Speedcut uses Harrogate show to celebrate 30 years

Speedcut Contractors of Oxford used BTME, Harrogate, to launch a newsletter and celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Director and founder Dick Franklin, together with contracts manager Kevin Smith, manned a busy stand that attracted a wide range of inquiries - from golf clubs to local authorities.

"We have a lot of people to talk to during the next few months about drainage work this year," says Dick. "And we are looking at a number of possible sports facility construction jobs."

The launch of Speedcut News gave past, present and future clients an opportunity to read about recent work carried out by the company.

"Harrogate was an excellent show for us," said Dick. "We were kept busy during the whole three days and met a wide cross section of people from every type of sport."

While achieving 30 years of successful sportsturf contracting, Speedcut Contractors Ltd has developed an enviable reputation.

From a few council contracts round Oxfordshire in 1977, the company has grown to a fleet of sportsturf drainage vehicles with many long-serving staff and prestigious clients such as Chepstow Racecourse, Foxhills Golf Club and Resort and Highclere Castle, plus cricket, football, rugby and golf clubs across the UK.

"We've come a long way since those early days," says Dick Franklin. "We have so many contracts in the course of a year that the weather, like last year, can play havoc with the schedules.

"But we met the challenges and caught up with contracts despite one of the wettest summers on record."

The company's reputation for sportsturf excellence reaches far and wide. One of the longest hauls for Dick was to Guernsey to drain two football pitches. A trencher, hopper and low-loader went by ferry while tractors and trailers were hired locally.

"We have done quite a few long-distance contracts but that was a real challenge," says Dick.

Contracts manager Kevin Smith joined Speedcut eight years ago, bringing with him vast experience of sportsturf drainage and construction work.

"Speedcut is a family-run company and the commitment to quality and service is paramount," he says. "We work hard to ensure all clients' requirements are met from initial survey to completed project."

Speedcut run the very latest Mastenbroek 10/12D laser-guided trenchers and pipe-layers, together with AFT Whizwheels, purpose-built back-filling units, Massey Ferguson tractors and a low-loader for transporting their own machinery.

As well as drainage on golf courses last year, including Haverhill in Suffolk and Broome Manor in Swindon, Speedcut constructed sports pitches in Kent and on the Isle of Wight while carrying out contracts on football pitches including Portsmouth FC, Aldershot FC and Windsor and Eaton FC.

As for the future, Dick Franklin says: "We look forward to dealing with many of our past and present clients and to meeting the needs of new ones."