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EDITOR'S BLOG

HOT STUFF
Challenging weather for professionals
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

Unless you can irrigate your turf during this hot spell, then you will witness the grass plant going into a drought stressful state.

Unfortunately, due to a close family bereavement, I was not able to attend this year’s SAGE show. I was really looking forward to attending the event, which by all accounts had more exhibitors than last year and who expressed satisfaction with the interest shown by those attending the show. You can read my colleague’s report here.

I do believe though July is never going to be the best time of the year to run a show, as it generally one of the busiest times of the year for turf professionals.

Around now we have so much going on. All the professional football grounds staff are full-on, preparing their pitches for the new season. Wimbledon concluded yesterday, along with a number of other international sporting events taking place including the start of the Women’s Euros football championships - along with a number of short-form cricket matches against India.

The weather has also been challenging for everybody. We have had very little or no rain for a number of months now, and when we do get some, it’s usually a heavy short downpour. That is not nearly enough and it does not get a chance to soak into the ground.

Unless you can water / irrigate your turf during this hot spell, then, like most, you will witness the grass plant going into a drought stressful state. Turf grasses turn brown and stop growing – however, a prolonged period of drought will also affect the soils, turning them into a hydrophobic state. This often means it will take a significant amount of water to rewet the soil profile. However, in most cases the grass plant will recover quite quickly with renewed rainfall.

I wrote an article on the importance of having an irrigation system in a May edition of TurfPro.

We are also now seeing a fine display of wildflower and rewilding floral displays coming to fruition in many local authority parks and public open spaces. These annual / biennial planting schemes have become popular, providing colour and increased biodiversity across our towns and cities.

Industry recruitment

I read with interest that both the GMA and BIGGA are working hard to promote our industry and address the issues of recruitment and retaining turf industry professionals across all sports. The GMA have reported that more than a third of industry professionals are over the age of 55 and that 10% of those are over the age of 65 - which goes to show we are likely to lose a lot of experienced turf professionals in the coming years.

It would seem from conversations I’ve had, the problem of recruitment is driven by our pay scales and working conditions not attracting candidates. Workers can earn more and not work long hours, particularly weekends, by driving a white van or stacking shelves.

Currently, an average greenkeeper's salary in the UK is £20,000 per year, around £10.26 per hour, some £6,000 less than the average salary in the UK which, in 2021, stood at £25,971. It is also worth noting that entry level positions start at around £17,955 per year, whilst the most experienced workers can make up to £26,500 per year as reported in Golf Monthly.

The combination of low pay and the pressure being put on greenkeepers in recent years has led to many leaving the industry, making the job of recruitment much more difficult.

For me, this problem has persisted for several years. Many greenkeepers feel undervalued and under pressure to deliver standards they cannot achieve - generally because of staffing levels, resources and reduced budgets. Many golf courses are now understaffed.

I don’t think I have ever seen so many jobs being advertised. Both Jim Croxton and Geoff Webb, CEOs of our two leading trade associations, are working hard to improve the image of our industry and make people more aware of the skills and endeavour of our grounds professionals.

I personally would like to see our whole industry come together and promote the values and opportunities of working in this diverse and unique sector.

NEWS

DEALERS SUFFER MULTIPLE THEFTS AT SHOW
ATVs taken

In our first WEB ONLY story several dealers have had vehicles stolen from an event they were exhibiting at, worth £50K.

GROWING NEED TO ATTRACT NEWCOMERS
Says GMA survey

In our next WEB ONLY story the grounds care sector is facing a recruitment crisis says trade association.

NEWS

GOOD LEADS AT SECOND STAGING OF SHOW
But attendance remains on the low side

Exhibitors doubled at the second staging of a new trade show for the commercial turfcare sector last week.

Exhibitors doubled at the second staging of a new trade show for the commercial turfcare sector last week - although visitors through the gates remained on the lower side than might have been hoped.

The sophomore edition of SAGE took place at the Three Counties Showground at Malvern on Wednesday 6th and Thursday &th June, following its debut there last summer.

This year exhibitors included major professional turfcare machinery players including Toro, Price Turfcare, Redexim, Campeys, Ego, Stiga, Trimax, Overton, Handys (with Cramer), Kersten, Cub Cadet and Husqvarna amongst others. This represented a significant increase in stand-holders compared to last year.

Many of the representatives of suppliers on these stands who Service Dealer visited on day one of the show this week, voiced similar feelings. They told us that whilst they would have liked to have seen more people walking through the gates, those who they had met had been quality, decision-making visitors - representing warm leads.

All were keen to support to the show into the future as the ability to demo machines there and then to potential customers in the outside space, was a seen as a real bonus for the show.

It was hoped that attendance can be built on in subsequent years.

STIHL TO INCREASE CORDLESS MANUFACTURING
New site announced

STIHL have announced a new production facility

STIHL Group say the new facility will significantly enhance its capacity to produce battery-powered tools.

STIHL Group has unveiled plans for a new €125 million manufacturing site for their electric and cordless power tools, that they say will significantly enhance their battery-powered product manufacturing capacity.

Set for completion in 2024, the company says the new 147,000m2 facility in Oradea, Romania, will create 500 new jobs in the local area and expand their international manufacturing network. In an official statement they say this will strengthen the "flexibility and resilience" of its supply chains.

The statement continued, "The new manufacturing facility has been designed with lean production in mind and will utilise the latest technology to maximise the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of the plant in line with STIHL Group’s climate and carbon footprint targets. In addition to the production halls, the site will also comprise offices, a cafeteria, and break rooms for employees."

Martin Schwarz, STIHL executive board member for manufacturing & materials, said, “Battery-powered products represent the fastest-growing market for STIHL at the present time. We expect demand for these products to continue rising faster than any other category in the years ahead.

“This means that our Tirol plant, which currently manufactures a large portion of our battery-powered range, will one day reach the limits of its space and capacities. The new location in Romania will add to our global manufacturing network and keep us in the best possible position to continue supplying our customers with battery-operated products in the future."

Today, the STIHL Group has production plants in seven countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the United States, Brazil, China, and the Philippines, with facilities opening soon in China.

OPE MAKER JOINS MADE IN BRITAIN
Manufacturing community

The Made In Britain mark will now adorn their mowers intended for the EMEAA market.

Ariens have announced that it has joined Made In Britain and will now adorn all petrol zero-turn mowers for the EMEAA market with the iconic Made in Britain mark.

Ariens has historically manufactured machinery in the United States, but, to better meet the needs of its European customers, opened its first zero-turn production line at its UK plant over three years ago. This milestone meant Ariens is able to manufacture its complete petrol zero-turn line-up of
Edge, Ikon XD, Apex and Zenith mowers - for the EMEAA market in Oxfordshire.

Made in Britain brings together the best of British manufacturing and only accredited organisations that meet its high standards can use its mark. In an official statement Ariens said, "There is also a growing awareness among consumers of the importance of buying local as recent Covid-19 and Brexit issues have caused supply chain concerns and impacted the quality of imported goods."

Darren Spencer, VP of EMEAA added, “Although we find ourselves in uncertain times, both here and abroad, investing in manufacturing in the UK is critical to ensuring our EMEAA customers continue to receive the quality machinery they expect from Ariens.

"Being able to brand all of our petrol zero-turn mowers with the Made in Britain mark shows them just that.”

PRO DEALER CONTINUES EXPANSION
Five new members of staff join

The commercial dealership has unveiled several staff appointments, enhancing customer support, in line with their unprecedented business growth.

The Colne and Haydock based commercial turfcare machinery dealership, GGM Groundscare, has unveiled several staff appointments, enhancing customer support, in line with their unprecedented business growth.

The business says they have worked tirelessly over the past two years to ensure customers remain supported and this has resulted in a recruitment drive through which they have appointed five new members of staff within the after sales team, to support its growth and customer service offering.

L-R: Ryan Bradshaw and Craig Bradshaw

Based at the Haydock depot, Craig Bradshaw has joined as service coordinator in a role that involves the management and booking of all service activities and is joined by Ryan Bradshaw, who comes to the business as a service engineer.

Matt Lord has recently joined the service team on an industry approved Kubota partnered Apprenticeship Scheme set up for training engineers of the future. Also, Gary Taylor, who has worked for GGM Groundscare for 7 years is taking up a more ‘hands on’ role as workshop foreman within the workshop as well as heading up the business’s new operator training programme.

Growth developments at the Colne depot include the promotion of Danny Bannister to aftersales development supervisor, with Martin Stoney stepping in to his previous role of service coordinator earlier this year and Billy Eastell is due to join the service team as an apprentice in the coming weeks.

Keiran Handford

Keiran Handford has also taken up the role of trainee parts advisor and joins the existing experienced parts team lead by Danny Bannister.

The recruitment of the two apprentice roles and the trainee parts role, ensures the business continues its philosophy of providing job opportunities for young people in the area.

Managing director Chris Gibson said, “We’re delighted that the business continues to go from strength to strength and these changes reflect that.

"Customer service is absolutely pivotal to everything we do and we take great pride in building long lasting customer relationships, based on anticipating needs, solving problems and delivering on time, every time."

Sponsored Content

ISEKI’S FAB FOUR ARE PRO AT STOWE
Fleet covers most bases

Grounds Manager Steve Curley has revealed why Stowe School has purchased four different ISEKI machines in just three years.

Steve has been working at Stowe, a leading public school in Buckinghamshire for an incredible twenty-nine years. Overseeing a team of fifteen members of staff, Steve is responsible for three-hundred acres of sports fields and gardens including a nine-hole golf course.

In maintaining such a vast area of land, Steve inevitably has a wide range of equipment, but he claims his ISEKI fleet covers most bases.

It all started with the ISEKI TG6675 compact tractor, as he explains.

“We needed something with a bit more horsepower to enable us to do heavier work,” said Steve. “After a few demonstrations of various tractors from our local dealer RT Machinery, we decided to get the TG6675, with 65-horsepower, and that has allowed us to use some implements and attachments that we were not previously able to. It’s been fantastic for us.”

The ISEKI TG6675 sets the benchmark for compact tractor performance. It is built to exceptional standards of quality, starting from the front lights through to the back three-point linkage. It is available with ROPS, or a factory fitted, fully air-conditioned category 2 cabin. All instruments and gauges are easy to read and indicate driving information like engine speed, travelling speed, and PTO speed can be viewed at a glance. All levers are ergonomically located around the driving seat and there is ample space for the driver’s comfort.

Based on the success of the TG6675, he then purchased an ISEKI TLE3400 shortly after.

“This mainly does all of our trailer work and helps us pick up the rubbish,” said Steve. “With it being a boarding school, it is like a small town, and we must pick up the rubbish twice a day, every day. We end up with twenty trailer loads of waste per day and we put that in compactors – so this is ideal to pull the trailers.”

The TLE3400 is ISEKI’s new premium economy tractor. This 38 horse-power tractor has a three-speed hydrostatic transmission and a lift capacity of 1000 kg. It is supplied with agricultural or turf tyres as standard. An optional front loader is also available.

“After purchasing these two machines, we decided to purchase the ISEKI TG6490 IQ compact tractor for top dressing and slitting,” continued Steve.
“This has been very successful for us and one of the main reasons for buying it was because of the IQ gearbox which enables us to go up and down the gears very easily.”

As Steve says, the ISEKI TG6490 features an IQ dual clutch transmission which offers the control of a manual with the convenience of an automatic. There are eight main gears and three ranges. Gears are changed by simply moving the gear lever through the straight shift gate.

Steve purchased his fourth ISEKI machine when he felt the time had come to upgrade the school’s ride-on mower. The ISEKI SXG323 + is the ultimate in cut and collection mowers and offers power, performance, and unsurpassed productivity. A 48” (1.22M) mower deck provides a superior quality of cut while the large capacity, high torque 1123cc diesel engine is powerful and fuel efficient. Furthermore, the SXG323+ performs exceptionally even in the wet conditions, allowing you to work without the weather restricting you.

“The capacity of cut is a lot bigger than our old mower and we can get more grass in the box,” said Steve. “It also has a high tail lift which enables us to put it on a trailer straight away if needs be, so we are not double handling the grass. The other bonus is that it is costing us a lot less to run than our old petrol mower. We use this around most of the gardens and it performs brilliantly.

“Overall, these ISEKI machines have been fantastic value for money. They are very easy to service, and we’ve not had any problems whatsoever. The whole team has enjoyed working with them.”

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