Tag Archive for: Sets

Action Lawn sets high ambitions with Etesia

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Action Lawn sets high ambitions with Etesia: Action Lawn and Leisure has been appointed as a new Etesia dealer in Stirlingshire and surrounding areas.

Action Lawn and Leisure was founded in 1998 by Bob Bruce. It is a family run business which prides itself on offering a personal service with good advice and excellent product knowledge. The company works with a variety of groundscare brands, but the time had come to set higher ambitions according to Ian Bruce, son of founder Bob.

Action Lawn sets high ambitions with Etesia

Action Lawn sets high ambitions with Etesia

“Currently we are operating at about 70% domestic and 30% commercial,” he said. “We are looking to venture more into the professional market and want to be able to offer machinery of the highest quality. That is why Etesia kept coming into my head.

“We have dealt with a few Etesia machines over the years and have always been very impressed with what we’ve seen,” continued Ian. “Our local council has an Etesia fleet it was the only machine that came in for a service this year that didn’t need major repairs. This tells me it is of a decent quality because the council are quite boisterous with their machinery!”

Specialists in manufacturing high quality grass cutting machinery for both the professional and domestic market, Etesia’s extensive range of products have been in consistent high demand for a number of years. It is for this reason that the company’s vast dealer network continues to grow. From the UK to Ireland, Etesia dealers are providing their customers with innovative solutions for their green space requirements.

Etesia’s complete product range includes ride-on mowers, scarifiers, brush cutters, green technology and pedestrian mowers, and Ian believes the machinery will be the perfect addition.

“I believe the Etesia products will help us attract larger contractors, landscapers with a few vans on the road and potentially some national trust sites – to name but a few,” he said.

“One of the biggest problems we’ve got in Scotland is wet grass and this is always choking up our customers’ machines. The Etesia machines are designed to cope with this very easily.

“This feature combined with their performance and build quality, makes the Etesia range of products highly appealing.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK. You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK

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Company sets golden charity goal

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Company sets golden charity goal: A company which helps JCB customers to buy their machines has set itself a golden charity goal in celebration of 50 years in business.

JCB Finance – one of the biggest lenders to the UK’s construction and agricultural industry – is marking its milestone ‘birthday’ today (February 12th) with a pledge to raise £50,000 for children’s charity the NSPCC.

Company sets golden charity goal

Company sets golden charity goal

The money will be raised by a series of fundraising activities throughout 2020 – and to kick-start the campaign, JCB Finance is donating a JCB 8008 micro excavator to be auctioned online, with all proceeds going to the charity.

Set up on February 12th, 1970 under the name JCB Credit, JCB Finance has expanded massively from its humble beginnings, with JCB Chairman Lord Bamford as one of its original Directors. Today, JCB Finance provides hire purchase and leasing options for UK business customers and supports the JCB UK dealer network, facilitating the purchase of more than 250,000 new and used JCB machines over the past 50 years.

JCB Finance Managing Director Paul Jennings – who has worked for the firm for 41 years – said: “As we turn 50, we want to say a special thank you to our customers and dealers for their trust in allowing us to handle billions of pounds over the years on their behalf. Some businesses have dealt with us for three generations, which reinforces our belief that our efforts are trusted as knowledgeable partners.

“There have been radical changes to the way business is done over the past half century but the core mission of JCB Finance has remained the same: to support JCB customers with fantastic finance options with speed, efficiency and fairness.

“Throughout our history, we’ve made sure that we keep the personal touch and even with today’s digital world, we are committed to having ‘boots on the ground’. Customers can choose how we serve them, whether direct, on-line, via the JCB dealer network or our team of Specialist Managers in the field.”

Last year, JCB Finance celebrated another milestone when, for the first time in its history, the amount being lent to fund the purchase of machines broke through the £1 billion barrier. The company also won the coveted International Asset Finance Network award European Captive Finance Lessor 2019.

JCB Finance’s auction for the JCB 8008 Micro Excavator goes live for pre-registration from Wednesday, 12th February and bids can be placed online from Thursday, 12th March. Visit www.jcb-finance.co.uk to pre-register and make your bid. The winning bidder will be announced on Thursday 23rd April.

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John Deere training sets record

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John Deere training sets record: A record-breaking total of 66 young parts and service technicians are being trained in this year’s John Deere Ag Tech, Parts Tech and Turf Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes, the highest total intake since the first Ag Tech induction in 1992.

The group includes for the first time apprentices from Ireland, the John Deere Forestry division and the Wirtgen road construction business, which Deere acquired at the end of 2017, as well as more female apprentices than ever before (five altogether). These annual, award-winning programmes are run in partnership with the dealer network and national training provider ProVQ at the purpose-built John Deere Apprentice Training Centre in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire in the UK.

John Deere training sets record

“There’s never been a better time to consider an apprenticeship with John Deere,” says the company’s training centre manager Allan Cochran. “The increasing levels of automation used throughout our products, including artificial intelligence, advanced electronics, satellite guidance systems and telematics, give us the ability to diagnose and repair machines without even laying a hand on them. All this technology, as well as cutting edge engine and transmission design, means the need for skilled people within our dealerships is ever present.

“It’s not just about the machines either – sophisticated parts and service systems require the same skills too. The John Deere dealer of tomorrow is a challenging business, with a wide range of opportunities and exciting prospects for talented, enthusiastic people from any background.

“Like all apprenticeships, the programmes combine on-the-job training with paid employment at the dealership, leading to nationally recognised and valued qualifications. Apprentices undergo fully supported training, assessment and guidance, gaining valuable workplace skills by undertaking practical tasks and experiencing real-life challenges. They also spend eight weeks each year at the John Deere Apprentice Training Centre and at our head office in Langar.

“We are delighted to expand the programmes for the first time to our dealers in Ireland. This will allow us to deliver the same consistent, high quality apprentice training across the UK & Irish network, to the benefit of all our customers in both countries.”

John Deere’s three-year Ag Tech and Turf Tech and two-year Parts Tech apprenticeships involve students being trained in engineering, electronics, hydraulics, diagnostics, communication skills, computing, sales and marketing. The programmes lead to IMI Level 2 & 3 Diplomas in Landbased Engineering and Vehicle Parts Competence, and registration at LTA Intermediate level in the industry’s Landbased Training Accreditation scheme.

In subsequent years qualified technicians undergo further education and adult training within the John Deere University programme, on a career path that can ultimately lead to the highest possible LTA Master Technician accreditation.

Now in its 28th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. John Deere is also the only agricultural and turf machinery company to have been recognised as one of the best 100 employers for school leavers in the UK.

Since the first Ag Tech programme started in 1992, approaching 800 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network. Further details of the apprentice training programmes and other career opportunities can be found on the following ProVQ and John Deere websites:

http://apprenticeshipfinder.co.uk/john-deere and https://www.deere.co.uk/en/our-company/john-deere-careers/

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Greenkeeper Sets Up Mental Health Support Page

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Greenkeeper Sets Up Mental Health Support Page: The head greenkeeper of Hazel Grove Golf Club in Cheshire has set up a successful Facebook page that offers mental health support to greenkeepers in the industry.

Mike Davie created the page after observing “the increase of expectations of the golfer with increased personal abuse aimed at, and stress among, the greenkeeping community”.

He added that he’s known greenkeepers who have left the industry due to this, and therefore set up the page ‘Greenkeepers mental health support group’ earlier this year.

It already has more than 250 members.

“Mental health issues are more apparent nowadays as more seek medical help,” he said.

“Yet little support is offered from many golf clubs and duty of care is apparently not seen as a necessity.

“One of the problems is that clubs are run by well-meaning volunteers, which means when they need to discipline members for acts against the club’s staff, they don’t want a confrontation with their ‘friends‘ and would rather brush the matter under the table and resolve the issue by providing a polite pat on the head of the greenkeeper. This all creates a feeling of isolation within the industry.

“Any sign of acknowledging a problem by oneself is deemed as thought of being weak, so we tend to bottle it up, causing greater problems.

“In late 2017 I attended a stress awareness seminar by BIGGA at Sale Golf Club and realised that, by the number who had attended, and the fact that many are highly respected within the industry, we had a problem with mental welfare.

“I started a local support group in south Manchester for greenkeepers who wished to attend and talk out their problems. The realisation that we are not alone made a huge difference. The feedback I got was positive so the Facebook page was started in late July.

“This group does not always need people to comment but, as I have been told, the fact there is a page that can be accessed gives strength to someone feeling down.

“A big problem with our industry is that it is a high percentage negative industry. For example, you lie in bed listening to the rain, wondering how the course is affected. Will there be breakdowns, will all the staff turn up? The first thought of seeing a committee member is ‘what’s their complaint?’ and so on.

“These sites help to promote the fact we are not alone and in fact are a strong community we just need to tap in to, build bridges and connect more.

“In the long term I hope that the governing bodies will take on the challenge of promoting, supporting and giving help to the welfare of greenkeepers.”

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