The Campey Turf Care Renovation Tour ended in Rotterdam, Holland, with the highly successful seven-week event educating turf professionals on renovation best practise.
There was an average of 60 groundsmen and greenkeepers across each event, giving Campey a strong platform to educate using cutting edge technology to demonstrate the difference a well-executed renovation can make on all sports surfaces.
The tour wouldn’t have been the success it was without the participation of the Campey dealers, who put in a great amount of effort to organise each day, including the newly appointed dealer for Holland and Belgium, Jean Heybroek, who participated in their first tour.
Campey product specialist, Brian O’Shaughnessy, oversaw the dates in Poland and the Czech Republic for the company, and outlines the importance of visiting countries who may otherwise miss out on the opportunity to see this machinery at work.
He said: “There’s increasing pressure within the industry for teams, regardless of size, to have a high quality pitch. All you have to do is watch games on television and look on social media to see the scrutiny these men are under.
“So, by touring the machines around Europe as well as the process of renovating, we can demonstrate the difference that can made over the course of a season by starting in the right way. The events across Europe have been well received and we had a great response from the attendees.”
The demonstrations were delivered using a host of machines including the Koro FIELD TOPMAKER with Universe and Terraplane rotors, the award-winning GT Air Inject Air2G2, the Imants ShockWave and Rotoknife, the Koro® Recycling Dresser, Raycam Speedresser and Dakota range of spreaders as well as the Vredo Compact seeder.
The date in France, arranged with the help of dealership Hydraparts, also featured presentations from grounds manager at Stade de France, Tony Stones, and grounds manager at Southampton Football Club, Andy Grey. Both men gave an extensive insight into the renovation programmes at their respective venues, making the presentations the perfect accompaniment to the live demonstrations.
These events are fantastic at educating through demonstrations, but they also give participants the chance to learn from each other through networking and presentations, something that product specialist, Ben Taylor saw during the days in Belgium and Holland.
“Getting turf professionals together has led to a great exchange of ideas,” Ben explained. “As much as the demonstrations provide a linear plan for renovation, speaking to others who are local to that area can also give valuable insight on specific issues.
“Increasing knowledge and developing understanding is the whole point of the tour and I’m very proud to say that we’ve been able to do that, and as a result I’d like to think we will see the pitches in these areas improve in the near future.”
