Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Kubota Build For The Future

November 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Katja Benischke

Kubota Build For The Future: £1.2 million has been invested by leading machinery manufacturer Kubota UK to enhance operational performance and continue to set the highest health and safety standards at its UK headquarters in Thame. The investment, part of the Kubota UK’s commitment to provide its customers with a first class service offering, includes expanding […]

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course

November 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Mike Isherwood

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course: Europe’s largest ever Supercross course in a stadium has been built using Bobcat compact equipment, in unusual and demanding conditions. JLFO built the track for the Paris SX leg of the French ‘SX TOUR’ Supercross Championship in the versatile new U Arena in Nanterre in the outskirts of Paris, which was […]

Kubota Build For The Future

November 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Katja Benischke

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course

November 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Mike Isherwood

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Kubota Build For The Future

November 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Katja Benischke

The investment, part of the Kubota UK’s commitment to provide its customers with a first class service offering, includes expanding its office and meeting room space by renovating a previous storage building into state-of-the-art office facilities. The Thame site has also had groundworks resurfacing completed to enhance traffic flow around the site, as well as refurbishment works carried out to its industry leading Training Academy and Research & Development (R&D) centre.

The improvements also include a new cantilever racking system that will help streamline its inventory, offer more space to hold stock and help maintain its ‘first in, first out’ (FIFO) supply method. In turn, customers will experience an even better service, ensuring they receive the required machinery parts exactly when they need them and in the best condition.

Supply Chain Manager at Kubota UK, Solly Wilson, said: “The investment into our operations at Thame is a great example of our commitment to future proofing our business, ensuring the right infrastructure is in place and that we are always operating efficiently and safely. By doing so, we can maintain the highest levels of service that we provide our customers.

“The new office and meeting spaces for example give us the opportunity to continue to grow and evolve as a business. In the last 12 months, staff numbers at Thame have increased, highlighting the need for additional capacity.

“The new cantilever racking system also means we are far better equipped to allocate, monitor and transport products more effectively. FIFO is a widely-known supply chain method where stock is rotated quickly so that no item sits in the warehouse for too long. If this process isn’t maintained to the highest standard, stock can spend significant periods of time on the shelf, taking up valuable space and potentially becoming obsolete, causing cost issues. It’s simple in theory, but each product has its own unique characteristics that will affect the overall operation depending on how well it’s dealt with.

“With this in mind, it’s vital that we’re able to operate at maximum capacity, not only from an operations point of view, but also from a customers, who need their orders delivered in a timely fashion and in first class condition.”

For more information on Kubota UK and its extensive range of heavy machinery solutions, visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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

Follow us on Twitter 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.

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course

November 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Mike Isherwood

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course: Europe’s largest ever Supercross course in a stadium has been built using Bobcat compact equipment, in unusual and demanding conditions.

JLFO built the track for the Paris SX leg of the French ‘SX TOUR’ Supercross Championship in the versatile new U Arena in Nanterre in the outskirts of Paris, which was opened in October 2017. This event had been held for more than 30 years at the Palais Omnisports venue in Paris Bercy, before relocating for the last three years to the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascq.

To build the track for the Paris SX held on 18-19 November, JLFO teams employed a fleet of machines including three Bobcat compact loaders, a Bobcat compact excavator and a Doosan wheeled excavator to move and shape nearly 4000 m³ of soil to prepare the largest Supercross course ever completed inside a stadium in Europe.

JFLO, Supercross Track Specialist

Based in La Bastide-l’Eveque in France, JLFO specializes in organising events in the car, motorbike and quad bike sectors. With more than 200 major events to its credit, JLFO has forged a strong reputation in the construction of off-road tracks for car, motorbike and quad bike racing, as well as handling all of the logistics to accompany the events.

Many Constraints

The work of the Bobcat and Doosan machines in Paris comes off the back of the Supercross SX events held the last three years in Lille, where the JLFO teams had used a fleet of Bobcat equipment to meet the challenge presented by only three days being available for assembly of the track and just one night for the disassembly, skillfully handling thousands of cubic metres of earth, while at the same time protecting any grass surfaces.

The challenge of installing the track for the Paris Supercross SX in the U Arena was just as immense. The deadlines were the same with three nights for building the track and only one night to dismantle it. The first job was to protect the lawn and the soil during the weekend. The construction of the track also had to be done at night by the teams in Nanterre. So for three nights, JLFO teams were mobilized to deliver the soil and build the slopes, bumps and other obstacles as required for the track. The Supercross course was finalised on the Thursday before the event, with pilot tests carried out on the Friday. The biggest challenge was dismantling the track overnight on between the end of Sunday and Monday. No less than five earthmovers were used, including a Bobcat E62 compact excavator, two Bobcat T870 loaders, a Bobcat T650 loader and a Doosan DX165W-5 wheeled excavator.

Nearly 4000 m³ of Soil

The volume of soil used to prepare the track was considerable: comprising nearly 4000 m³ on a floor area of 10.000 m². The soil was transported in ten 20 tonne trucks from a location in Aubervilliers, six kilometres from the U Arena. The soil was spread in five layers by the Bobcat compact excavators and loaders to create the bumps and hollows of the track. Only the Freestyle bump was an intrinsic structure in itself, which saved about 400 m³ of soil – it was also covered with earth.

Jean-Luc Fouchet, Founding President of JLFO, explained: “Our three Bobcat T650 and T870 loaders and the Bobcat E62 compact excavator allow us to work with the utmost efficiency. When you make a hump in the track, you can climb on it and compact it. We can modulate it and we do not need another machine. With compact track loaders, you can quickly move to stand back, look at the shape and correct it if necessary,”

The Bobcat T870 loaders are the largest loaders the brand has ever made. To achieve the feat of preparing and dismantling the track in such a short time, JLFO used three experienced Bobcat drivers. For the duration of the event, Bobcat loaders and compact excavators were at work for the regular repair of the track after the races.

In total, a team of 70 people completed the assembly of the SX track in Paris over three nights and for the disassembly over the last night. The event welcomed over 40,000 spectators on the Saturday and Sunday. As an operational partner, Bobcat invited some of its customers to attend the show over the weekend.

The team was mobilized again on Monday 20 November in Lyon for the next stage of the SX Tour championship. As well as Lyon and Paris, Bobcat is also partnering with JLFO to prepare the Supercross tracks at the Montpellier and Amnéville events that form part of the Championship.

For more information on Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit www.bobcat.com

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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

Follow us on Twitter 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)

Kubota Build For The Future

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course

Kubota Build For The Future

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Kubota Build For The Future

Bobcat Equipment On Supercross Course

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT