Tag Archive for: goal

Etesia goal achieved

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Etesia goal achieved: It was a brand of mower he always wanted and now, Lee Norris, owner of Four Seasons Gardening, is the proud owner of four brand new Etesia pedestrian mowers.

Eight years ago, Lee Norris took the decision to start his own business and was equipped only with a lawnmower and an old Ford Fiesta. Fast forward to 2021, and his company now has five members of staff and boasts a glowing reputation throughout South Wales.

Etesia goal achieved

Etesia goal achieved

Lee pinpoints the success of the company to the advice and criticism he received from his mentor.

“When I was 18 years old, I started working with a landscaping company and I had never pushed a mower in my life,” he said. “I went everywhere with the owner and he taught me everything I needed to know. He was an absolute perfectionist, and his work was so precise and neat. If, for example, I left just one leaf on a driveway then he would quickly let me know about it! I often wondered why he gave me a hard time but now I know – he was showing me that it is the little things that go an incredibly long way.”

Lee and his team now tend to many private and commercial projects and it is these high standards which has ensured that the company has never lost a contract. These standards demanded by Lee, not only apply to work ethic, but also to the equipment – and there is one brand that he has always had in his sights.

“I first heard of Etesia many years ago when I was first starting out in the industry,” he said. “Someone in the local area had one and he used to rave about how good it was and how it could cut and collect in the wet. I saw him using it and from that day I was adamant that one day I was going to get one.

“As the years progressed, and my company grew nothing had changed – I was forever telling the guys that soon we will have a fleet of Etesia mowers to use.”

Etesia UK also came from relatively humble beginnings. Although a revolutionary and market-leading brand in France, Etesia entered the UK market in 1995 with only one walk- behind and one ride-on machine. Over the years Etesia UK has grown rapidly and now offers a wide range of products that include a variety of walk-behind, ride-on mowers and the highly regarded Attila range of brush cutters.

With an extensive range of products in the Etesia portfolio, Lee was keen to ensure he made the correct decision.

“I knew that I wanted some Etesia mowers, but I just didn’t know which models I needed,” he said. “I messaged the Etesia Facebook page and following that I received a call from Stephen Muir (Etesia UK Business Development Manager) and he gave me all the advice I needed. He asked me about what I do, what the mowers would be used for, where they would be used, and we talked through all the different models. We eventually decided on the PRO 46 PHTS3’s.

Etesia’s renowned PRO 46 pedestrian models are robust, reliable, ergonomic, and easy to use. Lee opted for the single speed self-propelled option, but a push variant (PHE3) is also available. The design of these models has been proven over many years and has an unbeatable record of quality and performance unrivalled in its class. They provide outstanding collection performance, even if the grass is long and wet – something that Etesia has prided itself on over the past 30 years.

Further features include:

  • Capable of mowing and also of mulching
  • Individual height of cut adjusters
  • Collection: grass is only cut once before being sent to the grass box
  • Internal aerodynamics of the housing and the wide channel eliminates any risk of blockage.
  • Superb rear wheel traction to offer perfect grip on slopes
  • Integrated deflector for rear discharge
  • 22mm handlebar design
  • The latest Honda GCV170 engine

Lee purchased four PRO 46 PHTS3’s and believes they have certainly lived up to his expectations.

“I can’t praise these machines enough,” he said. “There is one particular site we look after, and it has just over 10,000 sq. ft of grass and it is always thick, wet and lush. With our previous mowers we had to always go over it initially, then push it all back and go over them again. However, the first time we put the new Etesia mowers over it, they literally went straight through all the grass and the clippings went directly into the box – all in one go. We no longer have the hassle of stopping and starting or cleaning the decks out. These Etesia mowers are saving us so much time.

“They are smooth and quiet, and they are absolutely solid – which I love,” continued Lee. “I also like the height adjusters being at the front and the back because it gives us the opportunity to do bank work; so, if we are on a slope then we can raise the back and drop the front, to level it out to ensure that we get a good cut.

“The customer service from Etesia has been great at all times and I’m just very happy with the purchase.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

You can also follow Etesia on Twitter @EtesiaUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Company sets golden charity goal

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Company sets golden charity goal: A company which helps JCB customers to buy their machines has set itself a golden charity goal in celebration of 50 years in business.

JCB Finance – one of the biggest lenders to the UK’s construction and agricultural industry – is marking its milestone ‘birthday’ today (February 12th) with a pledge to raise £50,000 for children’s charity the NSPCC.

Company sets golden charity goal

Company sets golden charity goal

The money will be raised by a series of fundraising activities throughout 2020 – and to kick-start the campaign, JCB Finance is donating a JCB 8008 micro excavator to be auctioned online, with all proceeds going to the charity.

Set up on February 12th, 1970 under the name JCB Credit, JCB Finance has expanded massively from its humble beginnings, with JCB Chairman Lord Bamford as one of its original Directors. Today, JCB Finance provides hire purchase and leasing options for UK business customers and supports the JCB UK dealer network, facilitating the purchase of more than 250,000 new and used JCB machines over the past 50 years.

JCB Finance Managing Director Paul Jennings – who has worked for the firm for 41 years – said: “As we turn 50, we want to say a special thank you to our customers and dealers for their trust in allowing us to handle billions of pounds over the years on their behalf. Some businesses have dealt with us for three generations, which reinforces our belief that our efforts are trusted as knowledgeable partners.

“There have been radical changes to the way business is done over the past half century but the core mission of JCB Finance has remained the same: to support JCB customers with fantastic finance options with speed, efficiency and fairness.

“Throughout our history, we’ve made sure that we keep the personal touch and even with today’s digital world, we are committed to having ‘boots on the ground’. Customers can choose how we serve them, whether direct, on-line, via the JCB dealer network or our team of Specialist Managers in the field.”

Last year, JCB Finance celebrated another milestone when, for the first time in its history, the amount being lent to fund the purchase of machines broke through the £1 billion barrier. The company also won the coveted International Asset Finance Network award European Captive Finance Lessor 2019.

JCB Finance’s auction for the JCB 8008 Micro Excavator goes live for pre-registration from Wednesday, 12th February and bids can be placed online from Thursday, 12th March. Visit www.jcb-finance.co.uk to pre-register and make your bid. The winning bidder will be announced on Thursday 23rd April.

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Don’t score an own goal with your borehole

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Don’t score an own goal with your borehole: Last November Norwich City Football Club was named joint fifth in a sustainability league table of all 20 Premier League clubs. 

The table was compiled by BBC Sport, working with the United Nations-backed Sport Positive Summit, and one of the reasons for the club’s success was the fact its Carrow Road pitch is watered via a borehole and the training ground recycles the water from the pitches.

Don’t score an own goal with your borehole

The reality is that many football clubs and other sports facilities, such as golf courses and racecourses, rely on boreholes for the critical irrigation of their sports turf.

Having your own private water supply delivers guaranteed water delivery and keeps costs down, but it also comes with the need to meet certain goals, says Mike Deed, Managing Director of Geoquip Water Solutions, experts in borehole management.

“A lot of the big football clubs have several wells which provide water to their network of training pitches and main ground,” he said.

“It is absolutely essential that playing surfaces are irrigated to the best possible standard and remain in tip top condition throughout the season. If water quality or quantity is affected by borehole problems, then the impact can be wide-ranging.

“Investing in a borehole is a significant capital investment, but given the cost of mains water and the fact that a typical borehole will be expected to deliver a return on investment in less than four years, it can also be very worthwhile – providing you take good care of it.”

The trick, he says, is to make sure that an ongoing monitoring and maintenance programme is built in from day one.

“All too often, borehole owners take a ‘fit and forget’ approach in that they fit the borehole and expect it to continue delivering maximum yield without any proactive maintenance.

“In football terms, it would be like fielding your best team for every single match without addressing their physical or mental needs or considering how they might be able to keep delivering their best without any care or attention.”

Typical borehole problems are likely to include reduced yield, a change in the quality of water and/ or a drop in water pressure.

All three can be caused by contamination, such as iron-related bacteria, iron oxide, manganese oxide and calcium carbonate deposits affecting the pumps, pipes and motors.

Don’t score an own goal with your borehole

If too much iron in the water is allowed to build up, it can cause brown staining on hard and soft landscaping and infrastructure (such as buildings), another reason why boreholes need to be regularly treated.

Other problems will include the encrustation of casings and pipes, clogging of filters – preventing the free entry of groundwater, and potential damage to the borehole wall or pumping equipment.

A monitoring and telemetry programme, with the installation of bespoke panels and dashboards, enables remote data collection from each borehole, allowing the user to see issues such as draw down, water pressure, general temperature and also the temperature of the motor.

Triggers and alarm points can be added to raise alerts when faults or particular combinations of problems arise, enabling early preventive action to take place.

Downhole cameras also provide a bird’s eye view into the heart of the borehole, allowing images to be taken and, from there, essential decisions regarding maintenance can be taken before the condition of the turf is potentially impacted by poor water quality.

Geoquip works with a number of partners, including Nicholls Boreholes, which recently helped one Premiership club struggling with dwindling yields from its two existing wells.

After site visits and a consultation process, the Nicholls team recommended a BoreSaver Ultra C Pro treatment solution, which now includes a biodegradable marker to guarantee that no chemical residue is left in the water.

A special system was put in place to capture the iron for licensed disposal and the clean water was discharged through the club’s drainage system without fear of causing any blockage or contamination.

As a result, both the club and the Nicholls’ team saw an immediate increase in yield and are now considering a regular treatment plan.