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Power the future of grounds management

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Power the future of grounds management: The Grounds Management Association (GMA) is proud to reaffirm what truly sets SALTEX apart: every penny generated by the show is reinvested directly into the grounds management industry, supporting the people that keep sport and community spaces thriving across the nation.

For nearly nine decades, SALTEX has existed with a singular purpose: to elevate and advance the profession of grounds management. As a not-for-profit, mission-led event, SALTEX reinvests every pound it generates back into the industry – supporting everyone from grassroots volunteers maintaining local pitches to elite professionals delivering world-class playing surfaces around the globe.

Power the future of grounds management

Power the future of grounds management

Revenue from SALTEX 2024 has enabled the GMA to subsidise approximately 63% of its membership base, delivering essential support to both professional and volunteer grounds staff. Community and the brand-new free student memberships have benefited most, strengthening the GMA’s promise to nurture new talent and ensuring the highest standards of grounds care are applied across the country.

SALTEX profits also support the funding of the industry’s gold-standard training. In the last financial year, income from the show subsidised over 2,000 GMA training courses and qualifications, helping more groundspeople to upskill and grow. The subsidised fees have attracted an extra 7% of learners this year, widening access and upskilling even more people across the sector. The GMA remains the only sector body accredited under the Department for Education’s matrix Standard – a testament to the quality of the association’s training and support.

The GMA’s work to champion the sector wouldn’t be possible without SALTEX. The exhibition enables key initiatives like the annual Industry Awards, recognising excellence at all levels, and #GroundsWeek, the GMA’s national campaign shining a spotlight on the vital work of grounds teams. This year’s #GroundsWeek reached more than 20 million people, the biggest audience to date, inspiring future recruits and building recognition for the profession.

For over ten years, SALTEX has served as a vital meeting ground for the UK’s leading sports governing bodies (NGBs) including The FA, Football Foundation, ECB, RFU and RFL, who consistently choose the show as a trusted platform to engage with the industry. Their presence enables a shared focus on improving facilities at every level. By aligning with the GMA and SALTEX, the NGBs are investing in the long-term sustainability and success of the spaces where sport happens.

Sarah Cunningham, Director of Commercial, Membership and Events at the GMA, said: “SALTEX is the engine room of our industry. Every exhibitor and every visitor helps us reinvest in the people who make sport possible, from the volunteers who keep local pitches playable to the professionals preparing world-class surfaces and green spaces.

“And the impact is far-reaching in helping fund the training, resources, initiatives and recognition our sector needs to thrive. When people choose to be part of SALTEX either as an exhibitor or a visitor, they’re directly supporting the future of grounds management, and that’s something we’re incredibly proud of.”

As the only event of its kind that gives back to the industry, SALTEX remains the professional choice for those committed to the future of grounds management.

SALTEX takes place at Birmingham NEC on 12-13 November 2025. Exhibitors wishing to secure their place at Europe’s cutting-edge grounds management show should contact saltexsales@thegma.org.uk.

For more information and to register for your FREE ticket, visit www.saltex.org.uk.

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Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance

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Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance: It’s well documented that time is a precious commodity for every greenkeeping team. At Bungay & Waveney Valley Golf Club it’s no different, with woodland maintenance one of the biggest pulls on Tony Moore and his team during the autumn and winter months.

That all changed however with the delivery of their GreenMech Arborist 130 woodchipper in November 2024, which has not only slashed the time it takes to thin-out and raise lower branches, it’s also significantly reduced the amount of traffic moving around the course.

Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance

Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance

Affectionately named the ‘Hidden Jewel of Suffolk’, the course is nestled in the picturesque Waveney Valley and is lined with a mixture of mature oak, birch and pine trees which need attention in the winter months to improve airflow and ensure good lines of sight. “Some years we’ll do more work than others, but either way, any tree work ties up multiple people who end up killing time while someone runs backwards and forwards with branches in a trailer” explains Head Greenkeeper Tony.

“I got in touch with GreenMech’s Neal Hussey who coordinated with our local dealer TNS to bring us a couple of chippers in on demonstration. We were really impressed with the capacity of the Arborist 130, the fact that it’s very easy to use and, importantly, the price.”

Delivered in November, the Arborist 130 was put straight to work. He continues, “Neal came back to get the team trained up on how to use the chipper, but it’s pretty foolproof so we were up and running with it really quickly. With the chipper, we now have less hands on the job and are having to make significantly fewer trips with the trailer which reduces our fuel consumption and is better for the course when the ground conditions are softer.”

The Arborist 130 is an ideal fit for golf courses, landscapers and contractors looking for a low-maintenance, high-output 6” machine. Equipped with a number of GreenMech’s unique features including a wide infeed chute, no-stress in-feed system and disc-blade chipping technology, the chipper is a robust, capable addition to any machinery fleet.

“We can get the machine exactly where we need it which means we can achieve more in less time, and free up labour for other tasks around the course. It’s been a gamechanger for us” he concludes.

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Centre of Excellence Celebrates First Year

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Centre of Excellence Celebrates First Year: The UK’s first Centre of Excellence in glasshouse growing has celebrated a fruitful opening year, with some of its produce being showcased at this weekend’s Kent County Show.

The Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College, which was officially opened in June 2024, is an education centre developed to inspire and train the next generation of UK salad and vegetable growers.

Centre of Excellence Celebrates First Year

Centre of Excellence Celebrates First Year

It is based at Hadlow College’s state-of-the-art glasshouse and sees horticultural students working directly with Thanet Earth, the UK’s largest glasshouse salad supplier, to develop their skills and grow tomatoes in a commercial crop environment.

It has had a successful first year and the fruits of its labours will, quite literally, be on display at the Hadlow College marquee at the Kent County Show this weekend, where visitors will be able to try tomatoes freshly grown at the facility.

After being officially opened in June 2024, it was announced in December that it had donated a tonne of its produce to the food charity FareShare during 2024, providing the equivalent of 2,260 meals and supporting 27 charity and community groups as a result.

The Centre of Excellence has gone on to feature on both BBC and ITV in the intervening period, and in February horticulture students planted the 2025 crop, with hopes for another bumper year.

The facility plays an integral part in horticulture courses at the College and features cutting edge technology including: suspended gutters running hydroponics for the tomatoes, LED and high-pressure sodium lighting and a vertical growing farm.

Alan Harvey, Hadlow College’s Head of Curriculum for Horticulture and Floristry, says: “Our first year has been a fantastic one, where students have benefited enormously from the Centre of Excellence in developing their skills in glasshouse technology and growing. In addition to this we are very grateful to all our partners who have engaged with students over the year providing guest lecture spots, visits, practical workshops and coaching opportunities.”

Sally Channon, Senior Technologist (Innovation) at Thanet Earth, adds: “It has been remarkable to see the effort and enthusiasm shown by the students, their commitment to learning about how we grow crops in a protected environment using advanced techniques and sustainable practices has been inspirational.

“At Thanet Earth, we’re passionate about producing food efficiently and responsibly, and it has been rewarding to see young people engaging with these principles. This has all been proudly supported by our Sponsors who have enriched the learning experience for the students.”

To find out more about the Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College, and everything else the College offers, visit the Hadlow College marquee at the Kent County Show this weekend or visit the projects page of Hadlow College website.

The Kent County Show, held annually in July, is the region’s premier event for farming, agriculture, and countryside life. For three days, the Kent Showground comes alive with animals, horses, vintage vehicles, retail stands, and much more, celebrating the best of the county.

This year it runs from Friday 4 July to Sunday 6 July. To find out more visit the Kent County Show website.

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Inside the life of Wimbledon groundsman

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Inside the life of Wimbledon groundsman: Neil Stubley is the man in charge of getting the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s courts ready for action.

When you are responsible for keeping the Wimbledon courts so lush, green, firm and ready for play there is no rest at all for the man in charge. Neil, 56, is one Wimbledon’s hard-working unsung heroes. His official title is head of courts and horticulture.

Inside the life of Wimbledon groundsman

Inside the life of Wimbledon groundsman

Read the full story here

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John Deere named among top employers of veterans

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John Deere named among top employers of veterans: John Deere has been recognised in the 2025 ranking of the UK’s top 50 employers for the armed forces community following the success of its Military Hiring Programme.

The GREAT British Employers of Veterans programme is a prestigious benchmark recognising those organisations setting the national standard in veteran employment.

John Deere named among top employers of veterans

John Deere named among top employers of veterans

Inclusion in the highly competitive top 50 reflects a genuine, measurable, and sustained commitment to the Armed Forces community in the UK.

Allan Cochran, Branch Training Manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “Following on from the success John Deere has had in recruiting thousands of skilled armed forces veterans in

America, it has been fantastic to see our own Military Hiring Programme roll out across the UK and Ireland over the past three years.

“The skills and the mindset of those leaving the forces are perfectly suited to the roles being

offered by our dealerships, and those who have resettled into the John Deere family have cited many similarities in a working environment that’s built around team effort and camaraderie.

“We’re honoured to be recognised in this way. It will further fuel our passion for offering service veterans a next step in their careers across the agricultural and professional turfcare sectors.”

The groundbreaking initiative to attract ex-service personnel into new careers at John Deere dealers was launched in the UK in 2023.

The Military Hiring Programme matches ex-members of the armed forces with technician role vacancies at dealerships across the country.

The next Insight Day, designed to show veterans what a career with the brand could look like, takes place at John Deere’s Langar headquarters on 8 July.

The 50 GREAT British Employers of Veterans was created to provide a definitive, data-backed guide to the UK’s most exemplary forces-friendly employers. It stands as a mark of excellence for organisations whose support is embedded, enduring and effective.

Each year, more than 15,000 individuals leave the British armed forces. Highly trained, values-driven and mission-focused, they represent one of the most capable and under-utilised talent pools in the labour market. Yet barriers remain to building a meaningful second career.

Ben Rossi, founder of the global Forces in Business Awards series and 50 GREAT British

Employers of Veterans programme, said: “This comprehensive ranking of forces-friendly employers has become a cornerstone resource for veterans, reservists and their families – and a powerful benchmark for organisations seeking to lead in veteran employment. To feature in the top 50 is to stand among the most committed supporters of the armed forces community.

“Inclusion is not easily earned. The 2025 list reflects a growing coalition of employers who truly understand military talent, setting best practice and proving that investing in the Armed Forces community is not just the right thing to do – it’s a clear strategic advantage.”

Service members and ex-service members interested in the John Deere Military Hiring

Programme can find out more by visiting Deere.com/JDMHP.

They will be put in touch with an ex-services person within the John Deere network to discuss all potential options.

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