2009 BTME Harrogate Week Report

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2009 BTME Harrogate Week Report

By John Patterson, IGCEMA President

The IGCEMA was represented well for our first trip to the BTME show in Harrogate, which ran from Tuesday, January 20, through Thursday, January 22. IGCEMA delegates on hand were Past President Stephen Tucker, Secretary/Treasurer Mike Kriz, Board Member Frank McQuiggan, 2008 Edwin Budding Award Winner Eric Kulaas, and me. All except Eric arrived in England the Saturday before the show so that we could all have time to make the trip to Ipswich, home of Budding Award Sponsor Ransomes Jacobsen Limited (RJL) for a factory tour and meetings.

I made the overnight flight from Miami to Heathrow on Friday, and after Mike’s plane arrived we collected the rental car and headed north. The drive to Ipswich was uneventful, but I was immediately struck by how polite everyone was in England; I’m used to car horns and rude drivers in Miami. Mike drove from Heathrow to Ipswich and nobody honked or cut us off – how refreshing! It was good for me to learn the rules of the road by observing Mike’s driving; he had lived in the area years before while stationed at the US Air Force Base nearby Ipswich, so driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road was at least familiar to him. I drove the rest of our time in England, and we put on over 750 miles in total during the trip to Leeds, Harrogate, and then back to London.

After settling into our hotel rooms for a brief R&R, Jason King, Customer Service and Training Manager at RJL, picked us up for dinner at one of the fine local Inns, where we had a chance to go over plans for the coming week and get to know each other after so many emails back and forth. We made it an early night so we could get back to the hotel and start our jet lag recovery in earnest.

Sunday morning we went to High Lodge to shoot clay pigeons with Jason and Ian Mitchell, Product Trainer at RJL, who explained they like to take guests shooting because it is something removed from the turf business, and fun – we had a blast (pun intended). Stephen won the informal competition we had by one point, with yours truly coming in second. We couldn’t help noticing that Jason was trying to make us feel better by intentionally missing many of the clays – that had to be the explanation… High Lodge is owned by a multi-champion shooter, and the trophy display in the dining room was amazing. After lunch, it was back to the hotel for more R&R.

Eric Kulaas arrived in Ipswich Sunday afternoon, and after getting settled in his hotel room we took Jason’s advice on a restaurant called The Ship Inn, which was built in the 14th century (complete with a thatched roof, low doorways and exposed beams) and the chef amazed us with awesome creations for Eric’s vegetarian diet. Our meals were equally great. We returned to our hotel rooms well and truly stuffed, and continued our Jet Lag Removal project.

Before we took the Factory Tour Monday morning, we met with Jason and Stephen Mitchell, Customer Care Director at RJL, and we all had a chance to speak about various aspects of our Association, RJL’s commitment to education, and future involvement with the IGCEMA. It was a positive meeting with some terrific ideas exchanged, and produced a couple of items for our Board of Directors to consider for future development – more to follow.

The factory tour itself was a contrast of impressions; an older set of buildings in a well-kept industrial complex, with an original Budding Patent Mower on display in the lobby, and with thoroughly modern processes (‘lean’ manufacturing, six sigma, just-in-time production supply, etc.) inside. Unfortunately no photos are allowed in the plant, because I wanted to share images of the equipment produced for the European market which Americans don’t usually see, like the absolutely huge four-bladed reels awaiting assembly.

The three-hole golf course on site, ‘The RJ National’, is impressive; built on a reclaimed flat waste area next to the plant, 5,000 cubic meters of fill was excavated to form a lake, and then used for the shaping. The par-nine features bent, ryegrass, meadow-grass and fescue cultivars selected for their unique qualities. The course is maintained by Rory Ferguson, son of Ipswich Town Football (Soccer) Club Head Groundsman Alan Ferguson, and his care and attention to detail are obvious. For more on the ‘RJ National’ course, see the article in issue number 22 of Pitch Care magazine.

We visited Ipswich Golf Club, which is regarded as high end golf for the area, and the maintenance facility was representative of courses in the UK. With no dedicated Technician on staff there is no real ‘shop’ to speak of, and Head Greenskeeper Norman Fenwick relies on their equipment dealer for almost everything except the most basic lube and adjustments. Norman has made many improvements to the facility for better environmental care. An ESD equipment wash water recycling system was installed a few years ago, and they had vaults for pesticides, fuels and oils.

We also visited the Training Center for Ipswich Town Football (soccer) Club, which is regarded as one of the best around. The facility has a well-lit storage and work area with a concrete floor. We met Alan’s wife, Carol Ferguson, who is the Grounds Staff Coordinator for the facilities, and she was generous with her time in giving us a tour of the building and grounds. From there, we went downtown Ipswich to see the Football Stadium and meet Alan, who was just inflating the huge turf cover which is like a balloon to protect the turf from standing water and frost. Alan is very knowledgeable when it comes to turf, and I learned that even Football Stadiums are now constructed to ‘USGA Spec’ like Golf Greens.
After the tours, Mike, Frank, and I followed Jason, Stephen and Eric for the three hour drive north. Frank had a hotel in Harrogate, so we stopped along the way to let Frank join Jason, Stephen, and Eric for the ride into Harrogate, while Mike and I went to the Marriott in Leeds. With all of the luggage we had packed for the week, Jason was grateful Frank only had a small bag with him!

Tuesday, the first day at the show, was exciting – you always need to be ‘on stage’ at these things, and we had a receptive audience, which made it fun. The BIGGA Awards Ceremony was terrific; we were allotted ten minutes during the ceremony to present Eric with his Budding Award. Stephen began by giving the group a brief overview of the IGCEMA, and then David Withers explained RJL’s involvement with the award. Many of the top Greenskeepers in the U.K. were in attendance, and I noticed many nodding in approval – priceless! After the ceremony we went downstairs for pictures and RJL had a nice backdrop of company history set up for the occasion. They made sure to get quality pictures, and we are trying to get a copy of BIGGA’s official video of the event.

Other high points on Tuesday were meeting IGCEMA Member Cal Callaby from Celtic Manor, home of the 2010 Ryder Cup, and several other Technicians and Greenskeepers from the U.K. The buzz around the show stand was positive and the consensus is that U.K. Greenskeepers and Technicians are very open to, and want, what we have to offer. We hosted a live Webcast from our booth each day of the show, and had Members from the US to NZ join us at different times throughout the day. I think we reached out across 15 time zones at one point.

Tuesday night RJL hosted our group for a dinner at the hotel where Eric and Stephen were staying. After a wonderful meal, conversation turned again to how we can increase Membership and expand educational offerings in the UK. Time flew and all too soon we were off to our rooms to prepare for another day on the show floor.

Wednesday at the show had the highest attendance by far, with the line waiting to get into Hall ‘A’ reaching out the door and down the street at one point. We met many more Greenskeepers, and a few Technicians, including Chris Minton, who is the Head Mechanic at The Belfry, and he said he was enthused about what we are doing. Chris took a stack of fliers from the booth and said he will be distributing them to his many contacts. Many more stopped by to gather information and talk about the future of Technicians in the UK and Europe. We made new contacts with publications and businesses based in the UK, and made plans for follow-up calls to be made. We continued our Webcast, but were happily interrupted many times during the day to give Website demonstrations and talk about the Association.

Thursday had the least traffic, so we were able to take turns walking the show floor, looking at equipment and making new friends. Everyone we met was friendly and receptive to our organization. When it came time to start packing up the booth, we were sure to thank our sponsors and the many supporters who made the trip a success.

John Pemberton and everyone at BIGGA made our booth possible; without their help we simply would not have been able to make it happen. Bernhard and Company provided assistance with our booth display and has offered much assistance with our Membership drive, and of course Managing Director David Withers and everyone at Ransomes Jacobsen Limited were exceptional hosts for the weekend and factory tour. Their sponsorship of the IGCEMA, and the Edwin Budding Award, is exemplary. Many thanks for the continued support and guidance. We could not hope to achieve our goals without the tremendous support from the industry.

Next up is a whirlwind trip to the Golf Industry Conference and Show in New Orleans. I will be attending on Wednesday, and Thursday morning, for a full slate of meetings. Please check back for another report soon!

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