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By Annabel Gilbert in {CATEGORY} on 28 Jun 2012

The team at Shelton SDS were very pleased to welcome an overseas visitor to their Baumber site this May and he had made quite a journey - over 10,000 miles, by road and plane from Tasmania!

Nic Hansen from Total Turf Care bought a Shelton Supertrencher+ 760 last September ready for the start of the Australian spring and busy drainage period and he was so impressed that he decided to invest in more! Nic originally discovered Shelton through their website when he was doing some research into upgrading his chain trencher. Shelton machines are designed and engineered in Lincolnshire, England and they pride themselves on engineering top quality, robust equipment that is fit for purpose and built to last. Shelton equipment is designed specifically to efficiently drain sportsturf, such as golf courses and football pitches. Unlike more traditional drainage methods the Shelton machines leave minimal impact on the turf, so it can be back 'in play' a mere 24 hours after the work has been completed.

Nic purchased Shelton's worldwide bestseller, the Supertrencher+ 760, which can install primary and secondary drainage systems on any amenity grass. The machine has digging capabilities of up to 760mm deep and 155mm wide, so a chain trencher may not even be required when installing the primary system and it can also dig a trench as narrow as 50mm. Nic realised that a machine with these capabilities could open up new avenues of business for his firm and began to contact schools and councils to gauge the level of interest in Tasmania. His company undertakes all types of work including pitch construction maintenance work and he even harvests 80 hectares of cherries which are sold all over the world.

Providing excellent customer service requires careful planning when your customer is on the other side of the world. Shelton kept Nic up to date on the progress of his order by emailing him images of the machine at the various build stages and then finally once it was placed into the container to make the 6 week journey to Tasmania. Nic received it in early September and said quite simply it was; 'the best machine I have ever taken out of the box'.

Nic has had a busy season in Tasmania working on cricket, football and rugby pitches and has completed over 40,000 metres of drainage with his Supertrencher, which has all gone well. Nic said; 'The equipment has performed fantastically, I am now looking to add more machinery to cope with the additional workload.' This time, Nic decided to travel over 10,000 miles to visit the Shelton headquarters to look at some of their other machines in action. There was no time to give in to the jet lag as Nic only had 3 days to see as much work as he could and thanks to a very wet month of weather following a drought, they had plenty for him to look at.
Nic particularly wanted to look at backfilling equipment as his current machinery was slow and required too much labour. He went to look at the Shelton 6 tonne Fast flow working near Rugby and was immediately impressed by the speed that both gravel and sand could be placed. He also liked the camera system which enables the operator to manoeuvre the machine and monitor its performance. He decided to buy one with bespoke alterations which would ensure it would fit in with other operations.

In addition he ordered a Shelton System 25 to help out with his secondary drainage work, but with a view to promoting greens drainage using the machine to install 25mm diameter pipe. Finally he decided to buy a Shelton Supertrencher 560, as its versatility to install pipe work and also secondary drainage appealed.
Nic's visit to the UK coincided with a huge improvement in the English weather and with the countryside bathed in sunshine he enjoyed a drive around the East Midlands, his first visit to the UK since he spent 3 years working in Kent over 20 years ago. Nic said 'The visit was a real success and I am looking forward to receiving the shipment of machinery. In our 15 years of business, we have purchased many turf equipment machines. Our initial purchase , together with following 12 months back up service from Shelton, leaves me in no doubt the staff and equipment of Shelton are the highest quality we have experienced over this 15 year period.' With all the work done, it was time for some play and his next stop was a trip to Rome to meet his wife and family followed by a 3 week cruise around Europe.

About Shelton SDS
Shelton SDS is a global business, based in Baumber, near Horncastle in Lincolnshire, with over 100 years of drainage experience in the team! Shelton's machines are sold all over the world and the overseas business is growing fast in over 20 different countries. Shelton design and manufacture very specialist machinery which is engineered in Lincolnshire, with sportsturf in mind, so unlike some more traditional drainage methods, it will leave minimal impact on grass and get it back in play a mere 24 hours after the work has been completed! Machinery can be bought or hired and a contracting service is also offered, so there is a solution for most people. They work to an extensive research and development program; carrying out contracting work themselves means that they know firsthand what works and what doesn't and how they can improve their products. They appreciate customer feedback and use it to ensure that with a Shelton's machine you will always get outstanding, in fact world leading performance.

For more information contact www.sheltonsdrainage.com

Read more articles in {CATEGORY}, by Annabel Gilbert or from June 2012.