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Engcon’s part in the first Cat® 330

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Engcon’s part in the first Cat® 330: The tiltrotator manufacturer Engcon is an important part of the world’s first Cat® 330 Next Gen equipped with both a front blade and a tiltrotator – which has proven to be a successful combination.

A one of a kind excavator
Behind the controls of this unique excavator is Kristoffer Westman from Sundbergs Åkeri, a Swedish plant and transportation company. He puts the excavator to work on constructing a forest road, taking advantage of the greater flexibility and efficiency the combination of the front blade and tiltrotator bring.

Engcon's part in the first Cat® 330

At the end of 2018, Caterpillar launched the next generation excavators in the 30-ton class – 330 and 330 GC. When Sundbergs Åkeri chose equipment for its newly acquired Cat® 330 Next Gen in early 2019, among other things, a tiltrotator and grading bucket from Engcon were selected.

Together with a custom-built excavator blade from Nyströms Verkstadsservice in Edsbro, Sundbergs Åkeri now has a one of a kind excavator that delivers significant improvements in efficiency with the company’s road construction work.

“From just scooping up material which I then have levelling with the bucket, I can now plan where to place the material with the front blade. This means that I now roll the material in front of the blade, which results in larger stones falling to the bottom and finer material settling on the surface. It also makes the road easier to adjust before gravelling” says Kristoffer Westman.

A successful combination
Up until now when building forest roads it has been uncommon to use an excavator with a tiltrotator, but for Kristoffer it has so far brought only benefits, especially in combination with the front blade.

“I haven’t driven more than a couple of hundred hours, but this is how an excavator should be. The tiltrotator complements the front blade very well as I can use it to rotate the grading bucket to a position where it acts as a wing along the front blade. That way I can either steer in or out of the ground from the embankment” says Kristoffer Westman.

Kristoffer Westman goes on to say that his new Cat® 330 is also equipped with Engcon’s automatic quick mounting system with EC-Oil.

“Thanks to EC-Oil, it only takes 10 seconds for me to hang the tiltrotator and switch on the tooth bucket in case I need extra breaking power. This without me even having to leave the cab to connect some hoses” Kristoffer concludes.

The new excavator is currently being used in the construction of a new forest road west of Örnsköldsvik in the northern part of Sweden. The front blade is controlled via Engcon’s proportional joysticks MIG2, which means that Kristoffer does not need to change the grip to dig or excavate. The control of the tracks is also connected to Engcon’s control system DC2.

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Insight into the Emirates

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Insight into the Emirates: In conjunction with DLF Seeds, over 40 Grounds Professionals from schools, colleges and sports clubs across the country were recently invited to a behind-the-scenes tour of Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium.

Visitors gained an insight into the grounds programme that keeps the surfaces performing at elite levels, and how new technologies are playing an ever-increasing role in monitoring and maintaining these professional standards.

Insight into the Emirates

Head Groundsman Alan Russell, assisted by Deputy Lee Blythe and Assistant Jack Bayford, led the day which included a pitch walk, a tour of the machinery workshop, as well as a look around some of the off-pitch highlights including the Home Dressing Room and Managers Office. The Arsenal Grounds Team took questions throughout the day, with DLF Technical Manager David Rhodes and Regional Support Manager Craig Spooner on hand to provide advice on the topics of turf and seed.

Daniel Negus, Head Groundsman at Devonshire Park Tennis Club, was one of those in attendance. He said, “The day was a fantastic opportunity to see how one of the leading Premier League stadiums operates both on, and off, the pitch. It was hugely beneficial to hear the first-hand experiences of Alan and his team, meaning we all came away with an understanding of the knowledge and practices that they employ.”

Craig added, “The dedication, professionalism and knowledge of the Emirates grounds team is a real credit to the Club. A big thank you must go to Paul Ashcroft, Grounds Manager at the Emirates Stadium and Hale End Academy for hosting us and making it such a successful and informative day for all of those that attended.”

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Case for the defence

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Case for the defence: The Christmas and New Year festivities are now just a lingering memory but though the days are starting to lengthen, there’s a long way to go before the onset of warmer weather.

With the turf suffering from prolonged periods of wet weather, waterlogged and weakened roots, the grass will be stressed and more open to disease attack. Deciding on which fungicide to defend your turf territory is key to ensuring a successful outcome. For winter applications, the requirement is to identify fungicides that contain ‘actives’ which work well under cool and cold conditions and, where possible, provide added physiological benefits.

Case for the defence

Particularly effective under cool, cold conditions is the broad spectrum turf fungicide Eland and applications now will provide disease protection for up to 50 days.

This long term protection is achieved through the spray deposit being held on the leaf long enough to penetrate and be held within the leaf tissue, which serves as a fungicide reservoir constantly releasing its active ingredient, pyraclostrobin, to provide long term protection.

Eland is specially suited to being applied as a preventative treatment, especially when disease pressure is high. It is very effective against all stages of the fungus within minutes of being applied and can restrain mycelial growth to provide additional curative activity.

Case for the defence

In addition to its proven abilities as a turf fungicide, research has shown Eland to have a number of additional physiological benefits.

Such benefits include improving plant health in the form of stress management under cold conditions and during aerification. This has the effect of helping the plant and root system to endure a stressful event and overcome stress through root system retention.

In addition to combating Microdochium Patch attack, a major benefit during early winter months is that applications of pyraclostrobin allows a plant to recover more quickly from root damage or surface foliar damage caused by ball mark injury.

Of course, prevention is always preferable and more effective than reacting after the event. STRI research trials prove that preventative disease control programmes outperform curative options when analysed for turf quality, colour and presence of Microdochium Patch (right).

The eight months trial compared nine preventative and three curative programmes, as well as one untreated plot. The first three programmes used purely preventative fungicides from Bayer. The rest of the preventative plots used a combination of Rigby Taylor fungicides, together as tank mixes with plant health products to reflect a more realistic approach. See bar chart, below right.

Case for the defence

In general, preventative programmes five to seven (see graph RT prog’s 1, 2 and 3) showed the most consistent results across turf colour, quality and Microdochium Patch presence by using an integrated approach with both fungicides and plant health products. The fungicides within the curative programmes (11 -13) were applied as and when disease developed to an unacceptable level, mimicking traditional control strategies. It is important to note that none of the trial plots had any cultural controls or biological practices applied prior to or during the trial, other than mowing and switching, which was carried out when necessary.

Pre-planning and control are essential requirements as it may be necessary to integrate some of the aforementioned products into the winter programme, which will enable the plant to resist or repel disease attack and be in an ideal state to advance into the spring in a healthy state.

SALTEX the flagship event

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SALTEX the industry’s flagship event: Findings from the SALTEX 2019 post-show survey have revealed that attendees are continuing to embrace SALTEX as the groundscare industry’s flagship event.

From 30 to 31 October a record-breaking 9,104 visitors streamed into the NEC, Birmingham to explore the latest trends and products in groundscare.

SALTEX the industry’s flagship event

The growth in visitor numbers at SALTEX 2019 was supported by a large proportion of first-time attendees. An encouraging 34 per cent visited SALTEX for the first time this year compared to 28 per cent in 2018, 27 per cent in 2017, 26 per cent in 2016 and 23 per cent in 2015.

The busy atmosphere in the exhibition halls was fantastic and a massive 93 per cent of survey respondents rated their overall show experience as being either very good or excellent.

SALTEX visitors came from far and wide as the show continues to attract a growing international audience. This year’s show saw attendees from 49 overseas markets, topping the previous record of 45 countries which was set at SALTEX 2016.

International visitor Frederico Galardini, who maintains the pitches at Federale di Coverciano – the central training ground and technical headquarters of the Italian Football Federation, visited the show to gain UK groundscare expertise.

“I think, no matter where you are in the world, it is important that you come to SALTEX because British groundscare is regarded as the best. In Italy the pitches are not at the same level as the pitches in the UK, but we are slowly getting there and this is why a trip to SALTEX can only be beneficial in helping us to improve,” he said.

The post-show survey also confirmed the high calibre of visitors, most of whom came from groundscare contracting companies, local authorities, dealerships, schools and universities, and sports clubs.

The buying power of SALTEX attendees was also high, with 36 per cent of survey respondents confirming that the purchasing responsibility was solely theirs, while 43 per cent contribute to the buying process and 32 per cent have the authority to sign-off on purchases up to £50,000.

Many exhibitors agree that SALTEX 2019 was the most financially beneficial yet and the 40 per cent of survey respondents that said they made purchases on the show floor is perhaps testament to this.

The Leicester City FC grounds team were certainly on the hunt for new equipment at SALTEX according to Callum Allsop, head groundsman at the club’s training ground. “We will be spending a lot of money on a new fleet of equipment over the next year. So being able to look at equipment options at SALTEX and having the opportunity to speak to all of the distributors in one place is ideal.”

The post-show survey findings also revealed top priorities for attending with 68 per cent saying they visited SALTEX to source new products/services/suppliers; 66 per cent attended out of general interest; 44 per cent wanted to see the latest industry innovations; 39 per cent attended to network with other like-minded individuals and 35 per cent to witness machinery demonstrations.

Andy Miller, head groundsman for Northampton Saints, says: “I always plan ahead on what I want to do and who I want to see at SALTEX, but plans often change when I’m on the show floor. I may bump into someone, get talking and gain new ideas.”

Product innovations were a big pull this year, and 87 per cent of attendees rated the mix of products on display as excellent. The show also offered visitors the opportunity to see a number of these products in action through Eco Village demonstrations and this new feature did not disappoint with 78 per cent of survey respondents also rating the Eco Village as excellent.

Products and innovations aside, SALTEX attendees also made use of the training, advice and educational opportunities. The 57 free-to-attend, CPD-accredited seminars in the Learning LIVE programme proved popular with 84 per cent of survey respondents claiming the education offering was either very good or excellent; 83 per cent made the most of the Ask the Expert feature and 77 per cent said the Pathology and Soil Science LIVE was also an excellent feature.

SALTEX will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2020 and will take place at the NEC, Birmingham on 4 and 5 November and 95 per cent of SALTEX 2019 visitors concluded the survey by indicating that they will be returning.

James Wright, grounds & gardens team leader at the University of Leeds, believes that the success of SALTEX indicates a bright future for the industry. “This year was the best SALTEX I have experienced to date and its popularity proves that we are in a great place to take the industry we are all so passionate about into the next decade and beyond.”

For more information please visit www.iogsaltex.com

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @IOG_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/IOGSALTEX

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Reesink brings the future to BTME

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Reesink brings the future to BTME: Reesink Turfcare is launching Toro’s most eagerly anticipated technology, the most advanced on the market, at BTME.

The all-new all-electric Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 ride-on mower with the industry’s first lithium-ion battery powered unit will be on stand 420, in the purple Zone.

Reesink brings the future to BTME

It’s the quietest ride-on greensmower and incorporates features that will revolutionise the market says Toro, and Toro’s innovation could not be more evident in this machine, even if you didn’t focus on its all-electric credentials for a moment, with a ream of patented or patent-pending features bringing a host of benefits and solutions for greenkeepers.

Toro’s ‘radius dependent speed system’ delivers an optimal perimeter cut by monitoring each individual cylinder and traction wheel speed during turns and that, in conjunction with the ‘lift-in-turn’ cutting unit levelling feature, standardises the clip rate of each individual cylinder and virtually eliminates the effect know as ‘Triplex-Ring’. The double A-Arm suspension system, with industry-leading Flex technology, means the cutting units float freely and closely over any terrain and deliver superior contour-following, while the ‘lift-gate footrest’ and ‘tool-free quick change’ cutting units simplify service and maintenance.

But back to that all-important all-electric point. Lower emissions and fuel savings, yet ample power to get the job done, the eTriFlex 3370, which will be joined on stand by its hybrid counterpart the eTriFlex 3360, means customers can respond to business demands for increased revenue by cutting earlier and therefore delivering earlier tee times to customers.

Not only that but responding to environmental concerns is a subject spanning the industries, and there simply has to be the choice for businesses to buy electric whether that be a car or a fine turf mower. No more damaging hydraulic leaks, no more emissions, no more pollution, the eTriFlex 3370 delivers the future to the fine turf sector.

The eTriFlex 3370 is not the only new machine Reesink is launching at BTME. Welcoming to the UK, the latest model in the Greensmaster 1000 series, the GR1026. Like the other models in the range, including the GR1021 which launched at BTME last year and will also be at the 2020 show, the GR1026 brings consistency to fixed-head pedestrian greens mowing. With the industry’s first telescoping handle, each machine in the range can accommodate operators of different heights and skill levels and now with the GR1026 can deliver the widest cut yet at 26 inches.

Representing Toro’s irrigation range will be the ever-popular Lynx Central Control system, with Infinity 35 sprinklers with Smart Access, FLEX 35, T5, T7 and 590G sprinklers with precision rotating nozzles, all from Toro. The Lynx Smart Module and Smart Hub which provide the flexibility of a satellite controller with the cost savings of a two-wire system and launched at the show last year will also be back.

For those managing ponds and lakes and needing to optimise oxygen levels to keep water healthy, there will be Otterbine’s best-selling Fractional five-in-one aerator and the Concept 3 aerating fountain.

Reesink will again have two stands with 211 in the Red Zone South being entirely dedicated to TYM’s range of compact turf tractors and 1st Products, the specialist range of tractor-mounted aeration equipment.

Rochelle Bedford, marketing manager at Reesink, says: “BTME is the perfect launch platform for these two new cutting-edge Toro machines. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the stand, where our specialist machinery team will be on hand to give help and advice about all our products.”

See all this – and more – on stand 420 in the Purple Zone.

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