Tag Archive for: secures

INFINICUT® preserves past and secures future

INFINICUT® preserves past and secures future: With one eye on preserving the past and the other on ensuring the site remains fit for the future, Crathes Castle – part of the National Trust for Scotland collection – have invested in a battery-powered cylinder mower from INFINICUT®.

Utilising funding from the National Trust, the venue took delivery of a 22” INFINICUT® FX last September for the sustainable management of gardens and lawned areas – in a way that brings benefit to the venue and visitors alike.

INFINICUT® preserves past and secures future

INFINICUT® preserves past and secures future

For the last five years, James Hannaford has been the Head Gardener at Crathes Castle – a 16th century castle nestled amongst over 520 acres of ornamental gardens, lawns and woodland near Banchory in Aberdeenshire. “Like a lot of places, we’re reviewing our practices to reflect the changing times and switching to more electric machinery to be cleaner and kinder to the environment” explains James. “We looked at the options available and first of all were amazed at how far the technology has come in the few years since we first looked at electric mowers. What stood out for us with the INFINICUT® was the ease of use, the versatility and the quality of cut.”

James and the team purchased the FX22 with two SMARTCut™ cassettes – the 7-blade cylinder for lawned areas and 11-blade option for a finer cut on the sites croquet lawn. “The finish is excellent and noise has been almost completely eliminated, which is better for our environment and the thousands of visitors we get through the gardens every year. Visitor enjoyment is critical to the success of our venues.”

“We can also control the mower via Bluetooth and an app on your phone, so settings can be changed and saved for things like the traction and brake speed.” He adds, “You can also store different set-ups for different weather conditions, for example wet and dry configurations.”

James says that the utilisation of the INFINICUT® has peaked public interest in the more sustainable solutions to turf management. “People are genuinely interested in it when we’re out using it, and discussing it only makes them more environmentally aware. With this investment we are improving quality of presentation and visitor experience, while reducing our petrol costs and environmental impact. It’s a win win situation!”

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Rolawn secures independent environmental accreditation

Rolawn secures independent environmental accreditation: Market-leading turf and topsoil producer, Rolawn Limited, has achieved continued accreditation under the Green Achiever scheme for the fourth consecutive year. Achieving the Diamond Banner Award, Rolawn secured the highest level in the scheme.

Rolawn, based in the Vale of York, has secured the status under the Green Achiever scheme which offers environmental accreditation to businesses wishing to obtain independent acknowledgement of their green credentials and verification that they are actively reducing their environmental impact.

Rolawn secures independent environmental accreditation

Rolawn secures independent environmental accreditation

Ken Brewster, Rolawn’s Marketing Director, said: “We have a robust and proactive environmental strategy, not all of which is necessarily visible to our audience, so the continuation of this accreditation is really valuable in helping us to reassure our customers that we take this seriously.

“Integrity is important to us at Rolawn and that includes implementing improvements that aren’t overtly obvious, yet still make a real difference, for example the installation of onsite solar panels which has made a significant contribution to production.”

To achieve Diamond Banner Award status, Rolawn had to evidence proactivity on a range of levels from day to day, ground level operations, such as energy consumption and recycling, right through to higher level operational compliance with complex environmental legislation.

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Trevor Chard secures lead role

Trevor Chard secures lead role: Reesink Turfcare’s new East Anglian branch in Burwell between Cambridge and Newmarket, which will open this autumn has appointed its branch manager. The successful applicant for the role is Trevor Chard, an industry – and Reesink – stalwart.

Trevor Chard is a name well-known by those in the golf and fine turf industry having been national accounts manager for Reesink Turfcare for 25 years. The move to branch manager is, he says, one that will give him a new experience and challenge, along with the opportunity to share his knowledge from years in one of the company’s key customer-relationship roles.

Trevor Chard secures lead role

Trevor Chard secures lead role

Trevor comments: “The opening of the East Anglian branch is widely-anticipated for customers in the area, and I am really excited to be heading up the branch. I’ve worked for Reesink for years and loved it, but it was time for a new challenge in a role with fewer miles travelling the country. The new branch will focus on dealing directly with customers, adding value and building relationships, and that takes the part of my role that I’ve loved so much up until now and continues it in a new and fresh way.

“The branch has an extensive catchment of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and includes some key Toro customers. Our role will be to provide those customers, and new ones, with dependable maintenance and genuine parts after-sales service. There will be a demo fleet to use for new business and a range of other services available such as NSTS testing and on-site servicing.”

Similarly to the other Reesink branches, the East Anglian one will be an independently-run business, about which Trevor says: “Removing the element of being centrally-controlled and being more local to our customers will allow us to react quickly. We will be focussed on fast, easily accessible, friendly help and support.”

The East Anglia branch will follow the same successful business model applied by Reesink Turfcare to the Sheffield Park branch in the South East and the Livingston branch in Scotland. David Cole, Reesink Turfcare’s managing director, says: “Each Reesink branch location is tasked with providing a focused, ‘full-service’ support to our customers. Delivering on our promises across the sales, service and parts support of all our brands, but under one roof with a locally-focused team.

“When investing in a new location, the leadership of that branch is of paramount importance to ensure that each individual shares and understands the Reesink passion for machinery and a down-to-earth approach to providing solutions. When filling that role for our new investment for the East Anglian region we quite rightly encouraged internal applicants to step forward, but they had to win the position based on skill set, experience and above all, attitude, against outside candidates. We are very pleased that Trevor won through in the process.

“We look forward to our Burwell location opening in the early autumn, and know that Trevor, Liam Pindred, the service manager and the rest of the team are excited and ambitious about making a difference to our customers across the region the branch will serve.”

The opening of the branch will be celebrated with an Open Day, to be announced in due course, providing the opportunity for customers to tour the new facility and talk to the team, which includes five service technicians, a service manager, parts supervisor and four Reesink sales representatives, about what best suits their needs.

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Broomieknowe GC secures new kit

Broomieknowe GC secures new kit: Broomieknowe Golf Club at Bonnyrigg, Mid Lothian, has welcomed a new golf course manager, a host of new members and some top-rated maintenance equipment, all in the space of a few months.

Allan Duncan joined the parkland club in April from Thornton GC, Glenrothes.  BIGGA Scottish student of the year in 2018, he has literally hit the ground running, getting to know the new course intimately as quickly as he can, and launching initiatives on social media to better connect the efforts of the greenkeeping team with club members.

Broomieknowe GC secures new kit

Broomieknowe GC secures new kit

“I’m loving it but there’s so much to get my head round,” he said. “People have been very welcoming. We have a brand-new club house and the club has invested heavily purchasing new equipment, so there’s a lot of momentum.”

First to arrive was a Wiedenmann Terra Spike XP8 deep aerator combined with an ISEKI TG6675 compact tractor.

“The ISEKI tractor was introduced to us by Rob Hogarth from our local dealer, Fairways GM at Kinross.  I’ve never had an ISEKI but I am really impressed.  The aerator is a heavy bit of kit but the TG6675 lift capacity is up to 1,600 kg so has no trouble at all. Together they are quite a combination.”

Their selected Terra Spike, the XP, is Wiedenmann UK’s biggest in fleet, chosen because of its readiness to go 40 cm deep.

“It was all purely about depth,” continued Allan. “We’ve a build-up of organic matter deep down on some greens and a bit of compaction in some of our fairways.  There are actually very good soils below the surface but to tap into these, we need the aerator to get air and water through the profile a lot quicker.

“It had been reasonably dry until I arrived, but once the ground got softer, we went out on the greens with 12 mm tines along with the turf retainers. The greens have reacted well to them.  Water has gone down, not just through the top profile but permeated through the bottom profile, and already I can see a difference.  The plan is to keep that going every month right through the summer as disruption to surface is minimal.”

“The wider programme is to do tees and approaches at the end of the season, so September, and then spike the fairways before winter arrives. The speed of the XP8 is impressive.  I’ve used the GXi8 HD before and everyone says how quick it is, but the XP8 is no slouch. We had no expectation of speed as we were searching for depth … but a hectare of greens took around nine hours, so it’s great to be able to complete all 18 greens in a day.”

Four weeks later, a delivery of the Maredo MT200 Flex-Verticutter arrived for the Lothian club.    Even on the most challenging of fairway undulations they are falter-free thanks to a turn-able ‘A’ frame and pivot point.  Each head measures just over 63 cm giving a total reach of 1.9 m with working to depths of around 25 mm.

“The Maredos were another easy decision,” said Allan. “While relieving compaction with the Terra Spike on the fairways, the next stage is to follow through with scarifying.  The idea is to remove the organic matter, breaking surface tension to help get rid of less desirable broad leaf grasses and encourage the finer ones to flourish. This leaves a better habitat for the finer grasses to grow. I really appreciate the adaptability of the Maredos with their three cassettes lined up in a V-formation, as opposed to a straight unit. They are at one with the tractor and even in just an hour cover large areas. The course is fairly flat, except for a few undulating holes with numerous dips and bumps, yet wherever they are, they hug the course, don’t scalp or pull out too much. One spanner adjustment and away you go.  They will improve the texture and quality significantly.  All main playing surfaces (except greens) will be done twice a year with the Maredos with maybe the approaches getting three hits, depending on the weather.”

“When it comes to choosing machinery, I find you always have a strong idea of what to seek but it’s good when others bring additional knowledge. Both the Fairways GM and Wiedenmann teams support you intuitively and direct you to what will work in your situation and machines that are appropriate. I feel entirely supported throughout.  No stone has been left unturned trying to help us get what we need. Even the BAGMA accredited installation training at handover is a nice touch. My team and I all benefited and not every dealer ensures such good practice.”

Rob Hogarth, Fairways GM’s Regional Manager said:

“The BAGMA Installation Scheme, is developed in conjunction with the Health & Safety Executive.  Everyone in our sales and installer team has been trained to handover using a systematic process.  Our team in turn replicate this initiative to our customers, covering things like site specific risk assessments and working in a safe environment. If clients’ teams attend the session given by one of the Fairways GM team, they receive a record of attendance and so does their employer. Allan and his team have found it very worthwhile.”

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GMA secures grassroots investment

GMA secures grassroots investment: Today, the Grounds Management Association (GMA) announces a £3.9M investment from the Premier LeagueThe FA, and Government’s Football Foundation with Sport England to deliver the association’s third phase of the pitch improvement programme for grassroots sports.

Formerly known as the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP), the newly named Pitch Advisory Service (PAS)is part of the GMA’s ongoing commitment to help improve natural turf provision across football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league at grassroots level in joint collaboration with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL).

GMA secures grassroots investment

GMA secures grassroots investment

After a year of disruption to sport, the GMA’s Pitch Advisory Service will continue to focus on raising the standards of pitches to increase playability, maximise player experience and decrease the number of cancellations due to declining pitch quality.

The programme provides an enhanced network of GMA turf care specialists available to people and organisations maintaining natural turf pitches within local communities, with the funding boost growing the number of GMA advisers available to them by almost 30 per cent.

The Pitch Advisory Service also offers access to dedicated, sport-specific key account managers at the GMA – a team of grounds management specialists bringing years of grassroots and professional knowledge to the programme. Key account managers work collaboratively with each National Governing Body of Sport (NGB), as well as Sport England, to deliver national objectives to sustain high levels of sport and physical activity, now and in future years. During 2019-20, the regional pitch advisors visited more than 4,500 pitches, with the programme improving grounds maintenance practices at 91% of the sites visited.

With lockdown placing sport and physical activity on hold, maintaining playing surfaces remained a vital task for volunteers across the country. New digital applications like the Football Foundation’s PitchPower helped clubs facilitate pitch inspections during restrictive periods, which were each reviewed digitally by the GMA’s regional pitch advisors removing the need for a face-to-face site visits. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, PitchPower allowed the PAS to carry out three times as many pitch assessments as before it was launched and it will remain an important tool now restrictions ease.

During this time, the GMA also supported the ECB in getting recreational cricket played by providing COVID-specific grounds management advice and working with the ECB Facilities Team to engage with local authorities to maximise the number of facilities available in a challenging 2020 season. New online webinars and training courses helped volunteers expand their learning and network with regional pitch advisers.

In addition, the Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community app, managed with support from the GMA, saw a 43% rise in users during lockdown and now has 2,670 engaged members, with numbers continuing to grow.

Innovative and collaborative practices, like online services and applications, will be at the centre of the Pitch Advisory Service, with the GMA providing high-quality recommendations and advice to best support clubs of all shapes and sizes, as well as local authorities, both online and offline.

Through its partnerships, the GMA also aims to increase the number of volunteers, improve skills and knowledge through its training, and provide leading guidance and information for those involved in, or connected to, grounds maintenance at clubs. The programme will also look at ways to encourage women, as well individuals from diverse backgrounds and walks of life to get involved, with the aim to build a strong future workforce.

Next year, the GMA aims to launch an industry-leading Pitch Grading Framework that will provide a benchmark for pitch standards, alongside a simple, affordable education pathway for all grounds staff and volunteers to gain the right level of understanding for each type of pitch.

Jason Booth, COO at the GMA, said:

“We’re grateful for the investment in our Pitch Advisory Service that supports local communities and players. Since 2014, our partnerships with the NGBs and Sport England have grown stronger with each phase of delivery. Now, six years later, we’re seeing huge progress through enhanced education and training of volunteer and professional grounds managers. We want to see millions more enjoying the benefits of playing surfaces – whether it’s to develop sporting talent or just for fun.”

“Through our research, we will continue to highlight the challenges within the turf care sector, but we’re now focussed on developing the future workforce with the aim to recruit, retain and reward volunteers for their commitment. The GMA is here to support volunteers with credible information, advice and guidance – connecting it with an extensive network of grounds people from all walks of life.”

“We hope that this programme signals a change in fortune, particularly at a time when restrictions ease and a sense of normality begins.”

Robert Sullivan, CEO, Football Foundation, said:

“Over the past six years, the Pitch Advisory Service has done a wonderful job supporting community football clubs to maintain and improve their grass pitches. During the COVID-19 pandemic the network came into its own; quickly adapting to work with new digital tools, developed by the Foundation, to ensure pitch quality didn’t suffer as a result of the restrictions.

This new funding means that the PAS can continue to do its essential work providing the football community with the information, training and skills needed to raise the standards of football pitches for the millions of community footballers in England.”

Charles Johnston, Executive Director of Property, Sport England said:

“We are delighted to be working with partners to deliver the Pitch Advisory Service. This collaboration will provide an exciting and transformational service to improve grass pitch quality and develop a more diverse and experienced workforce of groundspeople.

“Pitch quality is important for both player experience and development, so it’s exciting to consider the positive change the multi-sport service can make in tackling inequalities through targeted pitch improvements. As set out in Sport England’s new 10-year strategy, ‘Uniting the Movement’, tackling inequalities within sport and physical activity is at the heart of what we intend to do over the next decade, and services such as this are powerful vehicles to achieve this.”

Bruce Cruse, Director of Facilities and Infrastructure at the ECB commented:

“The ECB is delighted to join the GMA, Sport England and our colleagues from across pitch sports in the challenge to provide outstanding support to grounds management and grass roots sport. Providing great experiences for participants is the foundation of life-long love of sport and in cricket so much relies on access to quality pitches and supporting of the people who make that happen.

“As the ECB is committed through it’s ‘Inspiring Generations’ strategy to connect communities and improve lives this new partnership forms a vital step in the delivery of the plan at the grassroots level and will do so much for the long-term sustainability of our sport.”

For more information on the Pitch Advisory Service, please visit: https://thegma.org.uk/pitch-advisory-service

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Cofabel secures INFINICUT® franchise

Cofabel secures INFINICUT® franchise: Within just a few weeks of renewing their partnership as official distributors for the INFINICUT® and TMSystem™ collections for Belgium, Cofabel had secured their first order – two 34” INFINICUT® FX machines to Belgian First Division A stalwarts Standard Liège.

Complimenting an impressive list of franchises, Cofabel Sales Director Wilfried Onkelinx predicts a bright and busy future for the INFINICUT® range – with its reputation for leading cut quality and performance driving demand from sports venues around the country.

Cofabel secures INFINICUT® franchise

Cofabel secures INFINICUT® franchise

Operating from four outlets, Cofabel have been importing and distributing John Deere equipment for the agricultural, golf, park and garden markets for nearly 50 years and since, have grown their portfolio with a number of leading collections including Wiedenmann and GKB Machines. “We are always on the lookout for brands that can enhance our offering and deliver the results that turf managers are demanding” explains Wilfried. “Clubs recognise more than ever that success begins with an excellent pitch – this allows for attractive football and in many cases results will follow. Groundsmen won’t settle for anything less than the best, and that’s where the INFINICUT® is now top of mind.”

The first club to come on board was Royal Standard de Liège, where a conversation with club consultant Frédéric Cahay and maintenance contractors Devillers led to the purchase of two 34” fixed head INFINICUT® mowers in July 2020. “Devillers have been trusted with the maintenance of Stade Maurice Dufrasne for a number of years and they came to us specifying the INFINICUT® mowers, having seen them become the mower of choice for a huge number of top-flight clubs in the UK. They are not disappointed! The mowers were put to use straight away, delivering an unparalleled quality of cut, stripe and finish which has delighted all at the club.”

“Despite the challenges we have all faced with COVID restrictions, we have already seen phenomenal interest and have conducted a number of demonstrations of both the cylinder and rotary mowers.” Wilfried concludes, “As the reputation and visibility of INFINICUT® continues to grow across Belgium, we are expecting to see several football clubs, and other turf managers, become proud owners of an INFINICUT® very soon.”

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Advice & support secures switch to Johnsons

Advice & support secures switch to Johnsons: Backed with advice from two trusted industry contacts Richard Ponsford, Course Manager at Clevedon Golf Club, has been delighted with his switch to Johnsons Sports Seed.

The combination of Johnsons J All Bent on greens and J Rye Fairway has now been in use at the picturesque parkland course for two years, delivering results that means that Richard would never go back to using any other seed.

Advice & support secures switch to Johnsons

Advice & support secures switch to Johnsons

When Richard joined the club in North Somerset just over two years ago, he very quickly built up a rapport with Johnsons Technical Manager Ian Barnett and Joe Hendy, his local distributor for AGS. “In this industry, the support and advice of colleagues goes a long way and knowing AGS is a key distributor of Johnsons, I was keen to explore the range.” With poa/bent dominated swards on sand-based greens, the first switch was to the Johnsons J All Bent mixture.

“We’ve overseeded with J All Bent, which contains Arrowtown and Manor, and it has done a fantastic job at reducing Poa annua invasion, increasing the bent content and thereby improving the playing speed of our greens. This autumn, I consulted again with my technical managers about one historical problematic green which was adversely affected by disease in the summer – the suggestion was rather unconventional, oversowing with J Premier Wicket. We needed something that would take well and become a nurse crop for the Arrowtown and Manor as we head into the cooler months. While we only put this perennial rye mix down at the end of October it has established well, and is growing in to give us coverage and strength for the winter.”

For their divot mix and overseeding on other areas such as tees and collars, Richard is using the hard-wearing J Rye Fairway mixture. “This delivers really quick establishment making it ideal for repairs. Our members carry divot bags with them, and they enjoy seeing the quick response they get from using the Rye Fairway mix on divot marks.”

At the time of writing, the second lockdown in England has seen play suspended for four weeks giving Richard and his team time to complete a bunker renovation project which commenced in October. “We’ve seeded the new bunker surrounds with the J Rye Fairway mix, instead of turfing them, which will be established and presenting well by the time members return for play, and will save us both time and money.”

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