Tag Archive for: Fab

Mansfield Sand is fab for Forest

/in , /by

Mansfield Sand is fab for Forest: Ewan Hunter, Grounds Manager at Nottingham Forest FC, has praised the products and service he receives from Mansfield Sand.

After starting his career as a greenkeeper, Ewan Hunter moved into football grounds management and has remained in the sector for over 20 years. His first job in football was at Rushden & Diamonds FC before starting at Nottingham Forest FC in 2005. Having been at the club ever since, Ewan’s work has been recognised through numerous groundsman awards, and he can now add the title ‘Premier League Groundsman’ to his CV after Forest recently achieved promotion to the top tier.

Mansfield Sand is fab for Forest

Mansfield Sand is fab for Forest

Ever the professional, Ewan remains focussed.

“Our work won’t change with us being in the Premier League,” he said. “We will continue to do our job the same way we always have. Obviously, we want to improve standards all the time, and there are future projects, which include new first-team pitches for the training ground, and eventually we will have a new stadium pitch. Yes, the technology we utilise might be better and more modern, but our work will remain the same.”

Ewan oversees a team of seven members of staff that work across the stadium pitch and the training ground. All the pitches across the two sites are of the same construction as Ewan explains.

“All of the pitches we have here are Fibresand, and we use a variety of Mansfield Sand’s products. I’ve been working with Mansfield Sand since my days at Rushden and Diamonds, so well over 20 years.”

Mansfield Sand is a company with history and pedigree – in fact, its origins can be traced as far back to 1840. It has been a long-standing pioneer in the development and production of premium sand-based products and boasts the most up-to-date and advanced equipment currently in the industry.

From winter sports pitches, golf courses, bowling greens and all amenity turf areas – Mansfield Sand has a solution for all.

Ewan continued to offer an insight into how he uses Mansfield Sand’s products.

“Most of the products we use from Mansfield Sand are renovation products. We will strip the pitches, Koro them off and then top dress with Mansfield’s MM40. If we are adding fibre to the pitch then we will use their Fibresand, and that is mixed into the rootzone by the contractor.

“Through the season, we will use their top dressing and a little bit of rootzone, mainly to level out the goal mouths that get a lot of wear.

“Rootzone is very important and is integral to a healthy pitch.”

Furthermore, two pitches at the training ground are currently being reconstructed using 5000 tonnes of gravel, 6902 tonnes of MM40 sand and 4089 tonnes of 85/15 sand soil rootzone, all of which are sourced directly from Mansfield Sand’s Two Oaks Quarry.

The work is being carried out by Ewan’s reliable contractors MJ Abbot and Premier Pitches, who order the products directly from Mansfield Sand. Ewan may not necessarily be involved in the ordering process anymore, but he still maintains a good relationship with the company.

“The customer service from Mansfield Sand is perfect, and Sharon Morris (Sales Manager) is brilliant. She is a life-long Forest fan, and she comes to watch the games. I talk to her pretty much after every home game and she will wander down from the stands after the match to have a chat. She is always on the other end of the phone if we need her, and she always goes out of her way for us.”

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow the company on Twitter – @MansfieldSand and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldSandSportSurfaces/

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.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

ISEKI’s fab four at Stowe School

/in , /by

ISEKI’s fab four at Stowe School: Grounds Manager Steve Curley has revealed why Stowe School has purchased four different ISEKI machines in just three years.

Steve has been working at Stowe, a leading public school in Buckinghamshire for an incredible twenty-nine years. Overseeing a team of fifteen members of staff, Steve is responsible for three-hundred acres of sports fields and gardens including a nine-hole golf course.

ISEKI's fab four at Stowe School

ISEKI’s fab four at Stowe School

In maintaining such a vast area of land, Steve inevitably has a wide range of equipment, but he claims his ISEKI fleet covers most bases.

It all started with the ISEKI TG6675 compact tractor, as he explains.

“We needed something with a bit more horsepower to enable us to do heavier work,” said Steve. “After a few demonstrations of various tractors from our local dealer RT Machinery, we decided to get the TG6675, with 65-horsepower, and that has allowed us to use some implements and attachments that we were not previously able to. It’s been fantastic for us.”

The ISEKI TG6675 sets the benchmark for compact tractor performance. It is built to exceptional standards of quality, starting from the front lights through to the back three-point linkage. It is available with ROPS, or a factory fitted, fully air-conditioned category 2 cabin. All instruments and gauges are easy to read and indicate driving information like engine speed, travelling speed, and PTO speed can be viewed at a glance. All levers are ergonomically located around the driving seat and there is ample space for the driver’s comfort

Based on the success of the TG6675, he then purchased an ISEKI TLE3400 shortly after.

“This mainly does all of our trailer work and helps us pick up the rubbish,” said Steve. “With it being a boarding school, it is like a small town, and we must pick up the rubbish twice a day, every day. We end up with twenty trailer loads of waste per day and we put that in compactors – so this is ideal to pull the trailers.”

The TLE3400 is ISEKI’s new 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.

“After purchasing these two machines, we decided to purchase the ISEKI TG6490 IQ compact tractor for top dressing and slitting,” continued Steve.

“This has been very successful for us and one of the main reasons for buying it was because of the IQ gearbox which enables us to go up and down the gears very easily.”

As Steve says, the ISEKI TG6490 features an IQ dual clutch transmission which offers the control of a manual with the convenience of an automatic. There are eight main gears and three ranges. Gears are changed by simply moving the gear lever through the straight shift gate.

Steve purchased his fourth ISEKI machine when he felt the time had come to upgrade the school’s ride-on mower. The ISEKI SXG323 + is the ultimate in cut and collection mowers and offers power, performance, and unsurpassed productivity. A 48” (1.22M) mower deck provides a superior quality of cut while the large capacity, high torque 1123cc diesel engine is powerful and fuel efficient. Furthermore, the SXG323+ performs exceptionally even in the wet conditions, allowing you to work without the weather restricting you.

“The capacity of cut is a lot bigger than our old mower and we can get more grass in the box,” said Steve. “It also has a high tail lift which enables us to put it on a trailer straight away if needs be, so we are not double handling the grass. The other bonus is that it is costing us a lot less to run than our old petrol mower. We use this around most of the gardens and it performs brilliantly.

“Overall, these ISEKI machines have been fantastic value for money. They are very easy to service, and we’ve not had any problems whatsoever. The whole team has enjoyed working with them.”

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.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Fab 4 for Dennis & SISIS at BTME

/in , , /by

Fab 4 for Dennis & SISIS at BTME: Dennis and SISIS will be making their annual trip to Harrogate in January and BTME visitors can expect to see four fantastic products on display in the Red Zone on Stand 244.

Dennis Mowers recently launched a new and exciting range of mowers called the E-Series and no doubt the ES-860 cylinder mower will prove to be somewhat of a show-stopper at BTME 2020. This 34” battery powered turf management system delivers maximum versatility and the range of 13 interchangeable cassette options provide a solution to many day-to-day maintenance tasks such as cutting, scarifying, brushing, slitting and aeration.

Fab 4 for Dennis & SISIS at BTME

A weather proof colour LCD programmable display keypad screen is an integral feature of the handlebar console providing the operator with a multitude of information options including ground speed, clip rate, service checks, lifetime running reports and battery information.

The ES-860 will be joined by the FT510 professional mower in representing the famous Dennis brand at BTME. When it comes to all areas of fine turf, the Dennis FT510, has for many years, been celebrated for its top performance and durability. With a 51cm working width, the FT510 provides its user with comfort, flexibility and excellent presentation. A true sense of control is obtained through the unique roller clutch drive for a smooth take-up and a variable clip rate helping to create the desired finish. Available with five-bladed and ten-bladed cutting cylinders the machine can be matched to any situation and the interchangeable cassettes can be changed without the requirement of any tools.

The range of 11 different cassettes mean that one machine can be used for several key maintenance tasks including scarifying, verticutting or brushing. This feature combined with the click height of cut adjustment system makes it extremely user friendly for its operators.

The SISIS range of pedestrian scarifiers come highly recommended by greenkeepers and course managers and the Auto Rotorake MK5 will be of particular interest at the show. This powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier is designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf and is ideally suited to a range of applications from sports field maintenance to lawns and amenities. It features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. A variety of maintenance tasks can also be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

Fab 4 for Dennis & SISIS at BTME

Last but certainly not least is the SISIS Flexibrush – a tractor mounted brush which is ideal for both synthetic and natural turf surfaces. Featuring a 5.35 metre working width, its brush sections ‘float’ to follow ground contours providing maximum efficiency on large areas. The SISIS Flexibrush, has proved to be an ideal solution for controlling worm casts and is also used for effectively dispersing top dressings and standing the grass up before cutting, helping to give a better cut and presentation.

Brochures containing the full portfolio of Dennis and SISIS products will be available to pick up on the stand and the company’s experienced staff will be available to answer any queries and offer valuable advice about the machinery.

Further information about the range of turf maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

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

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.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.