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You’ll never look back with an ISEKI

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You’ll never look back with an ISEKI: A brand-new ISEKI tractor has not only saved Osterley Cricket Club a significant amount of time and money, but it has also helped its ground rating climb into the top three rankings.

Established in 1940, Osterley Cricket Club, in Southall, specialises in cricket, football and social gatherings. Somewhat of a hub for the local community it boasts 2.2 hectares of grounds. This consists of two cricket pitches which convert to seven football pitches during the winter.

You’ll never look back with an ISEKI

You’ll never look back with an ISEKI

Nadeem Chowdhry, Chairman of Osterley Cricket Club, explained why the Club was in the market for a new tractor.

“We started looking for a new tractor because we were using an old ride-on mower and a 1960’s cylinder mower which had all kinds of hydraulic issues,” he said. “It was an important decision and so we did a lot of research.

“We selected ISEKI because of the brand’s renowned build quality and ease of use. After deciding on the brand, we then spoke to several dealers and the one that stood out was RT Machinery. They understood our challenges, they pin-pointed the ISEKI tractor for us, and the presale and after sale service was phenomenal.”

Based on RT Machinery’s recommendation, Nadeem decided that the ISEKI TLE3400 was the perfect fit. The TLE3400 is ISEKI’s premium economy tractor. This 38 horse-power tractor has a three-speed hydrostatic transmission and a lift capacity of 1000 kg. It is supplied with agricultural or turf tyres as standard. An optional front loader is also available. Ideal on the farm, an estate, or sports pitches, it is an all-round tractor for all those tasks that just need doing – from muck scraper to harrow or mower to loader, it’s capable of doing it all.

According to Nadeem, Osterley Cricket Club has not looked back since purchasing this unique tractor.

“It used to take our groundsman two whole days, to cut, stripe and tidy up – but since purchasing the ISEKI tractor this has been reduced to just two hours,” he said. “The cost of running it, on fuel alone, is six times cheaper as well.

“This tractor is fantastic to store because it is compact, and it is so versatile. We use it with lots of different attachments such as a grass cutting deck, a verticutting unit, a scarifier and all sorts of other attachments.

“Everyone at the club suddenly wants to help and have go on it because it is so easy and so comfortable to use – it is hard getting people off it!

“In fact, a lot of other nearby clubs have seen our ground rating go from near the bottom of the table to the third best and have been asking how we have managed to do it. We tell them that is down to the ISEKI tractor.

“Ultimately, it has made a huge difference to our club, because everyone really enjoys playing on this gorgeous, lush outfield, and it is all because of this tractor. I would tell any sports club that has grass to look at ISEKI – they will never look back.”

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Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon

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Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon: BALI National Landscape Awards headline sponsor Green-tech recently hosted 10 principal award winners in a behind-the-scenes VIP tour of Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Supported by ICL, this is the fifth time that Green-tech has organised this tour as a celebration for the BALI award winners.

Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon

Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon

The day started off with a presentation from Head of Courts and Horticulture Neil Stubley, who has been at Wimbledon since 1995 and oversees the 67 courts within the club (including indoor, outdoor, clay, acrylic and croquet lawns). He gave a valuable insight into the intense, year-round planning, and how important it is for each court to be monitored and cared for correctly to withstand the heavy impact from the 2-week Wimbledon Championships.

This was followed by a presentation from Head Gardener Martyn Falconer who looks after the Horticulture off the courts (flower beds, flower walls, lawns). Martyn has the huge task of sourcing thousands of flowers each year that ensure the venue lives up to the high expectations of delivering its famed stunning flower displays. A new addition within the past few years is the ‘live flower wall’ which sits above Henman Hill and requires constant watering, irrigation, and maintenance to achieve a long-lasting display.

After lunch, Neil and Martyn conducted a tour of the courts, including Centre Court and the brand-new Indoor Centre, boasting an impressive new selection of indoor courts.

Green-tech’s Product Development Director Chris Swan adds, “It was a fantastic day that was enjoyed and appreciated by our Principal Award Winners. The presentations by Neil and Martyn were really interesting and informative. We all loved the tour of the facilities – it really was an honour to be one of very few to see behind the scenes of the most prestigious tennis tournament venue in the World.”

Principal Award winner ADTRAK enjoyed the event. With Ben Shaw commenting, “A superb event. Really enjoyable and a very nice treat for us all”, Colleague Paul O’Donoghue continues, “It was an amazing day. Magical!”

Chris Thomas, Senior Contracts Manager from Elite Landscapes Ltd agrees, “It was a fascinating tour and amazing to see what goes on behind the scenes.”

Entries are now open for BALI National Landscape Awards 2023. Register and enter using the following website https://bnla.awardsplatform.com/

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ISEKI an academy all-rounder

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ISEKI an academy all-rounder: Mark Pinfold, Head Groundsman at the Thomas Deacon Academy, was looking for a multi-tasking compact tractor – and after a lengthy search he found what he was looking for in the ISEKI TXGS24.

The Thomas Deacon Academy is an independent state school located in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, and comprises the Thomas Deacon Academy Secondary School and sixth form and The Junior Academy.

ISEKI an academy all-rounder

ISEKI an academy all-rounder

Mark and his team are responsible for maintaining the sports facilities and the grounds across all three of the Academy’s sites. It is safe to say that they have their work cut out with such a vast area, so anything that makes life easier is a must-have according to Mark. When it came to choosing a new multi-tasking tractor, it wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly.

“We were looking for a tractor that had more than one use,” said Mark. “It needed to be mobile and compact enough to be put on a trailer to be moved from site to site; and we also needed to be able to use various attachments with it.

“Obviously we had a budget to work with and so we went round many different dealers and looked at lots of options but the one we decided on was the ISEKI TXGS24.”

The TXGS24 is an easy to use, versatile tractor with all the features and benefits of a much larger tractor. With a flat easy-access platform it is simple to operate and easy to master. Clear automotive style dashboard and controls, fully auto style hydrostatic transmission with switchable 4WD traction drive make the ISEKI TXGS24 very user-friendly. Individual forward and reverse pedals give the operator precise control.

Its compact dimensions and powerful 23 hp diesel engine make the ISEKI TXGS24 an excellent multi-purpose ground care tractor. Robust enough to take a front loader or backhoe and countless other implements via a Cat 1 3-point hitch including collectors and centre mounted mowing deck, rear mowers, rotavators, levellers and harrows; this is a very versatile machine for any application.

Mark purchased the tractor through ISEKI dealer Fentons of Bourne and he hasn’t looked back since.

“It really is a great piece of kit,” said Mark. “The wide width of the cutting deck makes our life easier, and it has lots of other nice little perks such as a cup holder, a comfortable seat, and a little storage compartment where I can put my phone or other items.

“We Also purchased the front loader, and we use this for moving soil and bark around, sand and cement, salt bags in winter and for carrying various hand tools. On the back we have the option of putting a roller on, which is ideal for our cricket and football pitches. I also like the fact it is road legal.

“I would absolutely recommend this tractor because it is such a great all-rounder.”

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Singing the praises of an Agrovista tank-mix

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Singing the praises of an Agrovista tank-mix: A tank-mix designed by Agrovista Amenity is helping to control the weed population at the Singing Hills Golf Club in West Sussex.

Singing Hills features 27 holes in three loops of nine holes, allowing golfers to play any combination. Designed by Richard Hird, this parkland course, with its gently undulating fairways, spectacular water holes and the Sussex Downs as a backdrop, is one of the county’s top golf venues.

Singing the praises of an Agrovista tank-mix

Singing the praises of an Agrovista tank-mix

Course Manager Mark Lunday and his Deputy Tom Granite have improved the course each year and are proud of the fact that golf can be played all year round without the need of temporary greens. However, the course does have somewhat of an Achilles heel according to Tom.

“We have suffered here for years with a really bad weed problem on our fairways and green surrounds,” he said. “In the past we have trialled all the different herbicides you can think of at different rates; we’ve tried it with wetters, stickers, pH adjusters and have done everything we possibly can but have not been successful.”

“Following the unsuccessful trials, we spoke to Joseph Dormer from Agrovista Amenity and he put together a special tank-mix,” added Mark. “We trialled it on two fairways and it worked well so we then chose to spray the entire course.”

The three-way tank-mix which Joseph Dormer recommended consisted of Praxys (2L/ha) – a systemic, post-emergence herbicide, containing clopyralid, florasulam and fluroxypyr which combines three active ingredients and two modes of action; GoGreen Select (25L/ha) which is a complex iron sulphate for rapid greening; and Evolution Xtra Soluble (20kg/ha) – a stabilised urea product which is a cost-effective nitrogen source giving 2-3 months longevity. The mix is applied with water at a rate of 320L/ha.

ALS Contractors were brought in to spray the Agrovista Amenity tank-mix on all 27 fairways and green surrounds with a view of controlling the troublesome weeds while also improving the condition and health of the turf.

Mark and Tom were suitably impressed with the process from start to finish.

“Singing Hills is such a large site, and we physically can’t get round to do the spraying,” said Tom. “Therefore, we needed the professionals to come in and get it all done in one morning rather than us trying to do a little bit at a time, and not get anywhere. The process went really well – the guys knew exactly what they were doing, and we couldn’t ask for more.”

“It is down to Agrovista Amenity’s scientific research that has enabled us to control the weed population at Singing Hills Golf Course,” said Mark. “Hopefully we will continue to see a lot more vigour and colour on our fairways, therefore enhancing the golf course.”

There is also a video with Joseph Dormer and the team from Singing Hills Golf Club which can be viewed by clicking here.

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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Midlothian Council making an impact with Pellenc

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Midlothian Council making an impact with Pellenc: Midlothian may be one of the smallest councils in Scotland, but it is certainly making a big impact with a little help from a range of Pellenc battery-powered equipment.  

“I think we are the second smallest local authority by area in Scotland,” said Jim Hay, Grounds Maintenance Manager for Midlothian Council. “However, as far as we are aware we have more electric equipment than any of the other councils and we’re trying to lead the way in this respect.”

Midlothian Council making an impact with Pellenc

Midlothian Council making an impact with Pellenc

From managing teams to choosing equipment, Jim is responsible for overseeing the maintenance of all the grounds and green spaces throughout Midlothian. One of his biggest responsibilities is the health and safety of the personnel who are operating grounds maintenance equipment, and it is for this very reason that he first started exploring battery-powered technology.

“We identified that the Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) measurements on the majority of our petrol equipment were not ideal and felt that battery-powered machinery was the solution,” said Jim. “For this reason, we looked at a wide-range of equipment from various manufacturers. Unfortunately, we found that most of the equipment was not to a professional standard – it appeared to be more suited to domestic use.

“Pellenc however, was different. As far as we are concerned, Pellenc is by far the best professional equipment in the battery-powered market.”

A forerunner when it comes to lithium-ion technology, Pellenc has established itself as the number one choice in the ‘zero emission’ professional power tools market for the maintenance of urban and green-spaces.

Light, odourless, noise-free, with no starting problems and enough power to enable professional users to work for a full day on a single charge, it’s no wonder more and more professional users are turning to Pellenc. It is an attractive alternative to those who have, for several years, been relying on fuel-based machinery.

A demonstration was arranged through Pellenc dealer Agrovista Amenity, and Midlothian Council purchased a wide range of Pellenc products which included Rasion pedestrian mowers, Helion hedge trimmers, Selion chainsaws, Excelion grass strimmers and Airion blowers.

The equipment is already making a positive difference in many areas throughout the borough of Midlothian as Jim explained.

“The Pellenc tools are used in a lot of the local schools because we can operate them when classes are on or when exams are in progress, due to how quiet the machinery is. It’s the same when we work close to residential homes or the public in general.

“Aside from the equipment being so quiet it is just so much easier and more comfortable for the staff. With our old petrol machinery, they could only use it for three hours at a time because of the HAV levels, but they can use the Pellenc tools all day. The battery life is excellent, and we can run them all day if needed.

“I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from everyone using it.”

Jim claims that his experience has been boosted by the dedicated Pellenc technical centre – which was launched after Agrovista Amenity joined forces with Edinburgh City Council. It means that customers like Jim, have access to dedicated Pellenc operatives who have been fully trained at the state-of-the-art Pellenc factory in Pertuis, France.

“We have definitely benefited from the Pellenc service centre,” he said. “Whenever I need a machine serviced, looking at, or need any advice then I can just call the team there. It’s a fantastic service and when the Pellenc equipment goes in for a service it is always returned very quickly.”

Jim feels that the purchase of the Pellenc equipment is another step in the right direction for Midlothian Council.

“The public are becoming more ‘green aware’ – and we are doing our utmost to boost our green credentials. We first started investing in electric equipment five years ago we are proud of what we have achieved already.

“Going forward we are keen to record the savings in CO2 emissions from this change in power source to further demonstrate our green credentials. We are already telling people to keep their eyes peeled because we have more electric equipment coming.”

Pellenc is distributed exclusively in the UK by Etesia UK.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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