Tag Archive for: Delivers

GKB Machines delivers top class artificial surfaces

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GKB Machines delivers top class artificial surfaces: A suite of equipment from GKB Machines has been entrusted with prolonging the longevity and boosting the performance of five artificial playing surfaces at Ipswich School.

Installed by dealers Ernest Doe in September 2024, a Quick Brush, Rotobrush and GKB Deep Clean are bringing new-found time-savings and efficiency to both routine and more intensive maintenance.

GKB Machines delivers top class artificial surfaces

GKB Machines delivers top class artificial surfaces

Rated the number one independent school in Suffolk and Norfolk, sport forms a major part of the curriculum for the students at Ipswich School. Keeping an array of natural and all-weather surfaces in top-flight condition for cricket, hockey and winter sports is a team of eight headed up by Grounds Maintenance Manager Syd Townsend. “The all-weather pitches across our Westwood campus and Rushmere Sports Centre have been installed over a number of years and the time was now right to invest in equipment to optimise their performance and protect our investment” he explains.

“We previously didn’t have any mechanised attachments or equipment, so we were drag brushing the surfaces manually which was labour intensive and restricted us from being able to conduct operations as often as we’d like.” For a solution, Syd spoke with local dealers Ernest Doe who brought in a selection of machines from the GKB synthetic portfolio for the team to trial on their facilities. “It was important that anything we purchased would work with our existing tractors. Of the four machines we demoed, we purchased three of them and in a short period of time, they have already proven their worth.”

“The Quick Brush and Rotobrush are in use regularly, standing up the fibres and redistributing the sand dressing. The Rotobrush does a fantastic job of the perimeter areas, in particular, agitating any moss and bringing it to the surface for collection with the Deep Clean.” Syd continues, “We’ll be using the Deep Clean during school holidays to give the pitches a more intensive renovation, on top of the more routine collection of leaves and other detritus.”

“A large proportion of our synthetic pitches are surrounded by overhanging trees. The days of using a blower or manually raking up leaves have gone, and we can now quickly and effectively collect these and other smaller particulates in a more sustainable way.”

While each machine has been well received, Syd considers the combination of equipment to be the golden ticket to perfecting the performance of the playing surfaces. “Not only has the kit delivered exactly what we hoped, the service and training we received from Ernest Does and GKB was outstanding. Despite having to reschedule our training day due to unpredictable weather and staff holidays, both companies were incredibly flexible. On the day all eight operatives had the opportunity to ask any questions and undergo full training to ensure they were confident with the equipment which will all help us to achieve the very best results.”

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Dennis ES-510 Delivers Electric Performance

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Dennis ES-510 Delivers Electric Performance: Keswick’s two flagship parks – Hope Park and Fitz Park – nestled in the heart of the Lake District in Cumbria, are setting the standard for sustainable grounds maintenance thanks to the exceptional performance of three Dennis ES-510 battery-powered mowers.

The move to electric machinery was spearheaded by Christine Fawcett, Parks Manager at Keswick Town Council, following the council’s bold step to declare a climate emergency. “Keswick Town Council and Keswick Parks declared a climate emergency six years ago,” Christine explains. “So obviously things had to change with fossil fuelled maintenance machinery, and we started looking for battery alternatives.”

Dennis ES-510 Delivers Electric Performance

Dennis ES-510 Delivers Electric Performance

The parks team had been long-time users of the petrol-powered Dennis FT510, known for its reliability and versatility – particularly its interchangeable cassette system. When Dennis introduced the battery-powered ES-510, which retained compatibility with the same range of cassettes, the transition was a natural progression.

“We’d built up a full suite of cassettes over the years,” says Christine. “From scarifiers to brushes, verticutter, sorrel roller and cutting cassettes – we rely on all of them throughout the year to deliver high standards of turf care. When the ES-510 came out, it looked like the perfect time to make the change to battery. And because the cassettes were compatible, we didn’t need to start from scratch.”

In fact, Keswick’s parks team became the first users in the UK to adopt an electric Dennis machine three years ago and now operate three ES-510s across both Hope and Fitz Parks.

Hope Park is a popular destination for visitors, featuring a nine-hole pitch and putt course and a large putting green. Fitz Park, affectionately known as the ‘people’s park’, is home to a bowling green, five grass tennis courts, an 18-hole putting course, and serves as the base for local sports clubs including Keswick Football Club, the bowling and tennis clubs, athletics, and cricket. Both parks are owned by charitable trusts and maintained by a dedicated in-house team overseen by Christine.

One ES-510 can handle a significant workload in a single day – cutting the bowling green, two grass-court tennis courts, and nine holes on the pitch and putt – with the battery lasting comfortably through the day. “It gets charged overnight and it’s ready to go again the next day,” says Christine.

The machines play a crucial role in Keswick’s fine turf maintenance regime. Christine explains: “We start the season with light verticutting and brushing to clean the surfaces and remove debris. Once the season starts, we usually verticut every three weeks or so, depending on the weather. Cutting typically happens twice a week, usually on a Monday and Thursday. At the end of the season, we scarify the greens and tennis courts before overseeding in late September.”

For the team, the switch to battery has brought many advantages. “We really like the flexibility – you can adjust the walking pace, set the cylinder speed depending on the task, and even keep track of how far you’ve walked in a day,” Christine adds. “It makes the job easier and more tailored to the person using it.”

Now in their third season, the Dennis ES-510s are proving their worth across Keswick’s green spaces – helping the town meet its sustainability goals without compromising on quality. “The ES-510s have helped us maintain our sports surfaces to a high standard while reducing our environmental impact – and that’s something we’re really proud of.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on X and Instagram @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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Paxster delivers for Sandwell Council

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Paxster delivers for Sandwell Council: Sandwell is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands comprising six Black Country towns. When Sandwell Council wanted to upgrade their spraying fleet, they were looking for something more modern to replace the traditional combustion ATVs they were using.

They made the decision to look for suitable environmentally friendly electric vehicles. Precisely fitting the bill, they have taken delivery of two Paxster eCompact Utility Vehicles. These are part of a range of electric vehicles built with sustainable manufacturing in Norway.

Paxster delivers for Sandwell Council

Paxster delivers for Sandwell Council

Fully road homologated and featuring an ultra-small turning radius, the Paxsters are easy to drive with intuitive controls and a semi-open cabin to shield the driver from the elements. This offers greater comfort while allowing maximum visibility to complete the task safely. At the core of the eCompact is a large 10kWh 50v LiFePo4 electric battery, powering sustained performance and reliability. There is also enough power to charge rechargeable battery tools in the field, providing up to 3kW of additional charging power. Thanks to the narrow-body design, the Paxster eCompact is highly manoeuvrable and ideal for navigating tight spaces and hard-to-reach areas. With its ample cargo space, robust chassis and a 240kg payload capacity, it is suited to an exceptionally wide range of applications.

Sandwell Council Paxsters came fitted with low volume, high efficiency sprayers from Nomix Enviro. The Nomix VMU is a vehicle-mounted Total Droplet Control (TDC) herbicide application system, which can be fitted to virtually any type of vehicle. The (TDC) systems deliver highly targeted herbicide application, with pre-mixed herbicides that are safe and easy to use, offering a wealth of benefits to local authorities.

The Paxsters were supplied by Midlands based ACE ATV Ltd. who took Sandwell Council from their initial requirement brief to on-site vehicle installation. Paxster units can be ordered with a host of options and have up to ten years’ manufacturer’s warranty. They are distributed to UK dealers by Staffordshire based BOSS ORV who specialise in off-road and utility vehicles in all fuel types ranging from heavy-duty diesel machines and electric ATVs up to 6-seater UTVs. For more information you can call 01785 561046

E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk Web: www.bossorv.co.uk

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DSV’s PRO Pitch Delivers for Warrington Wolves

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DSV’s PRO Pitch Delivers for Warrington Wolves: Niall Hazlehurst, Head of Grounds at Warrington Wolves Rugby Club, has seen a remarkable improvement in the playing surface at The Halliwell Jones Stadium since introducing DSV’s EuroGrass PRO Pitch seed mixture.

With a career spanning nearly two decades in the industry, Niall began his journey at Bolton Wanderers FC as an apprentice at the age of 16. He worked his way up to Deputy Head Groundsman before taking on the role of Head Groundsman at Rochdale. After a brief break from the industry, he returned as Head of Grounds at Fulham FC before making the move north to Warrington Wolves during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DSV’s PRO Pitch Delivers for Warrington Wolves

DSV’s PRO Pitch Delivers for Warrington Wolves

At Warrington Wolves, Niall and his assistant Tom, an apprentice, manage the stadium pitch as well as two natural pitches at the club’s training ground.

“Last year was the first time we’d taken the top off with a fraise mow since before COVID,” explains Niall. “It was a big deal convincing the board to commit to this annually, so we wanted to make sure we got everything right in terms of nutrition and seed. The results have been fantastic, and the pitch has handled the usage really well.”

When considering the best approach for the pitch renovation, Niall turned to DSV and was introduced to their EuroGrass seed range, which was supplied by Indigrow.

“I made contact with DSV, had a really good chat, and we identified what we were looking for,” he says. “We decided to use the PRO Pitch mixture, and it has been brilliant. We applied it in August last year, and the colour, wear, and disease tolerance have been outstanding. Probably the best I’ve used, to be honest.”

Niall states that he was already aware of PRO Pitch being successfully used at other stadiums and private schools, which gave him additional confidence in the product. He also credits DSV for their expertise and support throughout the process.

“DSV is a great company and Sam Horner (DSV Amenity Business Manager) knows what he’s talking about and is someone you can trust,” says Niall. “If you ask him a question, he’ll give you an honest answer every time. He listened to what we wanted as a club and has been to our site a couple of times, even bringing some of the EuroGrass team to take a look at how the seed is performing.”

Since the team returned to training in November, the pitch has endured intense usage.

“We’ve had eleven high-intensity pre-season training sessions—each lasting two hours—from November to early February. That equates to about 15 games worth of wear,” explains Niall. “We only have one small lighting rig, so we rely on Mother Nature, which can be challenging, but the pitch has stood the test. The shaded areas are the best they’ve ever been, and even the coaches and fans have noticed the difference. There’s grass in some corners where there’s never been grass before.”

With the success of last year’s renovation, Niall is already planning ahead.

“We’ll be renovating again in July because we’ve got a good window in the fixture schedule. We’ll be doing exactly the same as last year because it worked so well. The germination and strike rate were excellent, and I have no reason to change something that’s working. I am also in discussions with the company about introducing a different DSV seed mix for the training ground pitches. I’ve got full confidence in DSV.”

As the flagship mix in the EuroGrass portfolio, PRO Pitch is designed for winter sports renovation. Containing only top-performing perennial ryegrass cultivars, it provides a visually appealing, dense sward with outstanding wear tolerance and recovery. With rapid germination and establishment, PRO Pitch has proven to be a game-changer at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Please visit www.dsv-uk.co.uk/products/amenity for more information.

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Makita’s new tabless XGT delivers improved performance

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Makita’s new tabless XGT delivers improved performance: Makita has launched an innovative new battery for its 40VMax XGT range of high-performance tools.

The 4.0Ah BL4040F battery is the first Makita battery to include cutting-edge tabless technology, which allows more efficient power delivery, better runtimes, and cooler running. As the latest Makita F-Type battery, it is engineered for performance on the very highest demand applications.

Makita's new tabless XGT delivers improved performance

Makita’s new tabless XGT delivers improved performance

The tabless lithium-ion cells in the new BL4040F eliminates the bottleneck caused by current concentration by connecting the entire end of the electrode to the end of the cell, instead of connecting to tabs at each end.

With a larger connection area inside the cell, heat generation is minimised. This means that even under high load, the cell temperature is reduced compared to standard designs, which has a positive effect on the overall service life of the battery. A further benefit is that the battery can be charged immediately after intense use, with no need for a cooling phase, meaning shorter overall charging times. The tabless 4.0Ah BL4040F battery delivers up to 36% longer runtimes and operates 32% cooler compared to the standard 4.0Ah BL4040.

Like all Makita F-Type batteries, the BL4040F is a high-output battery designed for enhanced performance and better runtimes on higher drain tools such as chainsaws, breakers and demolition hammers. The new 4.0Ah BL4040F delivers the same 2.1kw maximum output as the 5.0Ah BL4050F. This means customers now have the choice of the larger, higher capacity 5.0Ah battery or the smaller, lighter 4.0Ah battery to achieve the high output that demanding tasks require. In fact, the BL4040F is 34% more compact and 28% lighter than the BL4050F.

As with all Makita’s XGT 40VMax batteries, the BL4040F is built for the toughest environments with an impact resistant and shock absorbing casing to protect the battery cells, as well as a triple layer structure to protect against water and dust ingress. XGT batteries also feature Makita’s digital communication system that connects the tool and battery to actively protect against overload, over-discharge and overheating.

The XGT range has over 125 40VMax and 80VMax (2x 40VMax) products including drills, impact drivers and wrenches, angle grinders, nailers, dust extractors, and circular, mitre and reciprocating saws. There is also a wide range of XGT garden and grounds maintenance machines including mowers, chain saws, blowers, brush cutters, hedge trimmers and earth augers.

Kevin Brannigan, Marketing Manager at Makita said: “The new tabless BL4040F is specifically designed for the most demanding applications and will deliver superior performance and runtimes as well as the long service life that customers expect from Makita products. The launch of this cutting edge, next generation battery is just the latest part of our ongoing drive to ensure professionals have the high-performance products they need.”

To find out more about our tabless batteries and the XGT range visit www.makitauk.com/tabless-technology

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