency.

“Since joining Gleneagles three years ago our Golf Courses Manager, Craig Haldane, has been instrumental in bringing the golf and gardens staff together to operate as one team across all the courses and grounds. This has meant we can manage and direct operations and the equipment fleet much more efficiently, and it has also improved communications and the use of resources.

“Overall the new John Deere fleet is now in a really good place. It’s also been great for morale that even though the hotel had to close during lockdown, the business has continued to invest in the new machinery we need to maintain the courses to the highest standards.”

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Putting service first with Makita

July 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Ellie Toner

Putting service first with Makita: In a move that reaffirms its commitment to delivering outstanding customer service, leading power tool manufacturer, Makita UK is delighted to unveil its new Factory Service Centre (FSC) in Blakelands, Milton Keynes.

Makita UK has relocated its Milton Keynes Factory Service Centre site (located at the company’s headquarters), to a new, larger location to house regional servicing activity. The new 20,000-sqft premises in Blakelands, which is scheduled to officially open on April 6^th, will enable Makita to bolster its customer repair and service support commitments and completes a portfolio of three dedicated centres in London, Glasgow and Milton Keynes.

Putting service first with Makita

Makita’s Factory Service Centres deliver an exceptional service and repair offering for end-users. Products covered under the company’s warranty agreement can be posted (by arranging a collection) or dropped off (with prior booking), at each FSC for Makita’s technical experts and engineers to perform product servicing, detailed diagnostics and high standards of repair work when needed.

With a focus on improving levels of technical knowledge across the construction sector, the new larger premises in Blakelands will also be used to host Makita UK accredited service training, as well as Authorised Service Agents (ASA) workshops and seminars. Furthermore, Makita will use the new site to host apprenticeship training sessions focusing on the electrical and mechanical service requirements of Makita tools.

Speaking on the FSC opening, Tony Coleman, Technical Manager at Makita UK commented: “Opening this new, larger site is testament to the growing popularity of our tools, as well as our long-lasting commitment to delivering exceptional customer support. We’re now in a better position than ever to deal with service and repair demands, as well as to promote high-quality industry training. The spacious new centre also provides us with ample opportunity to continue growing our operations as we look to develop into new sectors and industries.”

All three of Makita’s FSC sites are currently following COVID-19 guidelines and customers are advised to follow the most up-to date guidance on arranging servicing or repairs, published on the company’s website.

For more information about Makita’s FSC sites, services and procedures please visit: www.makitauk.com/factory-service-centres

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)

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

Putting service first with Makita

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

Putting service first with Makita

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

Putting service first with Makita

Putting service first with Makita: In a move that reaffirms its commitment to delivering outstanding customer service, leading power tool manufacturer, Makita UK is delighted to unveil its new Factory Service Centre (FSC) in Blakelands, Milton Keynes.

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