Last Monday, (17th of May), I received my first vaccine. I am delighted to have received it. All going well I should receive my second jab in the next three or four weeks. I hope many of you have received your first vaccinations as well. 

Last Monday was also the day that retail outlets reopened for business after almost five months of being closed. You could see the difference in my nearby town of Wexford. The atmosphere changed overnight from dull, quiet streets to a hive of activity busy with people going in and out of shops. It was wonderful to see.

The opening of non essential retail shops means that dealer showrooms are now open as well. Many of the behind the counter staff will be just as pleased to see customers coming in to brouse around to see what bargains are on offer, not just from a business point of view but from the social side of it as well. Many people will tell you that it is great to be able to walk into a shop and buy, at first hand, what they want , instead of scrolling on a computer screen to buy their product. The same satisfaction and pleasure of premises reopening also applies to the sales staff. Being able to interreact with customers again was a great relief. I heard one member of staff say that he missed having the chats with his customers. “It was great to see human beings back kicking tyres again”, he added. What he said showed how important it is in our industry to have that real life connection with our customers, to be able to have the chat, see their faces and to have a bit of banter with them as well. The same staff member went on to say that having the interaction with people was good for his mental health.

Speaking of mental health, it was great to see many dealers getting involved in the Darkness Into Light campaign on May the 8th last by bringing their tractors out early in the morning (as early as 4 am) to lend their support for Pieta House. Darkness Into Light was started by Pieta House in 2009 to raise awareness for victims of suicide and self harm. Unfortunately this year’s event could not take place at the usual Darkness Into Light venues due to the restrictions but, instead, the organisers encouraged participants to don their yellow shirts and take part in the event at a time and location that suited them. Almost €7.5 million has been raised so far, breaking previous years records.
 
Hopefully this will be the last time that retail outlets will have to shut down because of the pandemic. When all the vaccinations have been completed we will be living in a safer world. It looks like this disease will be around for some time to come. We will just have to learn how to live with it as best we can, without having to go through the sacrifices we endured in the previous lockdowns.

Reesink UK has launched a new division dedicated solely to electric utility vehicles.

Named Reesink e-Vehicles, it introduces to Ireland and the UK Star EV and its range of lithium and sealed battery-powered utility vehicles. The range features 28 units, including golf buggies and small, medium and large capacity electric UTVs for carrying materials, and people carriers for 4–22 people.

David Cole, managing director of Reesink UK, said, "We’re focused on introducing battery-powered machinery options to the UK turfcare market. Such products have been extremely well-received and this is the direction of travel for environmentally friendly technology at the moment, one we recognise will only gain more traction.

"The globe is focussed on reducing fuel consumption and heading towards electric transportation as the next transitional step. There simply has to be the choice to buy electric and we identified a gap in our offering for a comprehensive range of electric utility vehicles to complement the Toro Workman GTXe we have just rolled out.”

David explained why the company chose to partner with Star EV, who they first encountered at BTME 2020. He said, "We were looking for an electric range with rapid charge, a good mileage per charge, an extensive warranty - up to six years on batteries - along with the usual no more emissions and no more pollution stance. It’s no surprise that Star EV is an award-winning company in the USA and we’re excited to partner with them.”
 
Jane Zhang, CEO and owner of Star EV Corporation, added, “Star EV Corporation is delighted to be partnering with Reesink, under their new EV division, with an exclusive agreement for the UK and Ireland.

"Star looks forward to Reesink delivering to its customer base a fantastic range of ever evolving, and world-renowned electrical vehicles, growing both our brands.”

The Friends Of Sligo Rovers 500 Club has made another infrastructural investment in the Bit O’ Red with the purchase of a John Deere 2653B triplex mower for the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division club’s grounds staff.

From left: Colin Feehily, Noel Bennett of Dublin Grass Machinery, Vincent Nally and Peter Henry of the 500 Club Committee

The five-figure purchase will help the upkeep of the Showgrounds surface and is the latest project by the 500 Club, having helped fund the reseating of the Treacy Avenue Stand two years ago. 

The mower was purchased from Dublin Grass Machinery and their sales manager, Noel Bennett, delivered the mower to the club. “We're sure the machine will keep the Showgrounds pitch looking great for this season and many more to come”, said Noel.

Founded in 2003, the 500 club continues to be one of Sligo Rovers most solid fundraising project. In the last financial year, the 500 Club provided €90,000 to Sligo Rovers.

Groundsman Martin Cleary tries out the John Deere 2653B mower

It was particularly important during the Covid-19 period as it provided steady income for the club when all other streams had been negatively affected.

The John Deere lawnmower is state-of-the-art and will allow for greater maintenance of the pitch, which is vitally important for all of their teams.

The 500 club, led by a very dedicated 500 Club Committee continues to grow.  The increase in membership will allow for more projects outside of the regular income it provides to club finances.

John Deere and training provider ProVQ have announced plans to open a brand new Apprentice Training Centre this autumn, at a farm site in Upper Saxondale near Bingham in Nottinghamshire, UK.

This will mark the 30th anniversary of the company’s first Ag Tech apprentice intake, who were enrolled at original partner Brooksby Melton College in 1992.

Pictured at the site of the new Apprentice Training Centre are (rear, left to right) Stuart Jones and James Haslam of ProVQ, Allan Cochran of John Deere and (front left & right) third year Turf Tech apprentice Sean Richardson of dealer Tuckwells at Ardleigh with John Deere work experience placement student Harriet Stephenson.

Designed specifically and solely for John Deere dealer apprentices attending the company’s Ag Tech, Turf Tech and Parts Tech training programmes, the first John Deere Apprentice Training Centre was established at Radcliffe-on-Trent five years ago. According to the company, these premises have now been outgrown, due to the programmes’ success and increasing dealer demand.

The Ag,Turf and Parts Tech apprenticeships focus on developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for dealer personnel of the future, say Deere. Each year group trains at the centre for up to eight weeks a year in four blocks of two weeks. Some of this time is also spent at the manufacturer's Langar HQ when working with the largest equipment and the latest technologies.

John Deere appointed ProVQ Limited in summer 2015 as its new business partner to deliver the apprentice training programmes on behalf of its dealers in the UK & Ireland. The current full-time ProVQ staff will continue to be managed by James Haslam at the new Apprentice Training Centre from the autumn.

“We are really looking forward to establishing this new bespoke facility close to our UK headquarters at Langar,” said John Deere Limited training centre manager Allan Cochran. “Our joint investment in the expanded Apprentice Training Centre will be in the region of £1.5 million. This will allow us to continue our growth and ambition to attract more young talent to develop successful careers in land-based engineering through the John Deere agricultural, turf and forestry dealer network.

“As our dealership businesses continue to grow, there is increasing demand for qualified technicians equipped with the correct knowledge and skills to support that growth. We have therefore recognised the need to increase the capacity of our already successful and industry leading training programmes even further.

“The new site will feature a purpose-built two-storey unit in addition to refurbished and extended farm buildings, effectively almost doubling our available square footage. The premises will include a bigger workshop space as well as larger classroom and cafeteria facilities.

“Most importantly, this will give us the capability to double our throughput of trained technicians to meet dealer demand. ProVQ will maintain its current staffing levels and continue to provide the full suite of apprentice technician training programmes at the new premises.”

An impression of the new centre

ProVQ managing director Stuart Jones added, “We are looking forward to seeing many more young people come through the doors of our new training centre at the start of what is undoubtedly a very exciting and rewarding career in engineering and parts support. The facilities we are developing will help them to achieve their full potential in a rapidly changing industry that offers a great opportunity to work with some of the most advanced technologies supporting food production, land management and environmental sustainability.”

Blount, Inc. have rebranded as Oregon Tool.

The manufacturer of professional cutting tools and equipment say they have selected Oregon Tool as its new name to "..harness the power of its pioneering origin story."

The company was founded by Joe Cox in 1947 in the basement of his Portland, Oregon home. Over the years, the company has grown into a multinational organisation with numerous acquisitions and mergers. Today, the company employs over 3,000 and sells products in more than 110 countries across multiple consumer brands, among them Oregon, Woods and ICS Diamond Tools.

“We are certainly proud of where we’ve been and where we are, but we’re even more excited about where we’re going as Oregon Tool,” said Oregon Tool CEO Paul Tonnesen. He went on to say that the company intends to go beyond serving the professional end user to expand how they are serving the domestic market.

The shift from Blount, Inc. to Oregon Tool will be effective June 2. Tonnesen said that the brands and products that customers have come to know will remain the same - they will simply operate under the umbrella of Oregon Tool instead of Blount, Inc.

Claas has acquired a minority shareholding in the Dutch manufacturer AgXeed with the aim of cooperating in the development and commercialisation of their AgBot autonomous field robot.

In a statement, Claas said collaborating with and investing in AgXeed " . . marks a logical step towards future-proof technologies."

AgXeed are described by Claas as one of Europe’s leading manufacturers in this sector. Due to be launched in 2022, the AgBot has a diesel-electric drive via either wheels or tracks, with power outputs up to 156hp and is fitted with a standard 8.0 tonne capacity three-point linkage and load sensing hydraulics.

Thomas Böck, CEO of the Claas Group said, "Our involvement provides Claas with access to innovative technologies in a familiar market segment and complements our own expertise in autonomy and robotics.

"In turn, AgXeed benefits from our extensive expertise and networks in many areas such as data transfer, interfaces and drivetrain solutions. It's a win-win situation in our view, and one reason why we decided to invest in this start-up company, as well as the fact that the targeted AgXeed technologies are in an advanced state of development. This solution offers farmers and contractors concrete economic added value, and what’s more, it will soon be available."

Joris Hiddema co-founder of AgXeed B.V, added, "This type of cooperation reflects exactly what we stand for at AgXeed. And this means setting up future-orientated alliances between innovative companies striving for sustainable agriculture where farmers are able to optimise productivity, while preserving the soil and the environment. In CLAAS we have a partner on board that believes in and shares our ideas on the future of agriculture and will accelerate bringing our solutions to the fields of farmers”. 

AgBots will be launched in various sizes and performance classes. Further solutions are said to be currently under development.

Registration is now open for GIE+EXPO 2021 with the organisers saying plans are underway for the Louisville, Kentucky show to bring the industry back together in person this October 20-22 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. 

 
Recent figures from the show organisers say 675 companies have already signed on to exhibit this year, an 18% increase over the same time in 2019. More than 70 are new exhibitors.

GIE-EXPO say the exhibition centre has undergone renovations recently to the demo area, meaning exhibitors are looking forward to showcasing their latest developments outdoors where attendees can test drive equipment.
 
Warren Sellers, show manager, said attendees are also keen to get back together in person. According to a recent survey of past attendees, 91% of landscape professionals and 84% of dealers are likely to attend this year.
 
On offer this year is an expanded education schedule on topics such as drones, robotics and connectivity, as well as activities including:

• Hands-on Drone Zone where attendees can fly drones with expert trainers
• Technology Summit presented by the National Association of Landscape Professionals
• UTV Test Track
• Remote Pilot Certification Course presented by the Indiana State University Aviation and Unmanned Systems Program
• Expanded In-Tree Arborist Demos and Classroom Courses, including CEU opportunities
• Opening keynote, “Leadership and a New World Order: The Need for Resilience,” featuring Retired U.S. Navy 4-star Admiral James Stavridis
• Free dealer workshops by Bob Clements International, including a discussion on Bulletproofing Your Business

“Despite the pandemic, business never stopped for those who design, install, and maintain living landscapes. While this year’s show will look different, we can’t wait to welcome everyone back to Louisville,” said Kris Kiser, managing partner of GIE+EXPO and OPEI President.

“We understand how important GIE+EXPO is to our industry, and we are committed to providing the education, resources and networking businesses need to thrive.”