Dennis Mowers – pitch perfect for 2,000 students

Lucy Nichollsin Machinery & Mechanics

Dennis
Bob Carder, head of grounds at Stamford Endowed Schools in Lincolnshire, has praised his range of Dennis mowers for helping him keep on top of a busy work schedule.

Stamford Junior School, Stamford High School (girls) and Stamford School (boys) are all part of the elite Stamford Endowed Schools. The diamond structured schools provide a tailored and personalised education at every level.

Bob, who has been at Stamford Endowed for eleven years, has certainly played his part in meeting the required criteria. With close to 2,000 pupils playing multiple sports on a regular basis, Bob knows all too well that the facilities must be of the highest quality to ensure the safety and well-being of the students.

The schools boast 45 grass areas for various sports. At the boys school alone there are seven rugby pitches, four of which are transformed into football pitches in March, a sand based hockey pitch, which turns into a tennis court in the summer, two cricket squares and a synthetic cricket pitch. This is in addition to the facilities on offer at the girls' school and the junior school.

To help Bob keep on top his turf maintenance operations he chooses to use a range of Dennis mowers which includes two Dennis FT510's, a G760 and a Razor Ultra 560. Each machine plays a key part in Bob's turf maintenance programme and are used in conjunction with one another, as Bob explains.

"We cut all the cricket squares with the Dennis G760 at 12mm and then with the Dennis FT510 we take them down to 8mm. Following that we then use a scarifier or verticutter cassette before taking them down further to 5mm. The Dennis machines really do complement one another and the interchangeable cassettes make everything so much easier."

"We went for the interchangeable cassette system of the FT510 because there's nothing worse than fiddling around and having to change heights all the time. So now when we repair a pitch we've got the option of simply putting a cassette in to suit the job. In particular, I love using the verticutter cassette for the finish it provides - the presentation is just fantastic."

As Bob says, the Dennis FT510 is an interchangeable cassette cylinder mower giving users options to fit twelve different heads including scarifiers, verticutters, brushes, spikers and slitters as well as 5 or 10 blade cutting cassettes.

The FT510 and G760 mowers assist Bob in a range of tasks across a variety of sports turf and the Dennis Razor Ultra 560 provides him with even more versatility. The machine has a 560mm (22") cutting width and incorporates many key features including an 11 bladed cutting cylinder, an ultra-short wheelbase for undulating greens, tungsten tipped groomer, click height adjusters and stub free transport wheels.

"On a day to day running the Dennis machines are all probably used at least four hours a day from the beginning of April through to the end of July."

"The other members of staff use the machinery just as much as I do and they are all more than happy with them. There's no point in me buying a mower just because I like it - it's got to be good for everyone. Fortunately, the Dennis mowers suit everyone and they do an excellent job," said Bob.

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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