Money-saving line marking deal for Eton
Rigby Taylor, the company at the forefront of supplying innovative products for the successful management and maintenance of turf surfaces, has signed a three-year deal with Eton College that will see the world-renowned independent school using Rigby Taylor’s Impact line marking system and award-winning Impact XP paint for all its line marking needs.
Eton has 38 winter pitches covering rugby, football and the field game (a code of football) plus, of course, the site also accommodates a host of summer sports including cricket and tennis.
The Impact system will not only play an obvious role in the presentation of these playing surfaces but it will also reduce the costs of line marking at the extensive site near Windsor.
Ready-to-use Impact XP, which won the Queen’s Award for Innovation, is providing grounds manager David Warner and his team with a line marking paint that combines speed of use, ease of application, long-lasting bright lines and cost savings. There’s no measuring or mixing and no waste, and a 10-litre drum will mark up to eight standard size pitches.
“The deal was agreed after the system was demonstrated to us,” says David. “The lads found the line markers and paint so easy to use and a lot less time consuming and labour-saving compared to traditional mixing routines. In addition, using a ready-mixed paint system means we will now also eliminate the water costs usually associated with line marking.
“With our number of pitches, all these aspects equate to significant bottom-line savings in both resources and costs.”
Eton’s agreement to use the Impact line marking system complements Rigby Taylor’s supply of a number of other consumables to the college, says David who, before joining Eton in January, spent ten years as grounds manager at Millfield School.
He says the introduction of the Impact system was decided in much the same way as every other turf management product is. “For every item of capital equipment and consumable – and that includes the purchase of cricket loams, fertilisers and herbicides, for example – we religiously go to the market for competitive quotes from a number of suppliers, and every acquisition is based on a product’s overall value for money,” he explains.
“This ensures we not only use the most appropriate products for specific applications but also products that are the most cost-effective. We enforce a strict justification process in every case.”
Rigby Taylor’s Impact line marking system and award-winning Impact XP paint will be used for the next three years on all of Eton College’s playing surfaces, including its 38 winter pitches