Campey Turf Care Systems completed seven weeks of demonstrating football pitch renovation work across Europe in Belgium at the end of last month.

The final demo was the home of Belgian First Division side KVC Westerlo, 30 miles north east of Brussels.

The club’s training pitch, adjacent to its main stadium, was about 90% poa annua and severely compacted. Prior to Campey’s renovation, it proved impossible to push the Penetrometer even a short distance into the surface in some areas.

Guests and journalists from Belgian trade publications invited by local dealer Van Dyck Marcel saw a Koro TopMaker at work.

They remained until late in the day, watching each sequence in the renovation process.

On his return to the firm’s Macclesfield head office md Richard Campey reflected on the tour.

“The six pitches we renovated consisted of about 95% poa annua brought about by the excessive use of irrigation and fertiliser and lackof regular mechanical maintenance, something we simply don’t see at professional level in the UK,” he said.

“In addition, each had very poor surface levels, especially in the goalmouths which were heavily worn. All the pitches consisted of rootzone construction to a depth of 18cms, then 12cms and then onto the drainage layers.

“We encountered severe compaction at the surface then at around 13-15cms, resulting from either a total lack of aeration or always aerating down to one set depth. Unsurprisingly, all the grounds managers complained that their surfaces were poor and difficult to manage, particularly through the winter months.”

Richard felt that the tour had raised awareness of the results that can be achieved by adopting good working practices and by using specialist machinery for renovation.

“The tour was a significant investment for us in time, materials and manpower, but we feel it’s important that others have the opportunity to learn about the exceptionally high standard of renovation work carried out in the UK,” he added.

“Visitors to all demos were as eager to learn about the process as we were to share our knowledge.”.