Glasgow’s Hampden Park has become the first sports installation in the UK to benefit from Toro’s brand new TS90 long-throw sprinkler system.

The Scottish national stadium’s previous irrigation system was in need of an upgrade and, says head groundsman Stephen Bache, Toro’s innovative new sprinklers were the natural choice for keeping the pitch in optimum condition.

“At all the big football matches the managers ask for the pitch to be watered just before play,” he explains. “But with our old system, it took too long for us to water to achieve this. We needed an upgrade and went to Toro because we have their machinery.”

On hearing about the benefits of Toro’s new TS90 long-throw sprinklers, which fire water from a 16 to 29m radius, Stephen was keen to become the first UK user. Since irrigation contractor LS Systems installed the system earlier this year, further features such as Toro’s patented TruJectory adjustment from seven to 30 degrees, which fine-tunes nozzle spray-height and compensates for windy conditions, have not disappointed.

“This new system is fantastic,” he enthuses. “It’s so easy to use and it enables us to water different areas of the pitch without having to go back to the central controller. We’re also saving a lot of time because of the system’s simplicity – we can now water the whole playing surface in just six minutes.”

With the 52,000-capacity stadium now a Total Solutions customer, Stephen has recently received a new consignment of Toro kit to help him gear up for landmark events like the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games. “We’ve just renewed our three-year machinery agreement and received some new machines,” he adds. “The fleet as a whole is very good. I’ve always liked Toro – I wouldn’t buy anything else.”

For more information about Toro’s new TS90 sprinklers, call distributor Lely UK on 01480 226848/226872, email irrigation.uk@lely.com or visit www.toro.com.