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Well done, Richard

September 24, 2026/in Turf Spotlight/by Admin

Well done, Richard Scott MacCallum attended Campey’s 40th birthday celebrations and chatted with the man himself… It’s the mid 1980s and the Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran are duelling it out to be top dogs – Through the Barricades or Notorious – you took your pick. Whichever one he had playing on his in-car cassette […]

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

September 23, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) is launching a new women’s network to help women working across the golf and turf industries build confidence, develop professional relationships and support one another throughout their careers. The BIGGA Elevates Women’s Network will begin with a five-session pilot programme led […]

Well done, Richard

September 24, 2026/in Turf Spotlight/by Admin

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

September 23, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

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Well done, Richard

September 24, 2026/in Turf Spotlight/by Admin

Well done, Richard

Scott MacCallum attended Campey’s 40th birthday celebrations and chatted with the man himself…

Well done, Richard

It’s the mid 1980s and the Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran are duelling it out to be top dogs – Through the Barricades or Notorious – you took your pick.

Whichever one he had playing on his in-car cassette player at the time, I know not, but one young man had just arrived at his Macclesfield-based bank for an important meeting with the manager.

His goal was to set up his own company and he had saved £15,000 to help make it happen. What he needed from the bank was matched funding so that he could purchase some second-hand machinery and set up a contracting business.

He had been encouraged to strike out on his own by the prospect of a Government-led Enterprise Allowance Scheme, which offered £2,000 per annum and the Bank Manager, while approving the loan, also offered some friendly and practical advice on how to get started.

Nowadays a Bank Manager is almost as mythical a beast as a fraize mower would have been back in the 1980s, but the benefits of that meeting cannot be overstated.

The young man was Richard Campey and that small contracting company, set up in 1986, has gone on to phenomenal success with the Campey name known and respected across not just the north west of England, but the entire country, Europe and the rest of the world. Sitting in the state-of-the-art Campey Turf Care premises, on the occasion of the company’s 40th anniversary, Richard could look out the window at the vast array of machinery assembled for the occasion, not just from Campey itself, but many other associated brands, and look back at a career which had surpassed even his most optimistic of expectations.

Campey Turf Care Systems is now one of world’s largest independent sports turf and ground care machinery suppliers, distributing innovative sports turf maintenance equipment.

Over the years Campey has earned a reputation for offering practical advice and superb aftercare service.

The company acts as a new equipment importer for some of the most respected grounds care machinery manufacturers including Dakota, Imants, Koro, Vredo, Foley Air 2G2, BellonMit, and Omarv.

They also have a thriving used machinery business and a subsidiary company, Tines Direct, which supplies replacement tines, blades, and replacement parts for a wide range of turf care machinery.

Richard lays much of his success at the door of his introduction to the industry. He started as a Demonstrator for SISIS, in 1976 and worked there through to when he launched Campey Turf Care. During his time at SISIS he travelling around Europe in a wagon, The Campey team extolling and demonstrating the virtues of the machinery, and also as far afield as Australia,

“I think sales people have it easy nowadays. We didn’t have mobile phones so we had to find the nearest phone boxes and either put our coins in, or reverse the charges,” recalled Richard.

“If you were going abroad, everything was done by telex. You’d be given the address of your first demonstration and have to find your way there. No SatNav – you had to stop at a garage and buy a map!” he said, thinking back to another era.

“What sticks in my mind when we got to Australia, there were two of us and we met the Managing Director and Sales Director of a dealership just outside Melbourne. They were delighted to meet two Englishmen who didn’t wear suits or carry briefcases,” laughed Richard.

Richard bought his first premises 18 months after starting the company and it is still the main Campey HQ with the new building, and site of the 40th celebrations, four miles away “Our main building was an old dairy, set in about two acres. Over the years, we’ve improved it, and it is where everything’s run from nowadays.

“This building is where we keep tractors. It looks great now but it took two of us, eight months to tidy it up.”

And with Richard’s hands-on approach to life you can bet that he was one of the two.

There must be a secret for continuing to grow a family company in times when so many others are struggling…

“George Fox, at Stockport, who was in demolition and responsible for clearing up Manchester after the war, He had his own business and he told me that his philosophy of business was that if somebody rings up for something don’t ever say no.

“Say ‘Yeah, we could do that. I can get you that.’ If there is a problem, you’ll find a way and you keep your customer happy,” said Richard.

So what are Richard’s thoughts looking back over the last 40 years of building what is very much a family business?

“The family want to keep it on. Two work in the business, while my second daughter lives next door to me.”

Julia, is now Managing Director and Richard credits her for bringing a new level of organisation to Campey Turf Care.

“She’s a brilliant organiser and very good at handling people. She also remembers everything. I really don’t know how she manages to store so much in her head,” said the proud dad.

Much of the credit for the success of the company, however, lies with someone who isn’t around to celebrate the company’s anniversary.

“I couldn’t have done it without a good wife who stood by me. Sadly, Jean died two years ago. She stood by me when I was spending a lot of time away from home and travelling when the kids were small. My dad did warn me that I was spending too much time away, and the fact that I was able to devote so much time to building the business was down to Jean.”

With 40 years behind them Campey Turf Care Systems has a proven track record which ensures customers and potential customers know they are dealing with an established and well respected company and, under the stewardship of Julia, they can look forward to many more years serving the industry.

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

September 23, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) is launching a new women’s network to help women working across the golf and turf industries build confidence, develop professional relationships and support one another throughout their careers.

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

The BIGGA Elevates Women’s Network will begin with a five-session pilot programme led by qualified life and business coach and experienced facilitator Miriam Mooney.

Running from September 2026 to January 2027, the network will bring together a cohort of up to 20 women for a series of two-hour online sessions. The first session will take place on Tuesday 29 September, with further meetings scheduled for 20 October, 17 November, 8 December, and 12 January. Each will run from 7pm to 9pm.

Rather than following a fixed training programme, the sessions will respond to the priorities and experiences of the participants. They will provide a confidential and supportive environment in which members can speak openly, reflect on their experiences and learn from one another.

Miriam will act as an independent facilitator and coach, providing enough structure to give the sessions purpose and momentum while allowing conversations to develop around the needs of the group.

She has supported individuals and teams to build confidence, navigate change, and achieve personal and professional growth since 2014. She also brings more than 23 years of corporate leadership experience and has facilitated leadership programmes, workshops and stakeholder engagement sessions.

BIGGA Commercial Director Lauren Frazer said: “The response to the first BIGGA Elevates event at BTME showed there was a real appetite among women in the industry to connect, share their experiences and support each other. We wanted to build on that momentum and create something that continues throughout the year.

“This network will give participants a trusted space in which they can discuss the opportunities and challenges they encounter, learn from their peers and form relationships that can support them as their careers develop.

“Miriam’s coaching and facilitation experience will help the group establish that environment from the outset, while allowing its members to shape the conversations around what is most useful to them. This is an important next step for BIGGA Elevates and we are excited to see how the network develops.”

The Women’s Network follows the inaugural BIGGA Elevates event at BTME 2026, which attracted more than 50 attendees. Delivered in collaboration with The R&A and Syngenta, the session brought together women from a wide range of roles and career stages to discuss visibility, opportunity, confidence and progression within a traditionally male-dominated industry.

The pilot programme will culminate in an in-person BIGGA Elevates session at BTME 2027. Taking place in The R&A Clubhouse in Hall 3 at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 4pm to 5pm on Wednesday 27 January, the informal event will welcome women from across golf and turf.

Attendees will be able to meet fellow professionals, expand their networks and discover more about the Women’s Network. A panel of accomplished women will also discuss their career journeys, the lessons they have learned and their perspectives on building a successful career in the industry.

BIGGA hopes the pilot will provide the foundations for a recognised and valued community that continues to grow, creating lasting connections and meaningful opportunities for women across the sector.

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Well done, Richard

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

Well done, Richard

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

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Well done, Richard

Well done, Richard

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

BIGGA Elevates launches new Women’s Network

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