Tottenham Hotspur FC grounds manager Darren Baldwin has chosen a SISIS tractor mounted brush combination of a Zig Zag brush and Flexibcomb which have been fitted to a Twinplay frame for use on both the synthetic and natural surfaces at the club’s new training ground in Enfield.
As grounds manager, Darren is responsible for both the training ground and stadium pitch at White Hart Lane, overseeing a team of over 20. Part of his day-to-day duties include the maintenance of both the one and a half outdoor and one 70 x 50 metre indoor synthetic pitches at the training ground, which are used 7-days-a-week.
With that amount of activity; it is vitally important a regular maintenance programme is followed to keep the synthetic surfaces in tip-top condition at all times. This involves a combination of light or heavy brushes to even out the distribution of rubber crumb on a daily basis.
“An important part of my job is to work with key suppliers within the industry. Here at Tottenham Hotspur; we have a number of key suppliers that we work with from fertilisers and chemicals and in my view, most importantly – machinery; where we will use two or three key suppliers to make sure that we get all of the equipment that we need for the specific jobs we are required to do. An integral part of our synthetic surface maintenance equipment is the SISIS Flexicomb and Zig Zag brushes, which we use on a regular basis throughout the week.”
The SISIS Flexicomb has 52 sets of polypropylene bristles which can be made stiffer or softer by simple adjustment of the crossbar. On synthetic surfaces the Flexicomb grooms the pitch, standing up the carpet fibres and returns the surface to a perfect playing condition ensuring an even distribution of infill material. The system is also just as effective on natural turf and can, depending on the chosen setting, be used as a brush or as a rake – versatility which has impressed Darren.
“The main reason for our use of the Flexicomb is its versatility. Not only do we use it on the synthetic pitches but also our natural pitches. We find it useful to use after training sessions where we will go over the area with the brushes which stands the grass up ready for us to hoover up any debris.”
“The SISIS brushes are so simple to use. There are times when we need to de-compact the synthetic surface which requires a stiffer setting and there are other times where we are just looking for a light brush over of the surface, but it only takes minutes to adjust. The system is very quick and keeps presentation of the surface very high.
The best feature on the SISIS synthetic equipment is its flexibility. The Zig Zag brush is very important at the front to even out the rubber crumb before the Flexicomb comes behind and is brilliant at standing up the fibres and evenly distributing the rubber infill.
We’ve had outstanding success with the Flexicomb and would fully recommend it to be used on any synthetic surface.”
For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com
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