IOG Saltex as important as ever

IOG Saltex as important as ever for grounds- and park managers and industry supplying the field

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

IOG Saltex, held annually in the first week of September at Windsor Racecourse – and long shall it remain there – and in 2012 from the 4th to the 6th of the month, has always been the show for the groundsman and others in the field of parks, open spaces, gardens, golf courses and the like.

Rightly Saltex is, and should be, the venue for manufacturers and supplies of machinery, tools and services to the industry to showcase their new products and innovations.

2012 will be no different there and I am sure that we will see many a new product on the stands at the show and the list in fact appears to be a rather long one that I was sent – in fact 49 pages of it which I don't think I will be picking though – and while we cannot guarantee the weather, and definitely not this year, I believe that a great and informative show can, once again be guaranteed.

While I don't want to, necessarily, appear to be picking and choosing I would just like to mention that Rock Croft, apparently, will be having the all-new Mesh Specs BX Unfogable Eye Protection on show at Saltex 2012. I was given an older version – I would think- last year for review and I have found this eye protection to the best I have ever encountered as there simply if no fogging.

Had it not been for Saltex some years back I would have never become aware of a great manufacturer of agri-board products (made from recycled agricultural plastic wrappers and such) and from who I purchased (yes, for a change it was not a product sample) the new accommodation for my hen and rooster (soon to be some more hens again). Oh, the company's name; Solway Recycling.

This year's IOG Saltex, being the year of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, will also have a display in conjunction with the Hall & Duck Trust of old lawn care machinery dating back to the first games in Britain in 1908.

I must say I have a manual Shanks mower from somewhere about that time still sitting in my shed hoping to one day give it some new wooden handles and a good going over.

OK, now roll on roll up (or what is that they say at the fairs) and get your tickets for IOG Saltex 2012. You still got time.

IOG SALTEX 2012 (www.iogsaltex.co.uk) will be held on September 4-6 at Windsor Racecourse, Berks, and will embrace fine turf and sports surfaces, turf maintenance equipment, children’s outdoor play and safety surfacing, landscaping, contractors, commercial vehicles, outdoor leisure and facilities management, as well as software and security equipment. The show is attended by open space management professionals and contractors – from groundsmen and greenkeepers through to play officers, architects, designers and surveyors as well as local authority and outdoor leisure facility managers.

© 2012