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Ranger on the rails

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Ranger on the rails: Known as ‘rail buggies’, utility vehicles are not new to the railway maintenance industry, but the development of the custom Polaris Rail Ranger presented an opportunity to innovate the design, including the introduction of technology and equipment which is normally reserved for bigger, more expensive plant equipment.

The custom Ranger was built by Fitzgerald Plant Services Ltd, an established provider of specialist services for the rail and construction industries, including repair work, maintenance, engineering and heavy haulage transport. Based in Cwmbran, South Wales, Fitzgerald Plant Services aims to provide a one-stop-shop for all of their customers’ requirements – including specialist solutions like the Polaris Ranger.

Ranger on the rails

Ranger on the rails

“These machines are very versatile and can be utilised in a number of different ways,” said Clayton Greenman, Fitzgerald Plant Services Ltd Engineering Manager. “That’s one reason why they’re so suited to working on the rails because it depends a lot on what kind of maintenance work the contractors are undertaking. Transporting personnel, towing trailers with tools and equipment, weed spraying, leaf clearance, track inspections – the Rail Ranger is the ideal vehicle to do it all.”

Supported by their local Polaris dealer – Usk & Wye Valley ATV Ltd – who serve the Monmouth and Forest of Dean areas, the Polaris Ranger was selected because of its refined cab that offers the option to be fully enclosed with the addition of doors, a windshield, rear panel and roof, alongside its class-leading capabilities and durability.

Initially building a prototype with a Polaris Ranger Diesel, Fitzgerald Plant Services will have delivered four Polaris Ranger vehicles to operate across UK rail lines by the end of this year, with many more custom builds planned for 2021.

“From the initial brief to the delivered prototype, the diesel machine took around three years to develop,” continued Clayton. “Building the machine in compliance with the Network Rail standards is understandably very time consuming due to the testing and documentation required. Development of the prototype petrol Ranger Crew XP 1000 took less than 4 months as we gained a lot of experience from the previous diesel project. Now we’re in series production, we can complete a full rail conversion in about 3 weeks.”

The custom Ranger vehicles are fitted with spacers to give them a wider track width, ensuring the tyres sit correctly on the railhead, as well as specially-mounted rail gear, an air braking system and hydraulic systems. As the Polaris chassis has been designed to accommodate a snow plough, the same mounting points could be utilised to fit the front rail equipment, however, the chassis had to be specially adapted for the rear equipment. The hydraulic system controls the raising and lowering of the rail bogies and the hydraulic trailer park brake, using a 12-volt DC electro/hydraulic power pack powered from the battery. There is also a 12-volt DC twin air compressor which powers the air brake system – a requirement for towing trailers on the UK rail infrastructure.

Fitzgerald Plant Services Ltd added its own custom display, controllers and software to control the various rail systems and operate as effectively as possible. The operator can get real-time updates on machine status and operate the functions via a user interface. There are also password-protected menus for service engineers where all the system diagnostic information and calibration settings are found.

For more information on the Polaris Ranger, please visit the Polaris Britain website here.

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A spotlight on Tom Hobbis

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A spotlight on Tom Hobbis: Tom Hobbis, former greenkeeper, father-to-be and Amenity Specialist for Agrovista Amenity reveals exactly why he feels blessed – every single day.

As the end of his school life was approaching, Tom didn’t really know what his future held. However, a chance work experience placement at his local golf course made him fall in love with working in the great outdoors.

A spotlight on Tom Hobbis

A spotlight on Tom Hobbis

“I was offered a full-time role after my work placement at the golf course and found that working outdoors with early starts and early finishes was something that appealed to me – it just suited me down to a tee.”

After greenkeeping for thirteen years he moved into machinery sales, where he was working with some of the most prominent brands in turf care. Of course, he didn’t have any experience in sales at the time, but he wasn’t about to let that stop him.

“I’m a firm believer in the saying, if you don’t ask you don’t get,” said Tom. “I thought it was something I’d like to do so I just asked the company outright if I could have a job. They gave me one and in turn it gave me the experience I needed to be able to apply for the job with Agrovista.”

Tom was in this role for fifteen months before he saw the opportunity at Agrovista Amenity. He admits that it piqued his interest immediately, but this time, it wasn’t as straight forward as just calling someone up and asking for the job.

“Agrovista is a huge company and it seemed to tick every box for me,” continued Tom. “I knew a couple of people that were working there, and they explained how good a company it was to work for – in terms of support, training and development. It was quite a long application and interview process but fortunately I was offered the role and I’ve never looked back.”

Tom has now been an Amenity Specialist for just under two years, focussing his efforts on a variety of sites around Scotland. Tom clocks up the miles as his daily travels take him to some spectacular places on his home soil, including East Lothian, Perth and Aberdeenshire – to name but a few.

The best part of his day? A wee chinwag of course.

“It’s always a 5am start and it will be a case of catching up with customers; going over a quotation or looking at the results of some products that have been put down; talking about the plan moving forward – or just having a chinwag. I love a good chinwag! The conversation always varies depending on the site and each has their own objectives and goals. The whole aspect of the job is completely different, and it certainly keeps me on my toes.”

Tom makes an average of five visits a day to customers and even though two years might seem a long time, he claims that he still has some work to put in when it comes to getting to know all of his customers.

“I cover pretty much the whole of Scotland and it is still a learning curve,” he said. “I’m still in that period of getting to know my customer base on a personal level. Every customer is just as important as the next, whether they spend £2 or £20,000 – it’s essential that we offer the same level of service at all times.”

With customer service in mind, Tom believes that the bar has been raised even higher in this respect since Agrovista acquired Maxwell Amenity earlier this year.

“It’s been an exciting time to be part of this company. The portfolio of products that we can now put forward is second to none. I feel it has put Agrovista Amenity in a position where it is at the very top of the marketplace. It’s just a case of driving forward in the right direction – and that is exactly what we are doing as a company.

“Agrovista is supportive in so many ways, it is unbelievable, and someone is always at the end of the phone as well. I’m also currently working towards my BASIS and FACTS qualifications so there is a lot to look forward to.”

Life is good for Tom right now; not only is he in a job he loves but he and his partner are looking forward to welcoming a baby into their family (in just five days, in fact, at the time of writing).

“I’m a big family man and I love spending quality time with my partner and the kids. We’ve got another little girl on the way which we are over the moon about.

“Career wise – I couldn’t be happier, and the position that I am in now makes me feel immensely proud. To be able to go out walking on a golf course, a football stadium, a race course or the beautiful grounds of a private school and to be able to talk to people with the same shared interests – well it’s not a bad gig is it?

“I feel very blessed, every single day, that I can do this job.”

For more information about Agrovista Amenity, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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Groundsman sleeps out on pitch

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Groundsman sleeps out on pitch: Chorley’s groundsman Ben Kay worked hard to make his team’s pitch playable, sleeping on the pitch under a heated tent.

Read the full article from The Daily Mail here

Groundsman sleeps out on pitch

Groundsman sleeps out on pitch

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Irelands Lincolnshire GroundCare takes on Baroness

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Irelands Lincolnshire GroundCare takes on Baroness: Irelands Lincolnshire GroundCare are pleased to announce they have recently signed an agreement with Baroness to supply and support the professional range of Golf and Fine-Turf mowers across Lincolnshire, Rutland and Peterborough.

With immediate effect, the already successful dealership will be actively promoting the leading Japanese brand who have been building quality machinery for over 100 years. Baroness machines are built to last, and offer a precise quality of cut, lower cost of ownership and are both simple and efficient to use.

Irelands Lincolnshire GroundCare takes on Baroness

Irelands Lincolnshire GroundCare takes on Baroness

Jonathan Ireland MD Irelands adds: “We believe Baroness are a long-term partner and they are very much in our plans as we continue to develop and move forward. I am delighted that we are in a position to be able to offer our new and current customers the benefits of the Baroness range. This range ideally sits alongside our existing quality brands such as Kubota and ensures we can provide an unrivalled range of equipment for the fine turf market.”

Adam Butler, Baroness Sales Director added: “Bringing Irelands into our already substantial dealer portfolio was an easy decision for us. Their back up and customer service is second to none in the area and we are very excited to be working with a company that demands such high standards. Yes, our machines are great but we must have great service to back them up.” #JapaneseExcellence

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A spotlight on Ramsay MacGregor

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A spotlight on Ramsay MacGregor: Ramsay MacGregor, amenity specialist for Agrovista Amenity, has enjoyed a long and successful career which can be attributed to his determination, drive, passion and strength of character.

Although far from the end of his journey, the father of four often reflects on his career path, which all started when he first left agricultural college in the early eighties. “When I came out of college there were no jobs in agriculture especially for farm managers – which is what I had been studying,” he says.

A spotlight on Ramsay MacGregor

A spotlight on Ramsay MacGregor

“At that time, a lot of my friends were going to America and Australia to work on farms but I saw an advert for a job in Denmark and I like to be different – I don’t like to follow the pack. I phoned the number, spoke to a Danish farmer and a week later I was on a farm in Denmark. I stayed there for two years.”

Ramsay enjoyed his overseas adventure, which also included stints in Holland and Iceland, but at the age of 22 decided it was time to return to Scotland. As he departed his seat on the plane, little did he know that he was about to line up his next job immediately.

“I landed at the airport and went to meet some friends from my old college. While I was waiting to meet them, I picked up a newspaper and there was a job advertisement for a horticultural engineer. I phoned the number, went for an interview the very next day and got the job. However, the guy that interviewed me thought that I’d be more suited to sales.

“I learnt all of the machines in the workshop inside and out and from there I moved into the show room before eventually getting out onto the road.”

After a solid 12 years in sales, which also included a position at Aitken’s Sportsturf, Ramsay faced one his toughest decisions yet.

“At the time I was working for CSC (Chemical Spray Company), who are now part of Agrii, and my sales manager decided he wanted to set up his own business. There were four of us and we were all going to go and start up this business together. However, two of them decided at the last minute not to do it and it was just myself and the sales manager. We left in 2001 and started up a business called Terra Firma.

“I remember us both walking into a big empty warehouse and looking at each other, laughing and saying what have we done? The salaries, company cars and pensions – we gave it all up. It was scary, but we managed to build it up to a substantial size and that is probably what I am most proud of in my career.”

Since its creation in 2001, Terra Firma had grown into one of Scotland’s largest suppliers to the amenity and local authority markets. In recognising its potential, Agrovista bought the company in 2017. The combination of both companies’ industry knowledge, experience and customer service ethos quickly formed a strong, sustainable and service-focused business model.

“Agrovista is a great company to work for,” he said. “Admittedly I was apprehensive – particularly going from a small independent company to a massive organisation. Big ships are notoriously difficult to a steer, but I’ve been amazed at just how reactive they are. I’ve been really impressed. The company is big on education and I’ve always had a hunger for developing and learning. Every day I learn something new and I think the day that I stop learning is the day that I will hang the boots up. It’s not always about grass or weeds or weather, but about people. I love to learn about someone’s background or how they function and operate.”

Ramsay’s passion for conversation and people is demonstrated daily as he attends his diverse customer base. While he admits to enjoying the variety of his work, he also believes it has made him more aware of some the struggles faced by some amenity professionals – particularly greenkeepers.

“On any one day I could go into a couple of golf courses in the morning to see some greenkeepers, then in the afternoon I could go and visit a council and be talking about Japanese Knotweed, and then I could be out talking to a landscaper – I have a very diverse and interesting customer base which I really enjoy.

“Unfortunately, it does make me realise some of the troubles these people have. Greenkeepers are becoming under more and more pressure – whether that be from the club where they work or the members. The number of greenkeepers that are going off with stress is disappointing. In fact, so many greenkeepers have walked away from their jobs because of the grief they have received.”

Many of his customers will know that Ramsay is, in fact, his middle name. Allan Ramsay MacGregor is his full name, but by his own admission, he cares little for names or titles.

“Over the years I’ve had various titles, but I’ve never been big on them if I’m being honest. What’s in a name? It’s what is on the inside that counts. People take you for what you are and who you are.”

It is safe to say that most people Ramsay has encountered throughout his career have taken him for who he is and that is why he is such a respected figure in the industry – someone who people can turn to for advice, support or just a good conversation.

For more information, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity.

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

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