WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY
The world is our oyster. This is the view of Ian Howard, Managing Director of specialist grass maintenance equipment manufacturer “Dennis”, who reports that the British company is flying the flag for product quality all over the globe.
“Our business has been growing rapidly in recent years, and we’re confident for future growth. Dennis equipment is to be found at most prestigious stadia throughout the UK, as well as the smaller sports clubs. Part of this growth is down to our export market, which continues to expand prodigiously with destinations such as France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Iceland, Algeria, Sweden, Norway and Turkey joining the list.”
“British sports venues portray an image of quality pitches on televised matches seen by many overseas Ground care professionals. They then yearn for this kind of quality on their pitches and want the equipment used by these top British Sports Clubs. Britain is the home of quality turf and our range of specialist grass maintenance equipment upholds that tradition.”
A prime example of this is Hellasod, a landscape contractor based in the Greek capital, Athens. The company chose Dennis after contacting several top UK groundsmen and asking what equipment they would recommend. They bought three of the company’s versatile G860 cylinder mowers. The 86cm (34in) wide units can accept interchangeable ‘cassette’ attachments in place of the cutting reel for multi-tasking capabilities. The contractor has bought no less than seven cassettes to be shared between the G860s, including eight and six blade cylinder reels, a sorrel roller, a turf brush and a verti-cutting attachment, as well as seats to enable them to be used as ride-on machines.
Contrary to what many people may believe grounds standards in Poland and other Eastern European countries are extremely high too. Since the fall of the Berlin wall and the emancipation of former soviet countries, Poland’s sports turf is just one of many things that have developed in leaps and bounds. Polish groundsmen certainly appreciate the quality of the Dennis machines, which are proving popular with Poland’s football stadia where pitch quality is a prime consideration. Polish pitches are now on a par with those in the UK. The country’s construction companies are well up on the latest technology. Ian Howard first met Polish construction company Zielona Architektura, which specialises in sports facilities, at Saltex in 2002. The company is the sole importer of Dennis mowers in Poland and has set up its own distribution channels in the country. It’s bang up to date with its construction skills and technology, having also carried out work in Portugal, Spain and Italy and the Ukrane and is a great fan of Dennis machines.
Ian Howard says that the Derby-based company succeeds because it listens to its customers. “Many of our product designs have directly followed on from discussions with turf professionals, and we greatly value their opinions. All customer feedback is vital and it lands directly on my desk for action.”
The progressive company’s design philosophy is exemplified by the ingenious Dennis cassette system, introduced some 15 years ago and available on the FT G series series. This can genuinely be described as having revolutionised turf care practices because they can be fitted with no fewer than 11 quick-change cassette attachments for essential maintenance tasks, including verti-cutters, scarifiers, aerators and turf brushes, as well as various cutting reels. Such versatility maximises operational efficiency and reduces costs.
Models best suited for Football Grounds include the G Series and Premier.
The G Series is offered with working widths of 660m, 760mm and 860mm for high work-rate performance, and, on some models, their rear rollers are made of three sections to aid turning. Whilst the Premier is a dedicated mowing machine that comes with 760mm (30in) and 910mm (36in) wide models. Both offer superb cutting performance with very flexible height of cuts to cope with a wide range of conditions and sports surfaces. A high clip rate is standard on all models, giving a superb quality finish and all controls are ergonomically placed for ease of use.
Many of the Top football clubs have Dennis mowers in their fleet, including the two mighty Glasgow sides, Celtic and Rangers each having two G860’s a piece. They are joined by equally well-known clubs such as Coventry City, Southampton, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Carlisle, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Leyton Orient. However, the versatile and cost-effectiveness of a “Dennis” is not only restricted to those premium names, but is also proving ideal for clubs with more modest budgets. Here we can count on teams like Macclesfield Town, Shrewsbury Town, Wrexham, Inverness Clachnacuddin, Dumbarton, East Stirling, Annan Athletic near Dumfries, and Portrane Athletic as satisfied customers.
Of course, Dennis specialist grass maintenance equipment find homes on other sports grounds. Rugby clubs, for example, are always looking to improve the quality of their grounds and sides like Leicester Tigers and Hull Kingston Rovers, as well as the famous Twickenham stadium, have found a “Dennis” invaluable - not to leave out County Cricket Clubs. Whether at home or overseas, machines from the Dennis range find favour here too - including the mighty Lord’s Cricket Ground. Already a user of an FT 510, Head Groundsman Mick Hunt asked for two Premier mowers that could meet the demands of the world’s most famous cricket ground. He knew that Dennis prided itself on the ability to make products to exactly meet user requirements, modifying machines to specific situations, so he set Dennis a task. According to Ian Howard, “We were able to tailor existing machinery to Lord’s specific requirements because of the investment we have made in skilled staff and the most modern of manufacturing techniques. There are very few other manufacturers that could have done this.”
This investment has carried on with a six-figure sum in 2007 to further enhance the state-of-the-art workshop at its headquarters. This means that the progressive company now makes more components in-house which has shortened lead times in production. “We will never forget that our business has its roots in engineering to the highest level, and our products have the precision and performance that customers expect and deserve. Other manufacturers find it all too easy to cut corners and to compromise standards,” says Ian. “We will continue to develop our product range and our operations in order to meet our users’ needs. Everything we do is driven by the customer, and by listening to their needs we ensure they have the best equipment to keep sports grounds in perfect condition throughout the entire world. 2008 will see more investment with further cutting-edge developments in our manufacturing operation and additions to our professional products range”
“Our business has been growing rapidly in recent years, and we’re confident for future growth. Dennis equipment is to be found at most prestigious stadia throughout the UK, as well as the smaller sports clubs. Part of this growth is down to our export market, which continues to expand prodigiously with destinations such as France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Iceland, Algeria, Sweden, Norway and Turkey joining the list.”
“British sports venues portray an image of quality pitches on televised matches seen by many overseas Ground care professionals. They then yearn for this kind of quality on their pitches and want the equipment used by these top British Sports Clubs. Britain is the home of quality turf and our range of specialist grass maintenance equipment upholds that tradition.”
A prime example of this is Hellasod, a landscape contractor based in the Greek capital, Athens. The company chose Dennis after contacting several top UK groundsmen and asking what equipment they would recommend. They bought three of the company’s versatile G860 cylinder mowers. The 86cm (34in) wide units can accept interchangeable ‘cassette’ attachments in place of the cutting reel for multi-tasking capabilities. The contractor has bought no less than seven cassettes to be shared between the G860s, including eight and six blade cylinder reels, a sorrel roller, a turf brush and a verti-cutting attachment, as well as seats to enable them to be used as ride-on machines.
Contrary to what many people may believe grounds standards in Poland and other Eastern European countries are extremely high too. Since the fall of the Berlin wall and the emancipation of former soviet countries, Poland’s sports turf is just one of many things that have developed in leaps and bounds. Polish groundsmen certainly appreciate the quality of the Dennis machines, which are proving popular with Poland’s football stadia where pitch quality is a prime consideration. Polish pitches are now on a par with those in the UK. The country’s construction companies are well up on the latest technology. Ian Howard first met Polish construction company Zielona Architektura, which specialises in sports facilities, at Saltex in 2002. The company is the sole importer of Dennis mowers in Poland and has set up its own distribution channels in the country. It’s bang up to date with its construction skills and technology, having also carried out work in Portugal, Spain and Italy and the Ukrane and is a great fan of Dennis machines.
Ian Howard says that the Derby-based company succeeds because it listens to its customers. “Many of our product designs have directly followed on from discussions with turf professionals, and we greatly value their opinions. All customer feedback is vital and it lands directly on my desk for action.”
The progressive company’s design philosophy is exemplified by the ingenious Dennis cassette system, introduced some 15 years ago and available on the FT G series series. This can genuinely be described as having revolutionised turf care practices because they can be fitted with no fewer than 11 quick-change cassette attachments for essential maintenance tasks, including verti-cutters, scarifiers, aerators and turf brushes, as well as various cutting reels. Such versatility maximises operational efficiency and reduces costs.
Models best suited for Football Grounds include the G Series and Premier.
The G Series is offered with working widths of 660m, 760mm and 860mm for high work-rate performance, and, on some models, their rear rollers are made of three sections to aid turning. Whilst the Premier is a dedicated mowing machine that comes with 760mm (30in) and 910mm (36in) wide models. Both offer superb cutting performance with very flexible height of cuts to cope with a wide range of conditions and sports surfaces. A high clip rate is standard on all models, giving a superb quality finish and all controls are ergonomically placed for ease of use.
Many of the Top football clubs have Dennis mowers in their fleet, including the two mighty Glasgow sides, Celtic and Rangers each having two G860’s a piece. They are joined by equally well-known clubs such as Coventry City, Southampton, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Carlisle, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Leyton Orient. However, the versatile and cost-effectiveness of a “Dennis” is not only restricted to those premium names, but is also proving ideal for clubs with more modest budgets. Here we can count on teams like Macclesfield Town, Shrewsbury Town, Wrexham, Inverness Clachnacuddin, Dumbarton, East Stirling, Annan Athletic near Dumfries, and Portrane Athletic as satisfied customers.
Of course, Dennis specialist grass maintenance equipment find homes on other sports grounds. Rugby clubs, for example, are always looking to improve the quality of their grounds and sides like Leicester Tigers and Hull Kingston Rovers, as well as the famous Twickenham stadium, have found a “Dennis” invaluable - not to leave out County Cricket Clubs. Whether at home or overseas, machines from the Dennis range find favour here too - including the mighty Lord’s Cricket Ground. Already a user of an FT 510, Head Groundsman Mick Hunt asked for two Premier mowers that could meet the demands of the world’s most famous cricket ground. He knew that Dennis prided itself on the ability to make products to exactly meet user requirements, modifying machines to specific situations, so he set Dennis a task. According to Ian Howard, “We were able to tailor existing machinery to Lord’s specific requirements because of the investment we have made in skilled staff and the most modern of manufacturing techniques. There are very few other manufacturers that could have done this.”
This investment has carried on with a six-figure sum in 2007 to further enhance the state-of-the-art workshop at its headquarters. This means that the progressive company now makes more components in-house which has shortened lead times in production. “We will never forget that our business has its roots in engineering to the highest level, and our products have the precision and performance that customers expect and deserve. Other manufacturers find it all too easy to cut corners and to compromise standards,” says Ian. “We will continue to develop our product range and our operations in order to meet our users’ needs. Everything we do is driven by the customer, and by listening to their needs we ensure they have the best equipment to keep sports grounds in perfect condition throughout the entire world. 2008 will see more investment with further cutting-edge developments in our manufacturing operation and additions to our professional products range”