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50 years of excellence

March 7, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Fiona Sare

50 years of excellence: Irish Farm & Garden Machinery (IFGM) celebrates 50 years of business this year. The company, one of Europe’s leading independent distributors of outdoor power equipment, remains family owned and run, now managed by second generation Paul Butterly (Managing Director), and brother Kieran (Technical Director). Although retired, Mum (and co-founder) Eileen, continues […]

Success with Suståne at Watford

March 7, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Success with Suståne at Watford: Three formulations of Suståne Natural Fertilizer have been credited with their role in the ongoing success of the maintenance operation at Watford Football Club. Forming the base of the nutritional programme at both the Vicarage Road stadium and the club’s London Colney training ground, a combination of Bolster Granular 4-4-4+3Fe, […]

50 years of excellence

March 7, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Fiona Sare

Success with Suståne at Watford

March 7, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

50 years of excellence

March 7, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Fiona Sare

50 years of excellence: Irish Farm & Garden Machinery (IFGM) celebrates 50 years of business this year. The company, one of Europe’s leading independent distributors of outdoor power equipment, remains family owned and run, now managed by second generation Paul Butterly (Managing Director), and brother Kieran (Technical Director). Although retired, Mum (and co-founder) Eileen, continues to pop into the Dublin office around three days a week – just to ensure that the business continues to operate smoothly.

“We’re thrilled to have reached this milestone” says Paul. “This is a tough industry and the fact that we’re here in 2024, bigger and stronger than ever, is simply amazing”.

50 years of excellence

Asked how IFGM has successfully navigated multiple recessions, turbulent trading conditions and technologically driven changes in consumer demand over the past 50 years, Paul says: “We’ve always focused on keeping the company very nimble and this gives us a lot of flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. We’ve been careful in the rate of our expansion, gradually building the business over time, only working with the very best brands in the industry. No matter what is happening in the economy, people will always buy quality product that offers the best value-for-money.”

In 2006, the business purchased U.K distributor Claymore Grass Machinery, now known as FGM Claymore, an acquisition that greatly extended the reach of the company. In 2022, the business was awarded U.K distribution rights for ECHO which, following the appointment in Ireland a few years earlier, made IFGM the third largest ECHO distributor in Europe.

The team at IFGM celebrated the anniversary during a special event held on the 28 February in Athlone. Dealers from all over the country, alongside special guests from Briggs & Stratton and Yamabiko, joined the Butterly family to celebrate this important anniversary.

Paul gave a special presentation that covered the history of the company, sharing anecdotes alongside the major milestones that made up the IFGM story. There were congratulatory video messages from garden machinery suppliers in New Zealand, Japan, and Italy, alongside special in-person presentations from Briggs & Stratton and Yamabiko.

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Success with Suståne at Watford

March 7, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Success with Suståne at Watford: Three formulations of Suståne Natural Fertilizer have been credited with their role in the ongoing success of the maintenance operation at Watford Football Club.

Forming the base of the nutritional programme at both the Vicarage Road stadium and the club’s London Colney training ground, a combination of Bolster Granular 4-4-4+3Fe, 1-1-1 Soil ReGen^®and Suståne 4-6-4 have delivered consistent results to the satisfaction of the club and grounds team alike!

Success with Suståne at Watford

As one of the worlds most widely-researched organic ranges, Suståne’s tried and tested portfolio for winter sports plays an important role for grow-ins and renovations – providing long lasting soil builders and sources of plant nutrition that specifically encourage rapid root development, superior growth and ongoing plant protection. It’s here that Watford Grounds Manager Scott Tingley has cited the successes of Suståne, with both the Bolster Granular 4-4-4 + Iron and Soil ReGen^® playing an important part in post-renovation recovery.

“We’ve been using Suståne products at both of our sites for the last seven seasons. Bolster Granular 4-4-4+3Fe is applied primarily at renovation time, due to the addition of Mycorrhizae.” Derived from biologically stable ingredients and containing both water soluble and slow-release sources of nitrogen, Bolster Granular provides a formulation of organic nutrients, beneficial microbiology, plant bio-stimulants and a powerful blend of mycorrhizae to promote greater root access to soil nutrients and water. The addition of 3% chelated iron enhances colour and rapid root development, while seaweed extract, humic acid and compost-based microorganisms deliver plant health and strength for all turf grass situations.

Alongside Bolster Granular 4-4-4+3Fe, Scott applies Suståne’s Soil ReGen following full or partial renovations – a soil conditioner that reduces compaction, increases water and air infiltration rates while also improving the nutrient and water holding capacity. “This helps us to incorporate lots of valuable nutrients such as Zeolite, Biochar, Mycorrhizae and Humates at a critical time, when the plant is wanting to root and develop.”

“Throughout the playing season, we switch to Suståne 4-6-4 organic slow release, to replenish our sand dominant constructions with a rich supply of humus and other essential nutrients. We’ve found this to contribute to increased rooting and a strong, healthy plant more resilient to disease and turf pathogens.”

The results at both sites speak for themselves – seeing the Watford team regularly recognised for outstanding pitch quality. Scott concludes, “We put a large part of our success as a grounds team down to the benefit of using Suståne products.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

50 years of excellence

Success with Suståne at Watford

50 years of excellence

Success with Suståne at Watford

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

50 years of excellence

Success with Suståne at Watford

Success with Suståne at Watford: Three formulations of Suståne Natural Fertilizer have been credited with their role in the ongoing success of the maintenance operation at Watford Football Club.

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