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JCB invest in Ventrac

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JCB invest in Ventrac: JCB Golf & Country Club, the flagship sales and marketing tool of the JCB brand, situated in rolling parkland adjacent to the company’s World Headquarters in Staffordshire, has purchased a package of Ventrac equipment from local dealer, Sharrocks.

Included in the package is a Ventrac 4500 all-terrain compact tractor with dual-wheels, a Tough Cut rotary deck, a Power Broom and a Stump Grinder.

JCB invest in Ventrac

JCB invest in Ventrac

The 7,400-yard course, which opened in 2018, was designed by architect Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, and is situated in 280 acres on the estate of the former Woodseat Hall and surrounding farmland. It can be played by JCB management, staff and their guests, together with private and corporate members including dealers, suppliers and major customers. Integral to the design brief is the expectation that it will become a regular venue for a professional tour golf.

Callum Wark is the Course Manager and is responsible for a team of 31 full-time staff including three apprentices, two irrigation technicians, two mechanics and four gardeners. He’s been at the course since its inception having been employed here since the start of the course build back in 2016.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made in my career, so far,” he said. “I previously worked at Loch Lomond and it was great grounding, but when I was offered the opportunity to work on a new build, something very rare these days, especially so in the UK, I jumped at the chance. I worked as Head Greenkeeper under Euan Grant and when he left, I applied for the job of Course Manager and was successful.

“We have large estate to manage here and the CEO demands that it is of the highest quality possible. Not just the golf course, but all the areas surrounding the clubhouse, our luxury lodges and the academy. JCB is renowned across the globe and our facilities here must reflect the esteem intrinsic in the brand. That’s our goal and, in a nutshell, that’s my job.

“Therefore, we need robust and reliable equipment, to ensure that we maintain the property to these exacting standards. And, that’s why we’ve purchased the Ventrac package. This course has been designed to accommodate championship golf and has been constructed with dramatic fescue mounds and banking for spectator viewing. We needed a machine that could tackle these slopes; we tried other machines, but none came close to what the Ventrac could do. The initial demonstration was excellent and we knew very quickly that it was the machine for us.

“We have 10 km of tarmac-ed cart paths and these need to be swept clean on a regular basis. We also have extensive carparking and other hard landscaped surfaces, so the inclusion of the Power Brush in the package was an obvious choice. We have numerous tees on each hole, but the championship tees are rarely used and this can lead to a moss issue. This can be controlled by setting the broom bristles to just touch the sward and removal is quick and simple. Being a woodland estate, the Tough Cut deck and Stump Grinder come into their own when we clear any woodland margins.

“Versatility is the key word when describing the Ventrac; one power unit for many accessories. I need to make a business case for the additional purchase of the Cart Path Edger. The cart paths are all edged with kerbs and a strip of fine fescue either side. I usually send four guys out to edge those areas, whereas one guy on a Ventrac could do that in just one day.”

Tim McCutcheon is the Head Mechanic and has been described as a greenkeeper with a passion for mechanics. He began his career at Lichfield Golf Club, before enrolling on the Ohio State Program, where he spent 18 months working at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK, recognised as one of the top 100 courses in the world and host to 15 Championships since 1945.

“What can I say about this machine apart from it’s brilliant,” he said. “From a greenkeeping perspective it’s so versatile, but from a mechanic’s point of view, it’s a dream. It’s robustly built, the belts are easily accessible and simple to change, as is the access to filters and grease points. The flip-up decks make cleaning and maintenance easy and the accessory mounting system is ingenious. One thing is outstanding, especially in my role, and that’s the quality of the manuals. They are extensive and in colour, which really helps when trying to identify parts. All-in-all, a great addition to our fleet.”

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Hayter and Toro: Working together in harmony

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Hayter and Toro: Working together in harmony: Hayter, the makers of the finest mowers, and The Toro Company, a global leader in turf and landscape equipment, have come together to create two versatile and battery powered product suite for gardeners of all levels.

Hayter has developed the 60V battery cordless range of mowers to offer the same convenience as a petrol lawnmower without engine exhaust emissions. While Toro has released the Flex-Force battery range, which includes outdoor products for all needs in the garden.

Hayter and Toro: Working together in harmony

Hayter and Toro: Working together in harmony

These two ranges share the same heavy duty, 60V lithium-ion battery, which is interchangeable between all of the products, to offer maximum flexibility. Simply remove the 60V battery and transfer to one of the other compatible machines from either range – so there’s no need to purchase any additional batteries if you already own a product from either range.

Using products from both ranges means the user can have ultimate flexibility, as well as control over all parts of the garden. If your desire is to mow your lawn and leave it with a perfectly striped finish, then the battery powered Harrier 60V cordless mowers are the perfect machines to achieve this with the two piece, ribbed rear roller. If you then need to trim hedges, then the Flex-Force range offers a hedge trimmer, that is focused on tackling those big jobs in less time.

With both Hayter and Toro ranges being used in unison, users will have a product for every season and every application.

Other products in the Flex-Force range include, the Recycler mowers, a leaf blower, chainsaw and string trimmer. And the Hayter 60V battery range includes the Osprey 46 lawnmower.

For more information please visit www.toro.com/en and www.hayter.co.uk

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Etesia celebrates 30 years in the UK

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Etesia celebrates 30 years in the UK: Etesia is celebrating 30 successful years of operating in the UK.

In 1991 French based company Etesia set-up a headquarters in the Midlands with a limited product range – just one ride-on mower and a pedestrian mower to be precise. However, the two products put Etesia’s name on the map and word quickly spread as to just how technologically advanced this innovative brand was.

Etesia celebrates 30 years in the UK

Etesia celebrates 30 years in the UK

Fast forward to June 2021 and Etesia has become a major player in the professional market with a multitude of products covering every inch of the UK. Year on year, Etesia UK continues to grow with an expanding list of dealers promoting the Etesia and Pellenc brands, and the past 12 months has been no exception despite the pandemic.

“How time flies,” said Managing Director Les Malin. “It does not seem that long since we celebrated 25 years and now, here we are 5 years later, celebrating 30 years in the UK – but what a 5 years it has been.

“The industry in general has seen its fair share of ups and downs and the last 18 months have disappeared completely under the shadow of the pandemic. However, I’m pleased to report that Etesia has seen significant growth in the last 12 months. Battery products are generally becoming more dominate throughout our product portfolio and nothing shows that more than the recent launch of the ET Lander utility vehicle.”

The ET Lander is a fully electric utility vehicle built specifically for use on roads and all types of paths in both the town and countryside. Powerful enough to use for a full working day and with the ability to transport loads of up to 940kgs, this new product is set to be another ground-breaking innovation.

The launch of the ET Lander is the perfect way to celebrate Etesia UK’s 30th anniversary and there will certainly be more innovations to look forward to according to Les.

“This innovative product has been in development way before our 25th celebration year,” he said. “Innovation does not happen overnight, and we will continue to develop products like this – which will help make our next 30 years look outlandishly green.”

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

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK

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New recruitment in BASIS team

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New recruitment in BASIS team: BASIS has expanded its workforce with the recruitment of two new employees.

Jade Prince and Tanya Kesterton join the team to take on two new roles as business development executive and head of digital learning, respectively.

New recruitment in BASIS team

New recruitment in BASIS team

Jade has a background in environmental science and is FACTS qualified.

“My role centres around promoting the courses, boosting membership and building the network around BASIS’ target audience”.

As part of her role, Jade wants to focus on raising awareness of the courses that BASIS offers to the younger generation. “I am already working to develop the business through recruitment of new members, creation of new relationships and networking with other industry organisations.”

Reflecting a move towards delivering more digital courses, Tanya Kesterton joins the BASIS team as head of digital learning. With a strong background in education and IT, Tanya is looking forward to building BASIS’ digital education capability.

“I want to look at supporting the current members and work on reaching a wider audience through our digital platforms,” she says.

New recruitment in BASIS team

New recruitment in BASIS team

“BASIS has a really strong vision for what they want to do and where they want to go, and I’m delighted to be part of this journey.”

For more information, or to get in touch with Jade or Tanya, please visit https://www.basis-reg.co.uk/team.

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Toro involved in many key milestones

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Toro involved in many key milestones: Toro dealer Cheshire Turf Machinery, based in Stockport near Manchester, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Toro, and its UK distributor, have been involved with Cheshire Turf Machinery for at least the last quarter of a century and some time before that, as managing director, Steve Halley explains: “Initially set up as Cheshire Light Tractors in 1956 selling garden machinery and turf equipment, the company was bought by Flymo in 1980, before we took the business back into private ownership in 1996. At that point, Toro was already a staple part of the business and Lely supported us, particularly with demo equipment when we took over. We changed the name to better suit the ethos of the business in the supply and servicing of professional turf equipment and set our focus on a mainly sports based portfolio of customers.

Toro involved in many key milestones

Toro involved in many key milestones

“The company has been through many changes, but one thing that has remained the same is our relationship with Toro and its UK distributor Lely, then Reesink.”

Toro excels at creating enduring relationships, built on reliability, productivity and quality; many of its relationships with customers are 25 years and counting – and the same relationship longevity applies to its dealers too.

Steve says: “Toro has been involved in so many milestones over the last quarter of a century. Toro was our first machine sold and our 1,000th, and when we decided to branch out into the market sector of councils and landscape contractors in 2013, becoming agents for the Toro Groundscare range enabled us to do that.”

In addition, Toro has also helped in the company’s expansion and as a result of continued sales growth Toro awarded Cheshire Turf Machinery with extra sales and service territory for its commercial golf mowers and equipment, primarily to cover South Yorkshire, culminating in the formation its sales division, Yorkshire Turf Machinery.

Steve says: “We’re very lucky to have had and to continue to have Toro and Reesink on board, having their names associated to ours has benefitted us greatly in building up the business. There’s a very good reason why 70 percent of our product portfolio consists of Toro machinery and that’s because of its quality. I believe that if we do our job properly when we sell that first Toro, we’ll have a customer for life.”

And that leads nicely on to the other major contributing factor to the company’s success and that is the experienced team, says Steve. “Our staff are good at thinking on their feet, thinking laterally to solve our customer’s problems. It was really highlighted in 2020 just how much they care, and I can’t thank them enough for that as well as all their hard work over the years.”

Excellent staff retention means the company can call on over 200 years of industry experience. Special mention goes to company secretary, Bob Smithson. Steve says his wisdom and business acumen has helped guide the company from inception to present and his influence cannot be overstated: “Bob has been instrumental in the success of the business.”

Also key, has been the company’s ability to tailor flexible finance packages to specifically meet customer requirements.

While golf provides the company’s largest customer base, other company highlights include the successful relationships forged with football clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as Preston, Blackburn, Blackpool, and Oldham.

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