To support their
rapid and continued growth, Garsons Group Ltd have been investing in equipment
to help them deliver contracting and maintenance services to the full spectrum
of sports surfaces.
One machine that
joined the fleet and has now become their ‘go-to’ for topdressing is the GKB Sandspreader - and while perhaps it wasn’t quite ‘love’ at first sight,
Director Gareth Davies says it was definitely ‘the perfect fit’ at first sight
after spotting the SP100 at BTME.
“Straight away, I could tell that SP100
was a great size machine that would suit the variety of work we do” explains
Gareth, who has spent 25 years working in the groundcare industry and
established Garsons as a limited company three years ago.
“We’re
conducting renovations, reconstructions and ongoing maintenance for winter
sports pitches, cricket and golf courses so need something with a large enough
hopper capacity to be efficient, but not too big that access to certain sites
may become compromised. The
Sandspreader ticks all the boxes.”
Gareth opted for the mounted SP100 model
and, since its delivery in the spring of 2021 from local dealer Ernest Does, he
estimates they’ve applied in the region of 4000 tonnes of sand with it. “The
hopper is the main benefit for us. The SP100 holds 1m3 of
material at a time meaning we can apply over 100 tonnes in a day which is
critical when the team are working to tight deadlines.
“It’s
also really easy to use and adjust for lighter or heavier applications when
needed. We use it primarily for football and rugby, but this year we used it on
a cricket square for the first time and it did a brilliant job.”
The GKB SP100 is the smallest
unit in the Sandspreader range, with larger models offering up to a 4m3 hopper capacity. The material is transported from the hopper to
the adjustable metering valve via an internal conveyor belt, before being
efficiently and evenly distributed via the double disc hydraulic spinners.
As
well as trailed and mounted formats, GKB also offer the SPM model, which features a side
material handler for the convenient filling of bunkers or trenches.
“Another big thing for us, has been
the support and customer service from GKB, which has been excellent throughout. Tom
Shinkins is always on hand for advice and, when we needed some additional parts
recently, he was able to get them to us in under 24 hours which is the kind of
back-up we need as we drive our business forward.”
