Richard Peel Groundcare has purchased a Dakota 440 Turf Tender, KORO® FIELD TOPMAKER® with UNIVERSE® Rotor, KORO® Recycling Dresser, IMANTS SandCat and Air2G2 from Campey Turf Care Systems as they continue to stay at the cutting edge of maintenance equipment.
Over the last 15 years Richard Peel Groundcare has grown. Originally their service was grass cutting, but that has now evolved into full pitch renovations, drainage work and full pitch maintenance. As their services has evolved so has their fleet of machines, and Richard Peel, owner of Richard Peel Groundcare, has always turned to Campey.
2017 has also seen the contractor cross over from football into golf, a decision that was met with the acquisition of the SandCat and Air2G2. This was a natural progression for Richard who looked to decrease downtime in the Autumn months by offering services to greenkeepers, something he’s done to full effect.
“We’re busy for four or five months of the year on football flat out, and then we get a bit of a lull around autumn time,” Richard explained. “The SandCat and Air2G2 were machines we looked at to help us get into golf clubs.
“We’ve done a lot of work with another machine on football pitches and used it on other surfaces, but it’s always been a little bit too disruptive. I’ve had my eye on the SandCat for a few years, but now that it’s got the backing of the STRI I thought it was a good time to try and do something not too many other people are doing.
“What we have done with it makes a massive difference in firming up the green and improving the surface drainage without the need for installing a primary drainage system because it gets the sand down to six inches. It’s something quite a few greenkeepers know about but haven’t had the chance to use it on their course.
“The Air2G2 goes along with it and I think if you’re offering one you need to offer them both for golf greens. You can go in with the Air2G2 and work around the golfers if needed and it always gives great results when you’re relieving compaction.”
Clearly Richard is harnessing innovative machines to expand his business, and that is the simple reason he is using Campey. Having dealt with Richard Campey he knows that improving sports turf is his passion, and because of that the machines he offers will only be the best and most innovative available.
Campey pride themselves on providing market leading equipment that makes a significant improvement to the surfaces it’s used on whilst offering an extensive aftercare service, keeping companies like Richard Peel Groundcare working all year-round.
“The machines that Richard has brought into the industry are always market leading, he doesn’t sell things for the sake of it. He only wants to sell machines that will improve the quality of the sports turf and it’s a passion for him,” Richard began.
“It gives me a confidence that the machines they offer will be a benefit to us and our customers. There can be two or three machines on the market that can do the job, but you want the best and Campey have the best.
“We had a client that used a KORO® Recycling Dresser last year and they were that impressed with it and how it improved the growth that they wanted it included in the tender process, so it’s what they wanted and we provided it for them.
“We saw the work this customer had done and we were impressed with how it ameliorated the top soil without having to power harrow it, and it’s something that we offer to all of our clients now.”
The recent additions to the company’s machinery fleet also includes the KORO® FTM® with UNIVERSE® Rotor, another piece of kit that Richard required to meet client demand, this time Wigan Athletic’s Desso® pitch.
“The process of using a KORO® FTM® on a pitch completely transforms it. It removes all the surface debris and properly cleans it out. The UNIVERSE® rotor gives us the option of using it on a semi hybrid surfaces and it really is like having a new pitch once all the work is done.
“We’ve also added a Dakota 440 Turf Tender and we’ve been using Dakota for seven years now, but we upgraded to the Dakota 440 because of the drainage work we’ve started to do. Being able to use the stone hopper for the trenches was the main thing, and the machine can still be used for all the other operations our old one used to do.
“You can do more things with one machine, and it stops us having to run two machines, so it really made sense to get it.
With experience working on natural and hybrid pitches, Richard see’s the massive benefits of using machines on pitches at all levels. By using them on amateur and professional pitches he’s seen an increase in quality, and all without breaking the bank on a hybrid surface.
