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John O’Conner Trusts In Toro

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John O’Conner Trusts In Toro: As one of the UK’s most successful and reputable grounds maintenance companies, John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance knows that having the best groundscare equipment is vital, which is why they put their trust in Toro to provide their clients with the high-quality service they expect.

Having recently won the Toro sponsored Grounds Maintenance – Limited Public Access category at the BALI National Landscape Awards, and with the companies 50th year coming up in June 2019, senior workshop manager Simon Redhead, who has been with the company for 35 years, tells us how Toro has become an essential equipment provider for the family run business.

John O’Conner Trusts In Toro

“We have a wide range of customers, so we need flexible and reliable machines to deal with them all,” he says. “We look after grounds on the Isle of Wight all the way up to Scotland, so making sure we provide a consistent service no matter where in the country or what kind of client they are is really important and Toro helps us to achieve that.”

With 45 pieces of kit in the company’s grounds maintenance fleet, it’s clear Toro is highly valued.

“We have everything from pedestrian and ride on mowers to tractor drawn gang mowers. In particular the Toro LT3340 heavy-duty triple cylinder mower has been great and has been our front-line machine for many years. For example, when we have long wet grass and difficult conditions, the LT3340 comes into its own.

“The majority of our clients are local authorities and with increasing budget cuts, many of them now need areas to be cut less frequently while still providing the same finish. The LT3340 has proven over the years to be an integral part of our fleet of machines.”

And it’s not just the machines themselves that are highly valued by John O’Conner, but the service from Reesink Turfcare as well.

“Reesink have always been great, especially when it comes to their parts service and training. Anything you need they’ll get to you within 24 hours, which is great because it means we can get machines back in use almost immediately.”

The company is about to trial another Toro machine, the CT2240. “I know that Toro will always deliver durable, reliable, high-quality machines and are always looking at innovative ways to make things better for the operator and customer. They also come with excellent service to back that up.”

He concludes: “Toro fits in very well with what our customers expect with regards to cut, finish and appearance.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Council Invests In Third Toro Machine

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Council Invests In Third Toro Machine: East Devon District Council has recently invested in a third Toro Groundsmaster 360 after its previous two models purchased in 2015, have proved to be a huge success with the Council’s groundscare department.

Dan Haydon, from the groundscare department, says that there were a lot of boxes for these machines to tick with reliability at the fore and the Groundsmaster 360 has ticked them all.

Council Invests In Third Toro Machine

“We have so many different kinds of grounds to maintain, from communal gardens and children’s play areas to sports pitches and cemeteries,” says Dan. “Having a robust, reliable machine that can adapt is vital and the Groundsmaster 360 does just that.

“Our machines need to be in use every day for eight and a half hours from spring until November; it’s a big task. With the two GM360s we’ve been using for four years, we’ve never had a problem, so it wasn’t a hard decision to purchase another one.”

The Council had been using triple cylinder mowers before purchasing the new GM360 rotary mowers. Due to government cuts, the frequency of cutting areas had to be reduced and its previous mowers weren’t able to keep the grass short for long enough, which is why the department opted to trial the GM360 zero-turn mower

The quad-steer all-wheel drive steering of the GM360 provides maximum productivity even in undulating terrain. Able to climb hills without slipping and make 180 degree turns without tearing turf, Dan couldn’t be happier with the machine.

“Whatever the weather or type of terrain – it performs across the board. We’ve seen a real improvement, and so have our other teams. We currently have eight teams across Devon, three of which have Toro machines, but now everyone is noticing the difference with Toro and there is definite potential in the future for Toro to pushed out across all the teams.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Celebrating 25 Years In Irrigation

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Celebrating 25 Years In Irrigation: Celebrating 25 years in the business, Jeremy Green became an authorised Landscape Agent for Rain Bird UK in May 1994. In 2006 he established Evergreen Irrigation in Pitstone and the company has become one of the UK’s most well respected landscape irrigation specialists.

Jeremy says: “Irrigation has become important in discussions about landscaping – not just to ensure appropriate watering, but also because of the need for more efficient use of water. Many building projects require irrigation as part of the eco-friendly requirements of local authorities. Increasing numbers of Landscape Designers are including irrigation in their layouts and looking to us to address the watering requirements for various types of plants and trees.”

Celebrating 25 Years In Irrigation

Jeremy’s original involvement with irrigation was when he began his career in the Middle East, acquiring experience on high profile projects. He familiarised himself with Rain Bird working for the landscape and irrigation project division of the BMTC in Saudi Arabia. “ The Middle East has a demanding climate so effective irrigation is essential. If products are tough enough to operate efficiently there, then the UK should present no problem. I was keen to be associated with Rain Bird on my return to the UK. “

Jeremy sees the most significant recent product development to be dripline surface irrigation that provides water exactly where it is needed. Automatic control systems including Wi-Fi linked and IQ-Cloud systems, which Rain Bird has developed, bring new levels of practicality and bespoke control. There has been a greater emphasis on training: “ Rain Bird and most other large irrigation suppliers provide extensive training programmes. I would like to see the industry take a greater lead in training, implementing recognised qualifications and codes of practice.”

Evergreen Irrigation supplies products for smaller residential installations and local roadside landscaping as well as commercial roof gardens and high profile installations including Royal Albert Hall, London Eye, Arsenal FC Training Ground, National Trust Properties and the HM Treasury.  “With increasing awareness of the need to use water responsibly, I see the irrigation industry going from strength to strength. The next 25 years will be an exciting period,” Jeremy concludes.

Evergreen Irrigation, Pitstone Green Business Park, Tunnel Way, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9GJ

Tel: 01296 668402, office@evergreen-irrigation.co.uk  www.evergreen-irrigation.co.uk

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Killeen Castle Invest In John Deere

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Killeen Castle Invest In John Deere: Killeen Castle Golf Club in Co Meath, Ireland is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2019, as well as its recent investment in a state of the art golf course equipment fleet deal with John Deere and local dealer Dublin Grass Machinery worth in excess €500,000, with finance arranged through Deere’s partner Bank of Ireland.

The machinery acquisition represents a significant investment on the part of Killeen Castle in the future of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, as the club enters its second decade of golf operations. The championship golf course opened in 2009 and was described by the 18-time Major winner and course designer as “one of my proudest designs”.

Killeen Castle Invest In John Deere

The upgraded equipment fleet includes tees, fairway, greens and rough mowers, utility tractors, Gator utility vehicles, sprayers, top dressers and bunker rakes – with the latest John Deere E-Cut hybrid electric mowers now playing an important part in future-proofing the work of course superintendent Mark Collins and his team.

Killeen Castle has hosted The 2011 Solheim Cup between Europe and USA in addition to three Ladies Irish Opens from 2010 to 2012. The 630-acre estate also features a number of signature residential properties, The Dave Pelz Scoring Game School, Fore Golf Custom Club Fitters and a Norman castle dating back to 1181.

The castle will become the focal point of the estate following a recent grant of planning permission for a 177-room luxury hotel, including the renovation and restoration of the original structure which will house 17 suites and a number of luxury dining rooms. The new three-storey structure partnering this renovation will incorporate 160 rooms, a day spa, function rooms and a winter garden restaurant.

The investment in new equipment also included an upgrade and enhancement of the club’s rental golf cars and trolleys to the latest state of the art GPS units, as well as re-kerbing of the entire clubhouse compound. This was in addition to significant works around the golf course and peripheral areas to enhance the sanding and drainage profile of the course, all designed to ensure championship standard golfing conditions for members and visitors alike all year round.

“There were many key factors in choosing John Deere equipment,” said Mark Collins. “The relationship with Dublin Grass Machinery and sales manager Noel Bennett was high up the list, with the excellent technical and back-up service provided for the past 12 years.

“The quality of John Deere machinery is quite simply second to none, and the company’s advances in technology with the hybrid electric mowers made the decision an easy one. The overall package will allow us to continue to improve our work practices and deliver even better standards of course presentation to our members and guests.”

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Holes Appear In Cricket Pitch

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Holes Appear In Cricket Pitch: Vandals have hit a cricket club in Tameside after digging up more than 150 holes on the pitch.

The damage to the wickets at Ashton Ladysmith Cricket Club was discovered earlier this week.

It’s thought to have happened some time between 5pm on Tuesday and 2pm on Thursday.

The ground on Rosehill Road in Ashton-under-Lyne is secure and to get inside someone would have had to scale a 6ft metal fence – with a spade.

That’s why club bosses believe the attack on the pitch was deliberate and premeditated.

Club house manager David Gaskin discovered the damage.

“It’s definitely deliberate,” he said.

“Over 150 holes have been dug up with a spade.

“It happened last year as well, it wasn’t as bad and we thought at the time it may have been kids but not this, this is deliberate.

“It’s the same area that’s been targeted as well so it seems like someone has a grievance against the club.”

David said it took him three hours to put the dug-up grass back in the holes but says it will be at least a month before it is fit to play on.

Members will have to use practice pitches for the time being.

“Out of 10 wickets, seven had been damaged, and they’re the main ones that we use so whoever did this knew what they were doing.

“They will have also had to get over a 6ft metal fence with a spade to get in, and needed 30-40 minutes to do what they did so it had to have been planned.

“I just don’t understand it.”

The incident has been reported to police and enquiries are being carried out.

David said the club is now looking to install CCTV and is appealing to any local businesses who would be willing to help out to get in touch.

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