Campey has supplied Hayes based football club, Sandgate Youth FC, with four vital pieces of equipment to help the club take control of their own pitch operations after continual let downs from their local council.

The New Holland Boomer 35 tractor, Trimax Striker, Sisis Quadraplay and Sisis Maxislit were purchased by the club through a Football Foundation grant, after securing the deal for £3000 less than the nearest competitor. The club has been given a new lease of life when it comes to maintaining its pitches.

Problems were encountered by the club who have over 200 boys and girls from under-7 to under-16 age groups when the local authority maintenance schedule only allowed for 16 cuts from March to October, with two dates in April and May being missed on the six pitches.

However, club secretary Steve Kennedy has explained that with the help of the new equipment the entire club has had a lift, and after seeing the first cut with their new Trimax Striker, he himself couldn’t be happier with the machines.

“We’ve had our issues with the local authority maintenance schedule because it in no way met the requirements for good playing conditions,” Steve began.

“When they missed some cuts our own old equipment was nowhere near powerful enough to cut the long grass, and that’s what makes these new machines so invaluable to us.

“The initial reaction we had when we showed everyone the tractor was jaw dropping.

“And then when they saw how it and the mower performed together it was like a weight was lifted off our shoulders, and when we used it through some long grass it was even better.

“We have volunteers cutting the grass, and they are the football coaches as well, so the less time they have to spend cutting means they have more time to focus on training the kids, and they might even get some time at home!”

Being able to produce and maintain high quality pitches is a top priority for the club, as it helps to reflect their commitment to their own development whilst proving a useful recruitment tool in a competitive football area.

As well as being able to dictate their own cutting schedule the club are looking at aerating some damp on-pitch areas with the Maxislit and some off pitch areas, which will be used to train on.

The volunteer grounds team will soon receive their training from Campey to ensure they can get the best out of the machines, and Steve is keen to point out the invaluable help and support he has received from the company the whole way through the process.

“The people I’ve spoken to at Campey have been fantastic, everyone from Max the delivery driver to Richard Campey couldn’t have been more helpful,” he said.

“Richard obviously has years and years of experience in the industry and you can tell that straight away.

“He considered what was needed to meet all of our current needs as well as providing equipment for future improvement. The aftercare and training has been excellent.”