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By Lesley Walker in Football on 19th Apr 2006 14:00
Sunderland AFC sees big pitch improvements with Toro Kit
Sunderland AFC has invested in a new range of Toro turf maintenance machinery and is seeing significant improvements in both turf quality and productivity as a result.
At its academy ground, the club has cut a third off the time it takes to cut grass banks by bringing in a new Toro Groundsmaster 4000-D.
"It used to take us three days with our old mower," explains academy head groundsman Glenn Campbell, "but with the Toro we've cut that down to just one day! The reason is its wide cutting width - around three metres. It's a dream to operate too, our grounds staff love using it."
The mower is also used at the club's Whitburn training ground to keep its three pitches in trim.
The new Groundsmaster adds to the academy's existing fleet of Toro Reelmasters - a 6700-D and two 6500-Ds.
"We're reviewing our five-year Toro agreement with dealer Shorts of Whitburn this year," adds Glenn. "As an alternative to the 6700-D, we're giving thought to a Toro 6500-D as the cutting width better suits our needs at this time."
At the Stadium of Light, the main pitch is also showing off some new Toro kit - a ProCore 648 pedestrian aerator and a Reelmaster 2000-D mower. Head groundsman Adrian Partridge says: "We find the ProCore is far superior to a tractor-mounted unit. It's so lightweight and easy to use, and gives great results on the pitch.
"We bought the Reelmaster to save us time," he adds. "We used to use hand mowers to cut the pitch a couple of times a day, but it was very time-consuming. With the new machine we've reduced this time by more than half, so we can get on with other essential jobs, like divoting."
Both Glenn and Adrian are delighted with the service they receive from Toro dealer Shorts of Whitburn. "Very reliable and great support," Adrian says.
Photos: Academy head groundsman Glenn Campbell (second left) with his grounds team, and the new Toro Groundsmaster 4000-D.
Read more articles in Football,
by Lesley Walker
or from April 2006.
There is 1 comment on this article
19 Apr 2006 by Anonymous
It would be far nicer to name the grounds team individually. Far too much un-naming goes on in this sport. That way all are recognised.
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