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Toro Lead The Way At Celtic Manor

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Toro Lead The Way At Celtic Manor: The latest Toro fleet, which includes greens, tees, fairways and rough mowers as well as utility vehicles, for Celtic Manor marks a relationship spanning a quarter of a century.

And the reason why is because Toro is “head and shoulders above the competition”, says director of golf courses and estates management, Jim McKenzie MBE.

Toro Lead The Way At Celtic Manor

“We originally chose Toro in 1993 because it was the only machinery manufacturer that could deliver us a full fleet of machines, or the closest to it anyway. That sums Toro up, it has always led the way and been market innovators, and that’s why the relationship has lasted.”

Machinery was replaced as and when, but in the main every three years from 1993 to 2008 when Jim decided it was time to agree to a five-year partnership agreement: “Toro and Lely, as Reesink was then, were our preferred suppliers for many years. And the timing was right to formalize the deal in 2008 with us hosting the Ryder Cup in 2010, to have the back up and support that being in such an agreement brings as we took on one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

“Our Toro fleet is as complete as it’s possible to be. We have literally hundreds of bits of kit. And the reason for that is because Toro holds its value and ages well. Toro is part of our image. They look good for many years, and as a result we tend not to sell on the older machines as we replace them. They continue working on estate developments and with the gardening team.”

And at Celtic Manor there’s always something over and above the usual to be getting on with! Whether that’s the redevelopment of all the courses, preparation for The Open and the Ryder Cup, or coming up soon assisting in the planting of thousands of trees around the £4.5 million International Convention Centre Wales which is currently under construction. As Jim says: “We had pretty much every bit of machinery involved in the redevelopment of the courses and the events, and the Workman in particular will be stepping up to the plate when it comes to the woodland management for the ICC. They’re so dinky and can get to all the places a tractor can’t.”

With so many machines at his disposal and his experience of using them over the years, is it possible to pick a favourite? Jim, who was awarded his MBE for ensuring the conclusion – with a helping hand from Toro! – of the 2010 Ryder Cup despite half of the average monthly rainfall landing on the Twenty Ten Course in just two days, says yes.

Step forward the ProCore 648 aerator. Favoured by Jim for its versatility across the three world-class Championship courses, the golf academy and the 9-hole municipal course Caerleon Golf Club: “The ProCore is excellent for all fine turf aeration applications. The club is built on old farmland and is well drained, and hollow coring with the ProCore helps ensure the ultimate condition of the turf.”

But it’s not just the machinery that counts, Jim says the partnership with Reesink and local dealer Ted Hopkins, is just as important: “There’s always been a really good synergy between us, Ted Hopkins, Reesink/Lely. It just works and has done so for 25 years!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Kioti UK Show The Way

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Kioti UK Show The Way: Compact tractors for Golf is the speciality of the Kioti range. The main product on the Kioti stand at the BTME exhibition this year is the DK6010CH.

This 3 range twin pedal hydrostatic model offers the operator excellent visibility and a high level of comfort and practical performance.

Kioti UK Show The Way

The luxury cabin is obviously standard with air conditioning and heater but what is not fully appreciated until it has been used and inspected is the amount of space that the layout of the levers and controls and flat floor of the drivers platform provide compared to other makes.

A whole range of specialist turf wheels are available from Kioti ensuring that the tractor can do the jobs that you are looking to do whilst protecting the turf.

Also showing on the Kioti UK stand will be the still new Mechron 2400, CS2610 Sub compact tractor, CK3310H tractor with cabin and WD1260 cut and collect.

Stand no.252 contact www.kioti-uk.com  tel 01480 401512

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SALTEX 2018 Voted The Best Yet

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SALTEX 2018 Voted The Best Yet: The post-show visitor survey from SALTEX 2018 has revealed that an overwhelming amount of attendees believed the 2018 show was the best and most vibrant to date.

SALTEX at the NEC, Birmingham has again proved to be the annual meeting place for the UK and European groundscare industries. Only at SALTEX does the industry have the opportunity to experience a comprehensive overview of the latest developments and innovations in groundscare and to find out about the capabilities of this sector.

SALTEX 2018 Voted The Best Yet

Following two days of networking, education and innovation, the 73rd SALTEX exhibition closed with an independently audited, visitor total of 8,902.

Visitors attended from 44 different countries and according to the findings of this year’s visitor survey, these attendees included grounds personnel, greenkeepers, landscapers and contractors.

The event organisers are very pleased to hear that 90 per cent of visitors, who took part in the survey, were successful in meeting their show objectives and equally as many rated their overall show experience as either very good or excellent and no less than 90 per cent of visitors have already put SALTEX 2019 into their diaries, which takes place at the NEC from 30-31 October.

Survey respondents said that their top priorities for attending were to source new products/services and suppliers (79 per cent) and discover new innovations (77 per cent).

More than 47 per cent used their visit for professional development by attending show features such as the Learning LIVE education programme, Ask the Expert and the Job Clinic.

More than half of the survey respondents held a leading or management position at their respective companies, with 84 per cent either having sole responsibility for purchasing or contributed to the process. In addition, 65 per cent had the ability to sign-off on amounts up to £50,000 and 12 per cent had the ability to sign-off on amounts of more than £500,000.

The survey findings also revealed that SALTEX visitors had very specific interests: almost 80 per cent attended to find out more about machinery, power and hand tools for their daily work and nearly half of the visitors were interested in seed, turf and aggregates. More than 38 per cent of visitors wanted to see exhibitors representing both sport surfaces and facilities and landscaping materials. Other areas of interest included: arboriculture, horticulture and forestry (37 per cent); commercial vehicles, tyres and trailers (33 per cent); synthetic turf (24 per cent) and security, personal protection, health and safety (18 per cent).

Vic Demain, head groundsman at Durham CCC, believes that the show is well attended because it caters for everyone in the industry: “I consider SALTEX to be the best show in the industry and it is ideal for everyone to come to, whether you are a volunteer, a professional or an international groundsman – there is something for everyone,” he said.

For Adam Witchell, head groundsman at Forrest Green Rovers FC, attending SALTEX provides him with a great opportunity to continue his learning. “For me it’s all about education. I love the seminars and here at SALTEX I’m learning lots of things from great people in this industry. It is a fantastic event, there is some absolutely brilliant machinery on display and a good range of exhibitors.”

Alison Saxby, estate team leader at Workington Town Council also thought the opportunity to enhance her knowledge was a top priority for attending SALTEX: “I like the live talks because they keep you abreast of the current regulations and new innovations,” she said.

With the NEC being located in the centre of the UK and boasting fantastic travel links, it is no wonder that 85 per cent rated the accessibility of the venue as excellent. Stuart Kerrison, head groundsman at Essex CCC said: “The NEC is so easy to get to. I attended to look at a couple of new machines because this is where you see all of the latest innovations. Anyone who attends SALTEX gets so much from it – from viewing new products, attending seminars and networking,” he said.

Benjamin Imamovic, assistant groundsman at FK Željezničar Sarajevo, believed that his journey to SALTEX was certainly worthwhile.

“It’s awesome; I came all the way from Bosnia and Herzegovina to see all of the new machines and learn something new and I am amazed.”

SALTEX 2019 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on October 30 and 31.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

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Compact Tractors Combat The Cold

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Compact Tractors Combat The Cold: After successfully dealing with last winter’s heavy snow across the Tayside area of Scotland, Tayside Contracts has added seven new John Deere 2026R compact tractors to its existing fleet, supplied by local dealer Double A based at Cupar in Fife.

The ‘footpath gritter’ tractors, as they are known, are chiefly used for winter maintenance of public footpaths. For this task they are equipped with industrial tyres, a 54in front blade and Kuhn 360-litre rear-mounted spreaders. These feature one of three hopper types suitable for spreading salt or brine or spraying fine salt, to combat frost and ice. They are also specified with fully heated John Deere cabs, which incorporate a demister – vital for efficient and weatherproof operation on cold winter mornings.

Compact Tractors Combat The Cold

Tayside Contracts is a commercially based local authority contracting organisation providing catering, cleaning, roads and winter maintenance plus vehicle maintenance to the councils of Angus, Dundee City and Perth & Kinross. It reports to a joint committee representing the three councils and has an annual turnover of around £70m.

Tayside Contracts Construction Division, within which the transport unit sits, is the largest civil engineering construction organisation in this area of Scotland, employing over 400 people and with a turnover of almost £40m.

Purchasing decisions are based on an established tender process using the Scotland Excel collaborative procurement framework, which is designed specifically for the local government sector. This service is funded by Scotland’s 32 local authorities and is designed to ensure the sustainable delivery of the services that the community needs, while also helping councils meet the twin challenges of reducing budgets at a time of growing demand.

Transport services manager Bob Ritchie is responsible for overseeing the purchase and operation of the compact tractor fleet. This currently numbers 65 in total, including 40 John Deere models that also include the 2026R’s predecessors, the 2025R and 2320. Unusually for John Deere machines, they sport Tayside Contracts’ corporate colours of golden yellow and aircraft blue, and the latest models have been supplied with a three-year warranty.

“We have been buying compact tractors from Sandy Armit at Double A since 2012,” says Bob Ritchie. “The evaluation process is based on a 70/30 cost/quality equation, which means the lowest cost equipment doesn’t necessarily make the best choice – our experience of John Deere machines and the Double A dealer service that supports them has proved over time that we get tractors that do the job they are required to do reliably and efficiently, and work well in the conditions that they are faced with each winter.”

Tayside Contracts carries out all its own maintenance in three workshops based in each council area’s larger towns, so around 20 or so tractors are normally kept at these ready to go out over the winter when required. The councils dictate when this should be, usually based on when gritters are being used on the roads and the weather forecast is for ice to form on pavements.

“Typically we run the tractors up to around 200 hours a year depending on the winter conditions, but we’ve known years when this figure can be as low as 50 hours per machine in a mild winter,” says Bob Ritchie. “This can also depend on the routes the tractors take and the windows available for the work to be done. As with the road gritter crews, we try to focus on schools, main routes and public areas where you can have the biggest impact.

“GPS is used on every tractor to give us essential information, basically where they’ve been, what they’ve done and what speeds they’ve been working at. Being able to react quickly to public concerns is also very important – we’re now developing a live website that will show exactly where the tractors have been working, which will hopefully help to address these issues.”

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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GreenMech QuadChip Lightens The Load

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GreenMech QuadChip Lightens The Load: Housing association Karbon Homes is responsible for the management and maintenance of almost 30,000 properties, making it one of the largest organisations of its kind in the North East and Yorkshire. As part of a business partnership with the Byker Community Trust (BCT), Karbon Homes provide BCT with a dedicated Grounds Maintenance Team, responsible for the upkeep of the Grade II* Listed Byker Estate. Helping Grounds Maintenance Officer Dan Thompson and his team of five with the woodland maintenance is a QuadChip 160 from GreenMech.

The summer sees the majority of the Byker team’s time taken up with grass cutting but in the winter the maintenance programme switches over to include leaf clearance, tree work and shrub maintenance. “As well as over 2,500 trees, there are lots of hedgerows and open spaces that all require upkeep” explains Dan, who has been with Karbon Homes for two and a half years. “As the estate was constructed in the 1970’s, it’s quite complex in nature with tight spaces in which to manoeuvre any equipment we purchase.”

GreenMech QuadChip Lightens The Load

“My manager suggested we looked at the QuadChip because of its turntable, giving the operator discretion over the direction of the chip and improving manoeuvrability and safety. Peter Bagguley from GreenMech came in to do the demo and there were a number of factors that confirmed it was going to be the right machine for the estate. Firstly, and importantly, it’s under 750kg meaning all the guys can tow and operate it without an additional licence. The hopper is a generous size meaning it can handle larger timber than similar models, and it was also quieter than other chippers we’ve used which is great for working earlier in urban areas.” Following the successful demonstration, Dan took delivery of his GreenMech QuadChip 160 in March 2018, from their local dealer Lloyd Ltd.

Prior to its purchase, Dan and the team were borrowing a chipper from another Karbon Grounds Maintenance Team. “Having our own machine means it’s there and ready for any response jobs through the summer, and then in use daily for all of the winter maintenance. My team really have their work cut out and having the QuadChip has made the busy winter period that much easier.”

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