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Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

March 26, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre As the first team moves into AFC Bournemouth’s new training complex at Canford Magna, a new fleet of Toro machinery arrives to look after the first four pitches to be built. The machinery choices by Head of Grounds Ian Lucas are strategically made on how to cut more […]

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

March 26, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches Supporting contractors Parkers Pitches in their ongoing expansion is a fleet of efficient, robust equipment from GKB Machines. Pushing firmly into larger drainage and construction projects across East Anglia has demanded machinery that can step-up, and stay reliable under pressure and that’s exactly what owner Will Parker says […]

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

March 26, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

March 26, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

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Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

March 26, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

As the first team moves into AFC Bournemouth’s new training complex at Canford Magna, a new fleet of Toro machinery arrives to look after the first four pitches to be built.

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

The machinery choices by Head of Grounds Ian Lucas are strategically made on how to cut more efficiently according to European regulations and meet the Premier League standards in place for all pitches.

Ian explains, “The products we chose come with adjustments to match the width of cut to the pitches exactly. The Toro Reelmaster 3100 with SideWinder, which is usually a mower favoured by golf clubs for cutting around bunkers and obstacles, allows us to mow as efficiently as possible with no overlap.”

It’s a machine also favoured by other premier football clubs, says Ian: “I visited other training centres and saw how other clubs had fitted a wider arm kit on the SideWinder but without the wider front units meaning they could cut 30 inches across instead of 26. That meant they the cutting width worked better with the required striping pattern within the dimensions of the pitch.”

The patented SideWinder technology brings more benefits than that to the football pitch though as Ian continues: “Being able to use the SideWinder cutting unit from left to right brings a more even weight distribution eliminating wear marks.”

Also ably assisting Ian and his team of 11 looking after the 57-acre training grounds are Toro’s Workman HDX utility vehicles with cabs for improved operator comfort and a Toro Reelmaster 3550 for its light footprint and turf-friendly tyres.

Ian says: “The Workmans have a big cargo bed which is perfect for the development stage of the project we’re in – it can easily cope with the amount of grass we need to move and the attachments we load it up with like the tipper trailer.”

This will be followed up with another machinery order in the new year as the next four pitches for the £36 million Performance Centre open. Ian comments: “We’re ready for that. I’ve already chosen the Toro machines I want and submitted the lists. I’ve been using Toro for around 15 years, so I know how good it is, especially with the back-up and support of Reesink, our local dealer D J Scott and our mobile mechanic Lee Read.”

He concludes: “When it comes to the turfcare machinery entrusted to look after this huge investment in sport, it had to be Toro.”

Mark Winder, Area Sales for Reesink, says: “Just as AFC Bournemouth’s ambition and commitment to excellence is shown with its new state of the art training complex, Reesink’s focus is on working with Ian and the team to ensure they have the turfcare equipment they need to maintain all the pitches to the highest of standards.”

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GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

March 26, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

Supporting contractors Parkers Pitches in their ongoing expansion is a fleet of efficient, robust equipment from GKB Machines. Pushing firmly into larger drainage and construction projects across East Anglia has demanded machinery that can step-up, and stay reliable under pressure and that’s exactly what owner Will Parker says they’ve enjoyed with their V-Strong, Combinator and, most recently, their SP100 topdresser.

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

Will together with wife Lydia run Parkers Pitches, with a further team of three full-time operatives on the ground. In just a few short years, the contractors have built a strong reputation for cricket and football renovations, increasingly undertaking projects on other sports surfaces including drainage-led projects in golf. “As we began to expand, we found we were picking up more topdressing work and needed something faster and with more capacity” explains Will.

With a V-Strong and GKB Combinator already demonstrating fantastic build quality and versatility, Will was confident enough to purchase the Sandspreader without the need for a demonstration. They opted for an SP100, a broadcast disc-dresser with a 1.0m³ hopper – the ideal size for mounting on their existing John Deere ProGator.

“It’s been absolutely bulletproof” he exclaims. “We’re putting thousands of tonnes through it every year and you wouldn’t know it. It runs perfectly every time, we’ve barely had to put a spanner on it… even the paint is still immaculate inside the hopper! This productivity and reliability is crucial for keeping our schedule on track in tight renovation windows.”

The performance of the SP100 has come as no surprise to the team, with similar qualities on show from their V-Strong scarifier and Combinator. “The V-Strong is exactly that – unbelievably strong! Cricket square can be really hard come the end of a season and where our previous machine would struggle on renovations, the V-Strong doesn’t blink – getting the job done in less than half the time.”

“Our 1.6m Combinator also is getting used more and more and, again, it’s rarely missed a beat. On the odd occasion we’ve needed support, GKB’s Tom Shinkins and the team at Ernest Doe have gone above and beyond to get us back up and running and keeping us on track.” Will concludes, “As we continue to grow and move into new areas, we know we have the right equipment and right support with GKB to make it a success.”

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.

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

GKB Powering the Progress of Parkers Pitches

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