Ask Nigel Willis of N&E Grounds Maintenance what he thinks of their Deep Tine Aerator (DTA) from GKB Machines and he may well tell you it’s the best machine he’s ever purchased! It’s certainly been put through its paces since its delivery in May 2024 as the company ramps up aeration work on a variety of fine turf and winter sports surfaces. In those few months, the DTA 210 has cemented its status as one of the strongest, quickest and most reliable maintenance machines on his fleet.

Located on the outskirts of Belfast, N&E Grounds Maintenance have been conducting the full range of nutritional and mechanical maintenance services for customers spanning both natural and artificial turf for the last 22 years. It was on his annual trip to SALTEX in 2023 that the DTA first caught Nigel’s eye. “My aerator at the time was giving me a lot of bother so I was on the look out for alternatives. I was immediately impressed with the robustness of the GKB DTA and Tom Shinkins put me in touch with their dealer for Northern Ireland, Laird Grass Machinery.”  

“I didn’t even feel the need to have a demonstration of it, I just asked them to order me one and the rest is history!” he exclaims.  

The GKB Deep Tine Aerator does exactly as the name suggests, tackling compaction down to depths of 400mm (16”). Available in working widths from 1.2m up to 2.6m, there’s a model in the range to suit all types of natural turf surface.     

“We opted for the 2.1m model which suits the variety of facilities we visit, and it’s already been well utilised on football and rugby pitches as well as work on several golf courses.” Nigel continues, “It does a fantastic job and is much faster and smoother than our previous machine. It’s easy to hook up to the tractor, simple to use and the daily checks are quick with very few grease points. The hydraulic depth control is another feature I really like giving us easy and accurate control over the job at hand.”  

“As we move through the winter months, the DTA will be out near enough every other day as demand for aeration work continues to increase to cope with the increased rainfall.” He adds, “I’ve been so impressed with the machine I felt compelled at SALTEX 2024 to go back to the GKB stand just to tell Tom and the team that it’s honestly been one of the best purchases I’ve ever made!”