News

Management level ROLO courses available for land-based workers

Charterhouse rebrand

The British Association of Landscape Industries has introduced two new training courses at supervisor and manager level. This adds to its popular Register of Landbased Operations (ROLO) Operative level course.

The new courses enable industry supervisors and managers to receive the appropriate level of health and safety training and apply for their Land-based Industry Skills Scheme/Construction Skills Certification Scheme (LISS/CSCS) cards. They have been developed by the Association to meet the training needs of the land-based sector. They are fully supported and approved by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Build UK as equivalent to the CITB Site Supervisors Safety Training Scheme and Site Management Safety Training Scheme courses.

ROLO courses address the specific safety and environmental challenges the sector faces, providing specific training and keeping candidates up-to-date with the latest knowledge and skills to work in the landscaping environment.

Since ROLO’s relaunch in 2012 till February this year, the Association has seen 36,580 Operatives go through ROLO training and 20,167 gain their LISS/CSCS cards.

Both courses are made up of two parts and have a blended learning approach that starts with an online e-learning course, before moving onto a tutor-led course. The courses take two days for the supervisor course and three days for the manager course. Learners will engage with activities and assessments in both aspects of the course to gain knowledge and prepare them for their final assessment.

On successful completion and passing of all aspects of the course, learners will receive a ROLO accredited certificate, which is valid for five years, after which the appropriate refreshers course can be undertaken. These courses will also support candidates in applying for the appropriate LISS/CSCS cards.

Refresher courses will be available for those renewing from having taken the full Supervisors or Managers courses and for those looking to renew their CITB SSSTS or SMSTS courses for their Land-based sector position.

Wayne Grills, Chief Executive of the British Association of Landscape Industries, says: “Over the years our provider network has been delivering ROLO training to the industry, we have seen standards across sites consistently improving. In response to the increasing call for higher level courses from businesses who are seeing how useful ROLO training is, we have developed these two brand new courses to continue our legacy of improving standards.”

For more information, please visit bali.org.uk/ROLO

Charterhouse Turf Machinery has officially re-branded to become Redexim. While the product portfolio, premises and personnel are unaffected, the change of name brings the UK into line with the Redexim corporate strategy adopted throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

The relationship between Charterhouse and Redexim has been ongoing for more than 35 years, when Charterhouse were appointed to distribute the now iconic Redexim Verti-Drain®. The success of this partnership then saw Charterhouse become a wholly owned subsidiary of Redexim bv in 1997. With the Verti-Drain® firmly setting the standard for professional aeration, the product portfolio has expanded significantly over the years to incorporate overseeders, topdressers, scarifiers and renovation equipment for natural surfaces, as well as a range of machinery options for artificial playing surfaces, that meet the exacting standards of today’s turf managers.

Commenting on the re-brand in the UK, Redexim Chief Operating Officer Herman de Bree says: “The team at Charterhouse have done a fantastic job over the years at cementing the place of the Redexim natural and artificial ranges with leading turf managers throughout the UK. The time is now right to unify the approach with that adopted throughout the world by delivering sales, service and support under the Redexim banner. This will help to strengthen our brand awareness and global corporate identity and streamline our communication with customers around the world.”

Just rewards for Etesia dealers

Workware rebrands to Carr's Billington Safety

It's been challenging times, but Etesia UK are delighted to announce the winners of four achievement awards amongst their dealer network.

The awards commend outstanding performances in sales, service, parts and customer service. The winners are: Peter Bagguley of Russells Groundcare and Allan Wright of Agrovista Amenity for outstanding individual achievement, while RD Mechanical and Sharrocks were awarded with outstanding company achievement awards.

The awards were handed out at the recent ET Lander electric utility vehicle and Pellenc new product launches held in May at Etesia UK’s offices in Oxfordshire.

Les Malin, Managing Director of Etesia UK says: “We heavily rely on our dealer network and the efforts of their sales teams in promoting both Etesia and Pellenc in the UK and Ireland.

“We're delighted to be able to recognise the winners, which not only provide a snapshot of each dealers' performance with us but also our support to all of our dealers in what has been a very challenging time for everyone in the sector.”

Etesia announces the winners of four dealer awards.

UK wholesaler Workware has rebranded as Carr’s Billington Safety in a move to strengthen its position in the market as a distributor of specialist equipment, protective clothing, footwear and accessories to the arboriculture, forestry, horticulture and agricultural industries.

The rebranding, complete with new logo and website, has been led by Neil Thomas, Commercial Manager, who identified restrictions with the existing Workware branding which was often associated with clothing alone.

“The name change from Workwear to Carr’s Billington Safety has been a real milestone in the company’s progression and represents a small but important change, one that is part of the major developments that have been taking place over the last 12 months”, explains Neil Thomas. “Since joining 14 months ago Carr’s Billington Safety has evolved in so many ways, from the customer facing aspect of the business with better stock management and clear precise pricing structures and investment in marketing programmes, to the unseen back-end changes with further integration with our parent company (Carr’s Billington Agricultural (Sales) Ltd and utilising the excellent internal resources available. The net result is that we have become more efficient and secured our position as an industry leading supplier. This process is ever evolving and we’ll continue to adapt and respond to market conditions.”

Ground Control accredited as a Living Wage Employer

TH White acquires Murley

The UK’s largest landscape and maintenance contractor, Ground Control has committed to paying all its workers the Living Wage.

Its employees across the country will earn £9.50 per hour – or £10.85 if based in in London. Both rates are significantly higher than the Government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £8.91 per hour.

Ground Control is one of Britain’s largest ground servicing and maintenance firms, providing a range of services including grounds maintenance, landscape construction, design, arboriculture and more to over 50,000 commercial properties across the UK. The company’s commitment will see its staff at the lower end of the pay scale receive at least £9.50 per hour, meaning they will earn at least £19,960 a year at 40 hours per week.

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 250,000 people and put over £1.3 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

Of the move to recognise their employees, Jason Knights, Managing Director of Ground Control, says: “We are delighted to have joined many great businesses in becoming a Living Wage employer, and ensuring all of our employees are paid fairly for the amazing work that they do. We hope to influence others in our industry, including our supply chain to make the commitment as we believe this is critical to being a responsible business and a good employer.”

Ground Control team out in force

Specialists in the supply and maintenane of machinery, T H White Group has acquired Murley Agricultural Supplies Ltd, including its agriculture, construction, garden machinery and smallholders and estates operations at Warwick and Stourport. Murley’s Vehicle business is not part of this acquisition. For staff and customers it’s business as usual, with just a name change above the door.

At the Warwick branch Murley’s Agricultural operations now trade as T H White Agriculture and the Garden Machinery side of the business will continue under the T H White Country Store and Garden Machinery brand. At the Stourport branch Murley’s Construction operations now trade as T H White Construction and the agricultural business now trades as T H White Agriculture, as at Warwick.

The deal means that T H White's trading territory for New Holland, Manitou and other leading agricultural brands has now been expanded to embrace Warwickshire and Worcestershire, while the Doosan construction machinery franchise at Stourport has been added to T H White's existing construction offering from Manitou, New Holland and Mecalac.

The new T H WHITE branches are located at Nelson Lane, Warwick and Sandy Lane Industrial Estate, Titton, Stourport-on-Severn.

Sir Tom tribute

The memorial walkway seating area.

Harrogate Landscaping firm, Ray Skelton (Harrogate) Ltd and Yorkshire nursery Johnsons of Whixley have recently helped create a touching memorial for a national hero and fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore, who in 2020 raised millions for the NHS and also celebrated his 100th birthday before sadly passing in February this year.

Unveiled in July, alongside Sir Tom’s family, junior soldiers and sponsors, the memorial sits at the Army Foundation College Harrogate, where he was an honorary colonel.

Ray Skelton (Harrogate) Ltd commissioned Kris Elvidge, a local stone mason to engrave the stones that can be seen on the front and back of the college headquarters identifying the start and finish of the Capt Sir Tom Moore Walk. They also created four seating areas that surround a centre stone halfway along the main walkway taken by junior soldiers on parade day.

Johnsons, who celebrated their centenary in June, donated two Magnolia ‘Double Diamond’ 200-250 110L trees and 50 Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’. The trees are among six planted by the junior soldiers from the army college, to honour of Sir Tom and to launch the Queen’s Green Canopy campaign across the country.

Stuart Skelton, Director of Ray Skelton (Harrogate) Ltd, says: “It has been an honour and a privilege to be involved in the Captain Sir Tom Moore Memorial, hopefully, this will continue to inspire future generations of Junior Soldiers.”

Eleanor Richardson, Johnsons of Whixley’s marketing manager, adds: “We were delighted to be part of this fitting tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore, who was a true inspiration. The donation is particularly fitting as the magnolia is native to Asia, where he served during World War II.”

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a tree planting initiative to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2021. People across the UK are being invited to ‘plant a tree for the jubilee’, with community groups and schools encouraged to take part from October, when the tree planting season begins.