News

Wienerberger awarded Gold Standard Excellent Employer Kitemark

Wienerberger, the UK’s provider of wall, roof and landscaping innovations, has been awarded with the Gold Standard ‘Excellent Employer’ Kitemark status for its apprenticeship programme.

The accreditation recognises manufacturers who are an exemplary employer of apprentices and is available to any UK engineering or manufacturing company that is running an engineering apprenticeship programme to overcome skills challenges.

Wienerberger formed part of the cohort of around 40 organisations, which pursued the ground-breaking accreditation which is part of the Make UK backed Engineering Apprenticeships: Best Practice Programme from New Gen Makers.

The Best Practice Programme offers companies the ability to benchmark its current approach to the running of its engineering apprenticeship schemes against industry best practice, while learning from the successes of other organisations.

Simon Nevitt, Operations Director, at Wienerberger UK and Ireland, says: “As a company we are passionate about developing and nurturing the next generation of engineers and are making considerable investment in a variety of ways to future build our business. The recent completion of our new Centre of Excellence training centre in Sandtoft is a perfect example of this commitment.

“As an employer, the Kitemark publicly reinforces our commitment to excellence and continuous improvement, to be the best. For the would-be apprentice it provides reassurance that, as a company, we care about their

Left to right: Karen Linton, Rob Jollands and Adam Tipper

future by providing a Gold Standard start to a long and successful career with Wienerberger.”

Stephen Phipson, CEO at Make UK, adds: “It’s vital that would-be apprentices feel comfortable and confident when selecting an engineering employer who will give them the right support and training throughout their apprenticeship and beyond. This Kitemark complements and builds on the programmes that Make UK and Next Gen Makers have already developed which are key to helping place apprentices.”

The award ceremony took place on National Manufacturing Day in July and to collect the awards from Wienerberger were Karen Linton, Recruitment Advisor and Rob Jollands, Engineering Training Manager with Adam Tipper, Managing Director of Next Gen Makers presenting the award.

Appointment of vice president of sales for EMEAA

AriensCo, an industry leader in outdoor power equipment, has announced the appointment of Brad Stiles as its new Vice President of Sales for EMEAA.

Stiles, who has been with AriensCo for more than 11 years, brings unparalleled expertise that will drive sales throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa while also ensuring continued growth in Asia Pacific and across UK business activities.

Brad Stiles,Vice President of Sales for EMEAA

The new appointment highlights AriensCo's continued investment in its operations, which includes the acquisition of German professional mower manufacturer, AS-Motor, appointing Jochen Schneider as Executive Vice President of EMEAA and moving its CE zero-turn mower production to Oxford, United Kingdom.

Stiles vacates his previous position of Director of Sales and Marketing for EMEAA.

“Brad continues to be the driving force behind AriensCo's remarkable growth throughout EMEAA,” says Jochen Schneider, Executive Vice President of EMEAA. “Having worked at AriensCo for over a decade he not only embodies our family values but is best placed to ensure our customers get the products and support they depend on.”

Stiles will report to Jochen Schneider and is eager to get to work, “For over a decade I have witnessed AriensCo's fast paced growth and now, in this new position, I can play an even greater role in keeping up that momentum. From strengthening current markets to reaching new ones, these truly are exciting times for AriensCo and all its customers, present and future.”

Regional sales managers in Germany, France and UK along with the export sales teams from EMEAA will report into Stiles.

Etesia welcomes new dealer

Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year finalists revealed

Essex based Abrey Agricultural is now part of Etesia UK's dealer network. Orginally a farming family, the Abrey’s changed direction when son Toby started importing specialist agricultural machinery from Austria in 2000. Twelve years later he started a groundcare division that now supplies a variety of leading groundcare brands.

“I’m hoping to reach new customers with the Etesia machines,” explains Toby. “I want to progress and do more work with the Cambridge colleges and you need good brands to offer them. If you haven’t got enough

Etesia has appointed Abrey Agricultural to its dealer network in your range, then you are limited. Etesia fits a treat in this respect."

Etesia has been leading the way in building grass cutting machinery for both the professional and domestic market since 1989. Over the years the company has grown rapidly and now offers a wide range of products that include a variety of walk-behind, ride-on mowers, green technology, the popular Attila range of brush cutters and the all-new award-winning ET Lander electric utility vehicle.

Toby added that his first experience of using an Etesia machine was hugely positive.

“I originally tried an Etesia Hydro 124 diesel ride-on mower, and it was raining at the time,” he says. “It wasn’t a problem though and it picked everything up in the wet – there was no doubt about it. I didn’t have to unblock it – it unblocks itself. It is a very impressive machine.

“Another big benefit of the Etesia machines is that you can take the grass box off and put a drop chute on the back in seconds. You can’t do that on many other machines.”

Abrey Agricultural, based in Saffron Walden, Essex, will be offering the full-range of Etesia products within an approximate 30 mile radius.

Keep a look out to see who will win the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year and the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year, at the awards event that will take place at Goodwood, West Sussex on 7th/8th September, ahead of the renowned Goodwood Revival, their classic car event.

Toro, Reesink Turfcare and the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), recently revealed the finalists of theirs annual awards, which seek to uncover the UK’s leading student greenkeepers. This September’s event will be the 33rd staging of the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards and just the sixth time the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, open to greenkeepers aged 21 or under, will take place. To be eligible to take part, candidates must be registered on a qualifying greenkeeping qualification and must be nominated by their course manager or college tutor.

A record 54 nominees from across the United Kingdom were put forward by educators, course managers and head greenkeepers and other mentors. From those candidates, a final 12 have been chosen to contest the grand finals this September.

The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year winner will receive: enrolment in the 10-week University of Massachusetts Winter Turf School; a two-week expenses-paid placement at Adare Manor, venue of The 2027 Ryder Cup; an all expenses paid trip to the GCSAA Conference and Show in Florida; and a visit to Toro Corporate HQ, R&D Centre and Equipment Operations in Wisconsin.

The Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year winner will receive: a two-week work placement at Vidauban Golf Club in France; a five-night trip to Continue to Learn at BTME including four days of education; and a gift voucher for Toro Training.

Rhian Barton and Matt Milligan won the awards in 2021

To find out who's made the final line up scan here.

Help on hand to tackle climate change at SALTEX Learning Live 2022

July 2022 saw the UK's temperatures reach unprecedented levels of 40°C for the first time on record. In response the Grounds Management Association (GMA) is highlighting the need to place sustainability and environmental issues at the heart of the grounds maintenance sector’s thinking. To help those in industry, the membership organisation will make sustainability and environmental issues the heart of its Learning LIVE sessions due to take place in November at the NEC, Birmingham as part of its wider annaul SALTEX trade event.

GMA Chief Executive, Geoff Webb suggests: “Those managing and maintaining sports turf and green spaces are already having to deal with the impact of climate change and industry suppliers are doing their best to innovate and help grounds people to minimise the impact of droughts and floods.

“Extreme weather conditions are becoming more frequent, and we need to continue to educate grounds staff and plan now to ensure that as a sector, we are equipped to deal with what lies ahead.”

Announcing speakers for Europe’s leading sports turf, amenities, and landscaping trade exhibition, SALTEX, which is free to attend and organised by the GMA, Geoff Webb explains the value of attending the show’s Learning LIVE sessions.

“Learning LIVE has been designed to provide support, insight, and real solutions to key industry issues, including those relating to sustainability and the environment and we are delighted to be confirming a growing line-up of impressive expert speakers.”

A presentation not to missed will be one from Tony Hanson managing director, Environmental Solutions International and Robin Price, director of quality and environment at Anglian Water. “Their paper on ‘Reducing the impact of future water restrictions on golf and sports turf’ is a timely subject as we deal with the results of climate change and approach drought restrictions in this country. Tony and Robin will look at the implications of temporary use bans and changes in water abstraction rulings, and how this will prevent turf irrigation in 2023 and the ways to implement water resilience practices,” says Geoff.

Tony Hanson explains the importance of this subject to the industry: “Due to climate change, population growth, and historically high personal consumption, there is simply not enough water available in the UK without action – the water sector will have to use demand management to ensure public supply. Turf irrigation must simply become less dependent on mains or direct irrigation abstraction.

“The Water Resilience Plan has been designed to guide users on what they need to do and keep them informed of water industry funded seminars and workshops. If you irrigate turf you will need to review alternative water sources for irrigation, create water storage on site – water you control and can use in a drought to cover at least 21 days and review and assess your irrigation management and system. I look forward to discussing all these elements at SALTEX.”

The SALTEX 2022 Learning LIVE schedule this year has been extended to over 30 sessions, with additional papers attacking the key issues for the grounds care industry of pay, career development, how to negotiate in the workplace and how to find out about the millions of pounds of grant funding available from sports clubs.

More information about the SALTEX 2022 Learning LIVE programme can be found on the event’s website at www.saltex.org.uk/learning-live. Free visitor registration is now open. Visit saltex.org.uk.

Alongside the Learning LIVE programme visitors to SALTEX 2022 will be able to see over 400 industry brands in one place – all lining up the best products on offer for today’s growing needs. It also provides visitors with a great opportunity to network with industry colleagues and build new business relationships.

The event takes place at Birmingham NEC on 2-3 November, 2022.

Is irrigating sports turf surfaces under threat? That’s just one of the questions to be tackled at SALTEX, as sustainability and environmental issues will be at the forefront of subjects in the Learning LIVE sessions.

Green-tech sponsors Irish Landscape Institute Awards

Three of a kind for Reesink

Green-tech has announced that they have signed up as headline sponsor of the Irish Landscape Institute (ILI) Awards in October this year, under their specification brand Green-tech Specifier.

Specifier team from Green-tech

The ILI is the professional body representing qualified landscape architects, landscape managers and landscape planners in Ireland. It is the national representative body for Ireland in the International Federation of Landscape Architects and is committed to pioneering new approaches to environmental planning and to raising the standards of landscape design in Ireland. The bi-annual ILI Awards give recognition to exemplary landscape projects by members across a range of categories.

In addition to being headline sponsor Green-tech Specifier will be sponsoring two categories, Linear Landscapes within the hardworks category and the People's Awards.

Says Kate Humes Marketing Director from Green-tech Specifier: “We have been supporting the UK Landscape Institute for many years now and sponsor their annual awards. We are seeing more enquiries and supplying an increasing number of projects in Ireland, so we are delighted to lend our support to the Irish landscaping sector and sponsor the Irish Landscape Institute awards. The industry is thriving and its an exciting time for us to be involved ”

Bernadette O'Connell, President of the Irish Landscape Institute commenting on the sponsorship adds: “We are delighted to have Green-tech on board as our main sponsor for the ILI Awards 2022. We look forward to an enjoyable evening at the Awards in Dublin at the end of October.” Reesink UK, which delivers a range of turf machinery products for the groundscare industry, has opened its third branch in Burwell, Cambridgeshire.

The branch, which serves Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire joins Reesink Scotland and Reesink South East.

“The pleasure of managing a branch is that the autonomy to make decisions in terms of what we stock, distribute and deliver is, to a degree, for us to determine based on the specific needs of customers in the area,” says branch manager Trevor Chard:

Reesink UK distributes Toro fine turf and groundscare machinery, STAR EV utility vehicles and golf buggies, Farmtrac tractors and TYM tractors all of which are available at the new branch.

“These brands, in particular STAR EV, are doing very well in this area, but breaking it down even further customers are particularly interested in the sustainable options offered by each brand,” adds Trevor. “As a result, we’ve been able to fine-tune the range we offer our customers, we’ve taken on board new brands specific to what the market here is responding to and that’s proving to be a winning formula.”

The wide-spread interest in reducing CO2 emissions by businesses in the area led to Reesink Burwell widening its offering since opening to include Cramer, the biggest amperage available for battery-driven power tools and Biocircle for sustainable cleaning of turfcare machinery.

The Reesink team UK’s newest branch in Burwell, Cambridgeshire

BRINGING THE BEST TOGETHER SALTEX 2022

2-3 NOVEMBER, BIRMINGHAM NEC

Join the best at SALTEX 2022 and hear directly from industry leaders, technical specialists, and experts from across the industry.

Sustainability and environmental issues will star in the Learning LIVE sessions, with leading speakers from throughout the industry booked to appear. Learning LIVE provides support, insight, and real solutions to key industry issues delivered by an impressive lineup of expert speakers. With over 30 sessions attacking key issues for the grounds care industry there is a session for everyone.

And this is all alongside the opportunity to network with industry colleagues and make new connections while viewing the very latest from over 400 brands, showcasing products in three halls across two days at the centrally located venue – Birmingham NEC.

Join the best and register now for Europe’s largest FREE sports turf, amenities and landscaping trade exhibition.

Visit saltex.org.uk and register now for your FREE ticket. Get involved!