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Bobcat expand in the Czech Republic

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Bobcat expand in the Czech Republic: Doosan Bobcat EMEA today announced the opening of its headquarters for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), marking a further expansion in the Czech Republic.

As part of its Dobříš campus, the newly erected building houses the company’s management and other employees and complements the production plant and the training and innovation center, where Bobcat machines are created for Europe and the rest of the world.

Bobcat expand in the Czech Republic

Record investment, turnover and increase in production

This year alone, the company’s investments in Dobříš will reach EUR 20 million. In 2018, Doosan Bobcat’s revenue for the EMEA region amounted to EUR 765 million, with the Dobříš factory producing a record 17,206 machines. This year, the company plans to increase production by 20% and break through the barrier of 20,000 machines for the first time.

Bobcat’s history dates back 60 years and has become synonymous with skid steer loaders in most of the world. It has been operating in the Czech Republic since 2001. A major development came in 2007 with the construction of a new production plant for loaders and mini-excavators and the takeover by the global Doosan Group. In addition to the new production capacities, Doosan Bobcat has also built an extensive training center, and, above all, an innovation center. The development of the entire campus is symbolically crowned by the opening of the company’s EMEA headquarters, which moved from Waterloo, Belgium, to Dobříš, Czech Republic.

Worth EUR 10 million, the three-storey headquarters building covers a surface area of 1,561 m2 and will offer more than 3,370 m2 of office space for 200 employees. Investments were also made to create more than 7,000 m2 of green areas around the building. The ample parking facilities include charging stations for electric vehicles.

Socio-economic importance for the whole region

Gustavo Otero, President of Doosan Bobcat EMEA, comments: “With the opening of the new headquarters in Dobříš, we are completing an investment which – thanks to the concentration of development, production and management of the company in one place – is of socio-economic importance for the whole region and exceptional within our industry. During Doosan Bobcat’s operations in the Czech Republic, we have invested approximately EUR 120 million, increased production five-fold, and more than tripled the number of employees. In the future, we expect a further recruitment of blue-collar professionals and expert positions in development.”

Doosan Bobcat in numbers:

  • A world leader in the manufacture of compact construction machines and a major manufacturer of agricultural machinery
  • 17,206 machines produced in the Dobříš factory in 2018 (20% increase in 2019)
  • EMEA revenue of EUR 765 million in 2018
  • A total investment of EUR 120 million for Doosan Bobcat Dobříš since 2007
  • 1,400 jobs on the Dobříš campus, 150 in development and 200 in management
  • Around 5,000 dealers and customers trained every year by the ‘Bobcat Institute’ training center

Major employer

With more than 1,400 employees from 30 different countries, Doosan Bobcat EMEA is one of the largest employers in the region. The company employs a number of blue-collar professionals: assembly workers, welders, and warehouse workers. With its innovation center and company management based in Dobříš, it also employs a number of highly specialized professionals, from development engineers to product managers and company management: 150 of them are located in the Innovation Center, and another 200 work in the new headquarters.

“Doosan Bobcat’s investment shows that the Czech Republic has a lot to offer to foreign companies – a skilled workforce, a stable business environment, and a location in the heart of Europe are ideal preconditions for high-value-added investments linked to research and development. The emphasis on innovation, product development and regional management is a great example of our competitiveness.” Karel Havlíček, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade.

World leader in track loaders

Doosan Bobcat EMEA produces about half of the global production of Bobcat machines. These include compact construction and agricultural machinery such as skid steer loaders and track loaders (of which Bobcat is a global leader), and mini-excavators such as the E10e, the world’s first 1-tonne electric excavator. The company also manufactures telescopic handlers and loaders, compressors and generators, and more than a hundred attachments.

Bobcat as part of the Doosan Group

The Doosan Group was founded in 1896 in Korea. Its activities range from manufacturing turbines for power plants to desalination plants to engines for giant ocean liners. Since 2007, the Bobcat brand has been part of the Doosan Group, specifically Doosan Bobcat EMEA. In addition to compact Bobcat machines, Doosan also offers heavy construction, mining and agricultural machinery under the Doosan Infracore brand.

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AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

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AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal: Chichester based AMS Contractors Ltd were the first to invest in the latest machine from Lincolnshire based drainage experts Shelton Drainage Ltd after a visit to the BTME in January where Shelton launched the machine onto the market.

The 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper has been designed to give the ability to backfill either gravel or sand at the flick of a switch, therefore reducing manual handling of the hoppers and giving improved efficiencies as the backfilling operation is much quicker and can keep up with the trencher, reducing downtime.

AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

AMS Contracting offer a range of service in the amenity, groundworks and landscaping sector and already had a Shelton 3 Tonne Fast Flow in their fleet prior to purchase. AMS Director Myles Strange explained why they chose to invest and how the machine is performing: “We were looking for a machine that would allow us to do as many jobs as possible using one operator and one tractor, allowing us to reduce haulage and machinery costs associated with each job. Every job is different, you never know when you can backfill behind the trencher or use the central feed hopper following behind, so having a machine that does both was a no brainer! The machine also doubles up as a material handler which is very helpful with secondary drainage jobs. We opted to have the spreaders fitted on the back of ours which worked very well. We were previously using a 3T Fast Flow, which is a great machine on single pitch applications, but longer runs meant more fill ups and did take a bit more time, none the less, it’s great if you don’t have a bigger chassis tractor available. The machine was very easy to use, far more nimble than we expected as it is quite a large machine. The control box is very straightforward, with a lot of fine adjustments so you can get the machine to do exactly as you want. We were very impressed with how easily you could swap between gravel and sand, just one adjustment in the hopper which takes 2 minutes and you’re away. We opted for the sand spinners and stainless hopper extras on our machine.

All of our Shelton products have been excellent and I would recommend to all companies in sportsturf. Richard is always at the end of the phone if you have any questions and is very helpful at all times! This machine cut out a lot of hire, operator and haulage costs and we look forward to doing more business in the future.”

AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

The unique design of the Universal means customers can choose from a number of different combinations: A stand alone Universal base unit or with the addition of any or all of the following options: A Gravel Cart (Side Discharge Unit), Sand Spreader or 6 Tonne Fast Flow (Centre Fill Unit).

Shelton will be on stand B112 with the Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper at IOG SALTEX.

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Husqvarna Rider receives Best in Test

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Husqvarna Rider receives Best in Test: Husqvarna Rider 214TC has received ‘Best in Test’ status in Price Runner UK’s latest ride-on test.

Following a test in which nine models were examined across factors such as: mowing performance, manoeuvrability, comfort & user-friendliness, the Husqvarna’s Rider 214TC  was found to be the best performing mower.

Husqvarna Rider receives Best in Test

It was praised by an independent panel of testers with the feedback stating that the Husqvarna mower was “a very high performance model for large areas with lots of obstacles”. The Rider 214TC stood out for its flexibility, with a range of front-mounted accessories, such as a snow shovel, brush and aerator all able to be attached to the mower.

Price Runner UK went on to further to say the model was “king of the ride-on lawn mowers, which gets maximum points in everything we give it to do.”

On the Rider 214TC’s exemplar score, Husqvarna UK Category Manager – Lawn, Andrew Lees said: “We are extremely pleased to receive such a prestigious award, the Husqvarna R 214TC is one of our best-selling models and the award reinforces why. The R 214TC shares the same Husqvarna Rider DNA as found on all rider models from the 200 Series, designed for domestic use up to the Commercial specification 500 Series models. This means that no matter which model our customers choose they will benefit from the same great features and benefits as highlighted in the test. The Husqvarna Rider range allows customers to cut more in less time whilst still providing an enjoyable and intuitive driving experience.”

For the full test results visit: https://www.pricerunner.com/test/ride-on-lawn-mower

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Prestigious Club Goes All In For Toro

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Prestigious Club Goes All In For Toro: At the pinnacle of St George’s Hill Golf Club sits its iconic clubhouse, casting an eye over its three nine-hole courses widely regarded as Harry Colt’s crowning glory, and now in the hands of Toro to uphold.

Set within an exclusive private estate in Surrey, the club was in need of a fleet of turfcare machinery to maintain the high standards of the course, and it was a complete Toro package that proved to hit the mark with the club signing its first ever five-year agreement plan with Toro and its distributor Reesink Turfcare.

Prestigious Club Goes All In For Toro

The historic club provides one of the most exclusive golfing experiences, currently ranked No.63 in the World by Golf Digest Magazine. With so much history and expectation, course manager Chris Godsen says the pressure to provide the very best is always on.

“Every day here is a big day,” he explains. “Everyone who comes to play is looking for the best and wanting an experience like no other, so we have to work to provide that every day, no exceptions.”

With the club boasting 500 members and the estate home to 420 houses, having a comprehensive and efficient fleet is vitally important.

“The fleet here was already about 90 percent Toro,” Chris says. “But we wanted to invest in new machines, so we’d be up to date with the latest tech and innovation.”

Despite looking at a range of options with other brands before making a commitment, for Chris, Toro was the only choice.

“We did look at a couple of other brands, but there would always be one or two unreliable machines that would really let the package down. But with Toro, there isn’t one piece of kit I can see doing that. Toro always has far superior machines that are durable, reliable and state-of-the-art, which is just what a prestigious club like St George’s Hill needs.”

And club secretary Gary Peddie agrees: “The decision to choose Toro was a relatively easy one. They are recognised in the industry as a leading manufacturer of golf course machinery. That position sits very well alongside St George’s Hill Golf Club, as we look to deliver the best in golf course conditioning.”

With the package deal comprising near thirty pieces, including three Greensmaster 3250-Ds, three Reelmaster 3555-Ds, two Groundsmaster 4300-Ds, four Workman HDX-Ds and a ProPass 200 to name a few, Chris is excited to put the new comprehensive fleet to work.

“We’re particularly excited to trial our new lightweight mowers as we haven’t had them before. The Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer is also going to be a big help. It’s bigger and faster than what we have now, so we’ll be able to get more coverage in less time.

“I’m confident this agreement is just the start of an ongoing partnership,” says Chris. “The service from Reesink has always been great and now with a full fleet of Toro equipment, I have total peace of mind that the course is in good hands.”

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13 BASIS CPD Points On Offer In October

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13 BASIS CPD Points On Offer In October: October poses a bumper month for BASIS members to collect amenity CPD points at leading industry events.

Those attending this year’s Amenity Forum Conference and the two-day SALTEX event have the opportunity to collect a total of 13 BASIS CPD points for event attendance and participating in educational sessions.

13 BASIS CPD Points On Offer In October

Amenity Forum Conference – Thursday 10 October

Five points are on offer for general attendance of the Amenity Forum Conference, where BASIS CEO, Stephen Jacob, will be presenting as part of the programme.

“This year’s conference is focusing on 21st century amenity management, and I’m looking forward to presenting in the afternoon session on ‘assured practice in our sector – licenced to practice,” explains Stephen.

SALTEX – Wednesday 30 to Thursday 31 October

“Following on from the conference, we’ll be offering up to four points per day at SALTEX.

“Here, members can gain one point each day for attendance, with a further point for every ‘Learning Live’ session participated in, throughout the course of the event, up to a maximum of four points per day.

For further information about BASIS, please visit www.basis-reg.co.uk or call 01335 343945.

To attend the Amenity Forum Conference, please visit https://amenityforum.co.uk/conference/the-amenity-forum-conference-2019/

For a full list of the ‘Learning Live’ sessions, please visit www.iogsaltex.com/learning-live/.

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