United Kingdom
August 5, 2016
The University of Warwick is a world-leading university with extremely high academic and research standards – Warwick is in the top 100 of every major university world ranking. Students from all over the globe choose to attend, so it’s no surprise that the university has around 23,600 full-time students.
Across the university campus, students can make the most of a vast array of sports including American football, football, rugby, hockey, lacrosse and cricket – to name but a few. These sports are played throughout 60 acres of outdoor playing fields and Charlie has been tending to these facilities for the last 28 years.
Originally starting his career at the university as part of a Youth Training Scheme, Charlie showed what he was made of and eventually landed the head groundsman position eight years ago. It was at this moment that he introduced Limagrain into his turf management programme.
“We used to use a grass seed from a different company but when I became the head groundsman I decided to bring in Limagrain. I had heard good things about the company, and just to make sure I did a bit of testing before making any decisions to see which one I liked the best. 
“I tested three different brands on three separate pitches and the Limagrain seed was the one I was happiest with.”
The winner of Charlie’s testing process eight years ago was Limagrain’s MM60 – and he has not looked back since. This hugely popular grass seed is the leading winter sports mixture throughout the UK and beyond and it’s easy to see why. The MM60 grass seed is a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair. Renowned for its extremely fast germination; MM60 has a high disease resistance giving fantastic aesthetic qualities.
Presentation aside, it is the seed’s high tolerance feature which has impressed Charlie the most. “It provides us with excellent colour but it is incredibly stable. I use it a lot on our rugby and American football pitches because it holds together so well – it doesn’t rip apart and you can always get it back into good condition. “I also use it for lacrosse, football and pretty much everywhere to be honest – even the normal turf around the campus because it has such a good rate of growth. “With the MM60 I still get grass covering at the end of the season, which is fantastic.
At the end of the winter period I actually change all of my rugby pitches into football. We hold a large amount of football tournaments in the summer and because the grass coverage is still so good, I can simply give them a mow and we are up and running.”
At the front line of the business and maintaining Limagrain’s position as the leading UK plant breeder and seed producer, are the company’s amenity representatives. These representatives work tirelessly to ensure that each customer has the turf they desire – and Charlie would not be without this assistance. “They are brilliant and I use them for advice as well – if ever I get in a pickle they are one of the first I turn to. They have got such a good base of knowledge and can answer any questions I may have.
“I have recommended Limagrain to lots of people and no one has ever come back and said that they are not happy with the service or the products.”
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