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Reading FC Have A Pitch Fit For Royals

September 28, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by John Simpson

Reading Have A Pitch Fit For Royals Thanks To Ground-Breaking SISGrass Technology: The Madejski Stadium becomes first venue with dual-use pitch to experience added durability of SIS Pitches’ advanced hybrid system. Reading FC have become the first UK sports club with a dual-use pitch to install the revolutionary SISGrass hybrid system – to help the club’s […]

Kubota UK Top of the Class

September 27, 2017/in Events, Press Release/by Katja Benischke

Kubota UK Top of the Class: The top educators in the agricultural machinery sector chose Kubota UK to host their annual conference, ensuring they are up to speed with the latest machinery and technology offered by the manufacturer. The Association of Lecturers In Agriculture Machinery (ALAM), whose members boast academic staff from top colleges across the […]

Reading FC Have A Pitch Fit For Royals

September 28, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by John Simpson

Kubota UK Top of the Class

September 27, 2017/in Events, Press Release/by Katja Benischke

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Reading FC Have A Pitch Fit For Royals

September 28, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by John Simpson

Reading FC have become the first UK sports club with a dual-use pitch to install the revolutionary SISGrass hybrid system – to help the club’s hallowed turf endure almost 250 hours’ playing time.

Global pitch specialists SIS Pitches introduced their advanced hybrid turf technology at the Madejski Stadium this summer as part of a full reconstruction of a pitch that staged over 55 matches last season.

With the Berkshire venue hosting all home first-team fixtures played by Reading and London Irish, the Aviva Premiership Rugby side that have been ground-share tenants for over 16 years, plus a selection of the Royals’ Under-23s and Under-18s games, the playing surface gets a severe workout.

So much so there were times last season that Adam Grantham, Reading’s Grounds Manager for 13 years, and his hard-working staff had to prepare for four matches in as many days.

With such little time to recover from wear and tear, the quality of the playing surface inevitably suffered.

To manage such high usage, the Sky Bet Championship club opted for the increased durability of Cumbria-based SIS Pitches’ award-winning SISGrass, a reinforced natural turf system featuring patented fibre injection technology.

Reading have the added bonus of having SISGrass Universal at their disposal. The compact machine, combining speed, mobility and laser precision, specialises in repairing high-use areas such as touchlines, goalmouths and penalty spots.

Main contractor MJ Abbott Ltd were central to the six-week pitch reconstruction project at the ‘Mad Stad’, while Premier Pitches completed the turf finishing process.

Adam said: “The pitch was last reconstructed to this extent way back in 2007 and it reached the end of its shelf life last season, becoming ineffective in areas.

“Balancing all the football and rugby commitments on an ageing pitch was extremely tough at times and there was some criticism over the winter period, so it was good to start afresh in the summer.

“We completely reconstructed the pitch, taking the old hybrid system out and starting from the bottom up, reshaping all the sub-base levels, reinstalling the drainage, the undersoil heating and adding a new irrigation system.

“We have been really pleased with both the high quality of SIS Pitches’ service and the pitch they have installed. With the increased durability of SISGrass, we’re extremely hopeful the end result is a much stronger and healthier pitch all year round that suits our manager Jaap Stam’s style of play.

“By September 9, we’d played five matches on it already but the pitch is holding together really well and I’ve been getting good feedback from the coaching staff and players.”

SISGrass’ laser-guided installation combines a 95% natural grass pitch with 5% of specially-designed PE yarn stitched into the ground, offering unrivalled durability, improved pitch recovery time and increased playing hours.

Phil Blackwell, SIS Pitches’ UK Projects Director, said: “With the Madejski Stadium staging so many fixtures during a season, Reading require the most durable and stable pitch on the market, which we firmly believe our award-winning SISGrass hybrid pitch technology provides.

“The installation process went extremely smoothly and we have no doubts that both Reading and London Irish will experience a higher quality and more durable playing surface this season.

“SISGrass is essential for sporting clubs striving for the highest quality pitch on the market, and an absolute must-have for all dual-use pitches.”

The ground-breaking SISGrass hybrid pitch system has been installed at prestigious venues across the globe, taking pride of place at six of next summer’s World Cup venues, including the iconic Luzhniki Stadium, which will host the Russia 2018 final.

SISGrass has been installed at Premier League duo Newcastle United and AFC Bournemouth, Serie A side Verona and a quartet of Türkish Super Lig clubs.

It also features at Championship clubs Birmingham City, Derby County and Fulham and at the training grounds of FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Swansea City, Hull City, Fulham, Derby County and the National Football Centre at St. George’s Park, home of the English FA.

With offices in the UK, Ireland, Russia, Turkey, Holland, Middle East and Angola, SIS Pitches has many years’ experience in delivering both natural and synthetic turf pitches to some of the greatest names in sport as well as to schools, colleges, universities, sports clubs and local authorities.

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Kubota UK Top of the Class

September 27, 2017/in Events, Press Release/by Katja Benischke

The Association of Lecturers In Agriculture Machinery (ALAM), whose members boast academic staff from top colleges across the country, including Harper Adams and Hartpury College, were treated to a host of lectures and workshops covering Kubota’s global business heritage, its product offering and plans for the future, whilst also getting hands on experience with Kubota machinery and visiting local dealers from Kubota’s network.

Ian Coleman, Chairman of ALAM and lecturer at Hartpury College, said: “The function of ALAM is to keep up-to-date with the latest technologies and to disseminate current practices and focuses to our members, ensuring that what we teach our students across the country reflects the modern industry. Holding our conference at Kubota UK this year has filled us with confidence that we are up to speed with technological advances, trends for the future and updating our knowledge on Kubota’s product portfolio, from horticulture right the way through to agriculture.

“Technical updates are vital for both ALAM and our students, so another advantage of working with Kubota is that we can look outside of the standard agricultural box into other sectors, giving us a rounded view and ensuring that we have our finger on the pulse of the industry as a whole. The three days were hugely beneficial and demonstrated the clear advantages of networking between colleges, colleagues and manufacturers.”

Keith Miller, Service and Training Manager at Kubota UK, added: “For Kubota, the relationship with all the UK agricultural colleges is really important. We understand that communicating the essential principles of machinery and their operation to the colleges makes a real contribution to the future learning of the students and the sector as a whole, injecting a high number of skilled engineers into the industry.

“It’s for these reasons that we put so much effort into the ALAM conference, with a rigorous itinerary that included getting hands on experience with a number of machine models, including the new Kubota M7001 series, plus visiting two of our leading dealers, Lister Wilder and George Browns, to give insights from their perspective too. We really wanted Ian and the whole ALAM team to get as much out of the three days as possible and the feedback we’ve had has been very positive.”

Dave Roberts, Kubota UK Managing Director, closed by adding: “It has been a great pleasure welcoming ALAM to Kubota UK for the team’s annual conference. There’s a real synergy between our organisations, not only in the agricultural machinery we manufacture, but also in the need for all stakeholders in the industry to work together to ensure that we are all aligned in promoting the best practice for agricultural and horticultural engineering. This is essential in keeping the full and sustainable availability of quality engineers to support the market, which is increasingly complex and diverse.

“We also have a strong affinity with ALAM as we currently have 4 apprentices in our business, and a number of our team, including myself, went through the agricultural machinery education system.”

“The visit has also given us the opportunity to showcase our latest innovations, not only in the agricultural machinery arena, but in our engine technologies. The visit demonstrated how Kubota, with technology such as autonomous tractors, is pioneering for the future.”

To watch video highlights and interviews from the ALAM conference, click here: https://youtu.be/04qphWlefm8

For more information on Kubota’s and its expansive range of solutions for the agriculture, construction and groundcare sectors or to find your nearest dealer, 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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Reading FC Have A Pitch Fit For Royals

Kubota UK Top of the Class

Reading FC Have A Pitch Fit For Royals

Kubota UK Top of the Class

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Reading FC Have A Pitch Fit For Royals

Kubota UK Top of the Class

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