Tag Archive for: Awards

France awards medal to Masatoshi Kimata

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France awards medal to Masatoshi Kimata: Kubota recently announced that its Chairman and Representative Director, Masatoshi Kimata, has been awarded the prestigious National Order of Merit Medal by the Republic of France, an award which is usually reserved for French citizens.

The Kubota Group established in France in 1974 , at the same time that Kubota Europe S.A.S. was founded to export its tractors to European countries. More recently, in 2014, in an attempt to make a full-scale entry into the European upland farming market, Kubota established a manufacturing plant for upland farming tractors in France. Today, about 1,000 employees are working at five local subsidiaries, which are responsible for research and development, production, sales, and after-sales services.

France awards medal to Masatoshi Kimata

France awards medal to Masatoshi Kimata

So, in recognition of Kubota’s long-standing services to economic development and the creation of jobs in the country, and on behalf of the company, its Chairman, Masatoshi Kimata, has been honored by the Republic of France.

The National Order of Merit was founded in 1963 and is usually awarded to people who have made remarkable contributions to France in the areas of cultural and economic activities, and this year Kubota had the honour of receiving this prestigious award.

During the award ceremony, which took place on June 30th at the French Embassy in Tokyo (Japan), Mr. Kimata dedicated a few words of gratitude: “It is a wonderful honour to be awarded this decoration, which would not have come about without the dedicated efforts of everyone concerned. Ever since 1974, when Kubota first made inroads there, France has hosted our core operations in Europe, allowing us to increase our presence in the region by distributing tractors, construction machineries, and industrial engines. For us, France is, and shall remain a vital location for the Kubota Group.”

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Husqvarna scoop seven awards

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Husqvarna scoop seven awards: Husqvarna picks up seven awards in this year’s expert reviews by PriceRunner, including; Best Choice and Best Premium Choice robotic lawn mowers, Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer, Best Choice Strimmer, Best Choice Leaf Blower, and Best Choice and Best Choice Premium Ride-On Lawn Mowers.

Husqvarna gains full marks in PriceRunner’s 2021 Awards, boasting Best Choice for four of its products, including; Husqvarna Automower® 310, Husqvarna 115iL Strimmer, Husqvarna 525BX Leaf Blower and Husqvarna Rider 214TC.

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

Tests were carried out over several months to judge how well the machine’s performed over a long period of time, carrying out demanding challenges in various types of weather conditions, to ensure accurate results.

All products were intensely tested and scored on factors including; performance, reliability, ease of use, build quality, functionality, effectiveness, battery life and charging, and then subsequently judged on how well they performed in comparison to other products available on the market today.

Best Choice Robotic Lawn Mower 2021

The Husqvarna Automower® 310 came out as top choice when compared to 33 different robotic lawn mowers available on the market. Husqvarna Automower® 310 impressed testers thanks to its winning combination of reliability, functionality and user-friendliness, whilst being incredibly reasonable on price. Testers praised Husqvarna Automower® 310 for keeping grass short, both on slopes and in narrow corridors, and were extremely happy with how quick and easy the robotic lawn mower was to install.

View PriceRunner’s robotic lawn mower review here.

Best Choice Leaf Blower 2021

Along with testers being impressed with Husqvarna Automower® 310, Husqvarna’s 525BX leaf blower blew judges away with its power, user-friendly design and functionality. As a result, it was nominated as the best leaf blower of 2021 when compared to 10 other leaf blowers available on the market today.

View PriceRunner’s leaf blower review here.

Best Choice Strimmer 2021

The praise doesn’t stop there for Husqvarna products, as testers labelled Husqvarna 115iL Strimmer as the best battery operated cordless strimmer of 2021 when compared to 11 other models. The 115iL Strimmer was voted Best Choice as a result of its power and ability to cope with almost every challenge it faced, trimming thick and dense tufts of grass and weeds with no problem.

View PriceRunner’s strimmer test here.

Best Choice Ride-On Lawn Mower 2021

In addition, Husqvarna Rider 214TC was noticed and voted ‘Best Choice’ when compared to 12 other ride-on mowers and was named ‘king of the ride-on lawn mowers’ as a result of its excellent comfort and manoeuvrability, superb cutting results and its suitability for many different garden types.

View PriceRunner’s ride-on lawn mower here.

Best Premium Choice Robotic Lawn Mower

In addition to being nominated for four ‘Best Choice’ awards by PriceRunner, Husqvarna has also been awarded ‘Best Premium Choice’ for Husqvarna Automower® 430X.

When comparing Husqvarna Automower® 430X to 33 other robotic lawn mowers on the market, testers admitted that Husqvarna Automower® 430X is ‘still the king among the better equipped models’. Testers were impressed by the model due to its user-friendliness, reliability, intelligence, technology and its value for money.

View PriceRunner’s robotic lawn mower review here.

Best Premium Choice Ride-On Lawn Mower 2021

Alongside Husqvarna Automower® 430X, Husqvarna R 216T AWD was also voted ‘Best Premium Choice’. Testers found that the R 216T AWD was very powerful and had phenomenal terrain-handling abilities, while also being user-friendly, easy to start, and effective at delivering an outstanding cutting result.

View PriceRunner’s ride-on mower review here.

Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer 2021

In addition to the above six awards, Husqvarna also won PriceRunner’s award for ‘Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer’ with the PW 235 pressure washer.

Husqvarna PW 235 impressed testers with its value for money, providing a high pressure wash that handled challenging tasks very effectively, despite the model’s compact sizing. Describing the PW 235 as “an ideal choice if you want a light pressure washer that goes a long way for a good price”, the model received a positive 4.5 rating out of a possible 5.

View PriceRunner’s Pressure Washer review here.

For product information, imagery or product loan requests please contact Husqvarna’s UK PR agency, Wolfstar. Email Francesca@wolfstarconsultancy.com / (0)113 273 7816.

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Entries open for 45th BALI awards

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Entries open for 45th BALI awards: The British Association of Landscape Industries’ (BALI) prestigious National Landscape Awards, the largest of their kind anywhere in Europe, return on Friday 3rd December 2021 and entries have now opened alongside several exciting new announcements for the 45th year.

Registered members can now submit their full entry online for the first time, (including their submission pack) thanks to a new entry system, alongside the returning postal option. Due to the effects of COVID-19, Contractor, Designer and International members, for 2021 only, now also have the opportunity to submit a scheme that has achieved practical completion in the last 24 months, instead of the normal 12 months.

Entries open for 45th BALI awards

Entries open for 45th BALI awards

BALI’s Chief Executive Wayne Grills commented, “This extension to the practical completion date now affords members more flexibility in what has been a difficult last 12 months. Alongside the option to submit online, we hope to see a wide variety of entries across all of our available categories this year.”

There are 33 categories in total, including a brand-new Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Enhancement category. The judges will be looking for projects that demonstrate a significant contribution to conservation or enhancement of biodiversity, embodying the principles of sustainable development using innovative concepts.

Chair of the judging panel, John Melmoe, said, “We are delighted to introduce this new category for 2021. We will be looking for evidence of any biodiversity net gains and clear definitions of innovation or environmental designs. The long-term management strategy must be clearly defined, including proof of monitoring processes. On behalf of my fellow judges and I we look forward to seeing some truly remarkable projects in this category.”

Other returning categories include Domestic Garden Construction, Hard Landscaping Construction (non-domestic), Community and Schools Development, Design Excellence and Affiliate Exceptional Service. Registered members can check out all of this year’s categories on the BALI Awards website here.

Alongside an FAQs section, the team at Landscape House have also produced an Entry Guidelines document, which contains information on each category, the deadlines and fees and what the judges are looking for in an award-winning scheme or entry.

To help further, members looking to enter are invited to join representatives of the judging panel for a free-to-attend Awards Workshop webinar on 25th March from 3pm-4.30pm. The event will provide an opportunity for members to ask questions about entering, as well as how the judges evaluate and score the submission packs and advice on photography and video. Non-members who are interested in entering and would like to know more about BALI are also welcome to join.

Events Project Manager Emily Feeney said, “Today we have not only opened entries but also announced three new positive changes to this year’s Awards which continues to be the ultimate celebration in our industry. We are working with Headline Sponsor Green-tech, our host venue the J W Marriott Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London and event partners and sponsors to stage a safe end of year celebration, and we look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months.”

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Further accolade for Turf Matters in top awards

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Further accolade for Turf Matters in top awards: Turf Matters proved that last year’s triumph in the International Turf and Ornamental Communicators Awards was no fluke by winning big again in the delayed 2020 Awards.

Turf Matters Designer, Tim Moat, won two categories for Best Cover (May-June 2019) and Best Single Page Design, while Editor, Scott MacCallum, also took two Firsts – a first equal in the same category of Best Writing, for Stadium of the Future (NovDecember 2019) and What a Rush! (Sept-Oct 2019).

Further accolade for Turf Matters in top awards

Further accolade for Turf Matters in top awards

In addition, for the second year in a row, Scott was awarded the Gardner Award for the Best Overall International Entry for his Stadium of the Future, article which focussed on the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium and the great work Darren Baldwin and his team carry out.

“Tim and I are absolutely delighted. We always strive to bring our readers the best possible magazine and we feel that by winning awards our work is rubber stamped,” said Scott.

“Having independent industry experts assess our work is a useful exercise whether we win Awards or not. That said, it is much more gratifying to win!” he added.

Turf Matters was joined in the winners’ enclosure by Greenkeeper International Editor, Karl Hansell, and Designer Libbie Waddleton, who also picked up several awards.

Turf Matters’ winning entries can be viewed at turfmatters.co.uk – magazine

Student greenkeeper awards postponed

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Student greenkeeper awards postponed: Following consultation between awards organisers BIGGA and sponsors Toro and Reesink UK, the 2020 edition of the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards has been postponed.

Applications for the prestigious awards had opened in March, but the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic means that it is no longer safe or practical for the contest to take place.

Student greenkeeper awards postponed

Student greenkeeper awards postponed

Barry Beckett, senior marketing manager at The Toro Company, said: “It is with the greatest regret that the 2020 competition is postponed. We know how disappointing this will be for those who have already entered or were planning on entering this year. However, our number one priority is the health and wellbeing of all those involved in the awards and with the uncertainty we currently face, we cannot proceed with the event.”

BIGGA, Toro and Reesink UK express their apologies to all those who have already entered, but with the competition deadline for entries fast approaching, a firm decision had to be made.

David Cole, managing director at Reesink UK, said: “These are unprecedented times and while we very much hope the situation in the UK will have improved drastically by the time the regional interviews were scheduled to take place, we have to react according to the Government’s advice that stands now, restricting all unnecessary travel and contact.

“For 31 years the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards have supported the brightest upcoming professionals in the UK’s greenkeeping industry. While this is a blow for everyone involved, as with so many events being postponed and cancelled, it is the right thing to do and means the 32nd Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards will be even more valued.”

All those who have entered the 2020 competition will automatically be put forward for the 2021 awards. Nominees who are 21 and have their birthday before the next application stage can choose whether they would like to stay in the Young Student Greenkeeper category or move up to the main award.

Jim Croxton, chief executive of BIGGA, added: “Obviously, this is disappointing news for the competitors. However, the decision is absolutely appropriate in these unprecedented times and the safety of our members is always at the forefront of our thoughts. The Toro Student and Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards are one of the highlights of the year for the association, allowing our upcoming members the opportunity to showcase their talents.

“BIGGA’s Learning and Development team is available to discuss any questions from those who have applied or were thinking of applying regarding the awards, which we are confident will return for 2021.”

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