Nottingham Forest Grounds Team Backs Dennis Battery Technology to Meet Premier League Demands

As Pitch Performance Manager at Nottingham Forest Football Club, Jack Farmer oversees one of the most extensive turf management operations in English football. Responsible for six full-size grass pitches and two artificial pitches at the club’s training ground, alongside the City Ground stadium and a women’s facility with a further three pitches, Jack and his team are tasked with delivering playing surfaces that meet the ever-increasing demands of elite football.

Jack’s journey into the industry began just across the River Trent as an apprentice at Notts County Football Club. However, working for Nottingham Forest had always been the ambition.

“The dream for me was always to work at Nottingham Forest,” said Jack. “After a couple of years at Notts County, I joined Forest and have worked my way through the ranks over the last 12 years. I’ve been fortunate enough to see the club progress from some perilous days in the Championship all the way to the Premier League and European football.”

That rise has brought heightened expectations for pitch quality, with slick, consistent and visually impressive surfaces now more important than ever. To meet those standards, Nottingham Forest has significantly expanded its grounds operation.

“Up until four years ago, there were only about four guys here,” Jack explained. “We now have a dedicated team of ten groundstaff and everything across the site is maintained with pedestrian mowers. The demands are crazy, but the lads enjoy it. It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding work.”

For more than 15 years, Dennis mowers have played a key role in maintaining Nottingham Forest’s pitches, with the club continuing to rely on the brand’s renowned build quality and performance.

“We’ve always found the build quality of Dennis machines to be second to none.The cutting quality is fantastic, both with the rotaries and the cylinders. The club had Dennis machines long before I arrived and, until only a couple of months ago, we were still using G860 mowers from 2010 to prepare Premier League pitches. That says everything about the consistency and durability of these machines.”

Today, Nottingham Forest’s fleet includes seven new Dennis ES-860 battery-powered cylinder mowers, alongside seven battery-powered rotary mowers, four Dennis Premier machines and several interchangeable cassettes. In total, the club now owns 22 Dennis machines, with all but four powered by battery technology.

“Battery-powered machinery is the way the world is going,” Jack said. “Sustainability has been important to this club for several years. Petrol machines require more maintenance, while battery machines are cleaner, quieter and cheaper to run. In the long term, I think everyone will be moving in that direction.”

The switch has delivered practical benefits both at the training ground and on matchdays at the City Ground, where noise restrictions can often impact maintenance schedules.

“On matchdays, there are lots of TV crews and cameras around, and we’re always keen to get on the pitch as quickly as possible to clean up debris,” explained Jack. “The battery-powered machines allow us to get straight out there without causing any noise pollution. The same applies at the training ground, where we can continue preparing pitches while players and staff are arriving without causing any disruption.”

The club’s battery-powered rotary mowers are primarily used as clean-up machines, helping the grounds team maintain immaculate surfaces after training sessions and matches.

“We mainly use the rotaries as clean-up mowers,” Jack said. “They provide an excellent stripe and could easily be used as a finishing mower, but because we also have the ES-860s, they’re perfect for tidying up after pitch use. They vacuum debris incredibly well, nip the surface and leave a fantastic finish.”

Ease of use has also proven invaluable, particularly as Nottingham Forest continues to invest in the next generation of grounds professionals.

“They’re incredibly easy to use,” Jack added. “It’s literally one button on the screen and a simple toggle for the drive. We’ve had two new apprentices start recently and both of them were operating the machines by their second day with no issues at all.”

Battery performance has exceeded expectations across the club’s demanding schedule.

“We’ve cut two-and-a-bit pitches and still had around 75 percent battery remaining,” said Jack. “The machines comfortably last all day for what we need them to do.”

The Dennis ES-860s are split between the stadium and training ground, where they are used for everything from daily training preparation to final matchday presentation.

“We have three ES-860s based at the stadium and four at the training ground,” Jack explained. “We use them for training sessions, match preparation and as finishing mowers. The quality of cut is fantastic and, in my opinion, second to none in the industry.”

A major advantage for the grounds team is the Dennis interchangeable cassette system, which allows the club to quickly switch between maintenance tasks.

“We use verticutting cassettes to thin the sward and brush cassettes to remove debris from the surface,” said Jack. “Verticutting forms part of our monthly maintenance programme throughout the year. With the amount of products we apply, it’s important to maintain a healthy soil profile, reduce thatch and keep the soil breathing.”

Jack also praised the ES-860’s adjustable speed settings and integrated reel speed technology, which enable operators to tailor performance according to the task in hand.

“One of the great features is the ability to alter the mowing and reel speeds,” he said. “If we’re looking for a finer finish, we can slow the machine down, and the reel speed adjusts automatically. The machines also feature an excellent backlapping function, which allows us to carry out routine in-house maintenance quickly and easily.”

Even in high-pressure environments, the battery-powered machines continue to impress.

“Whether it’s at the stadium during events or at the training ground while teams are practising, these mowers generate very little noise,” Jack said. “We never receive complaints and we’re never asked to stop working.”

For Jack, the combination of exceptional cut quality, impressive battery life and simple maintenance makes the Dennis range an easy recommendation.

“The battery life has been fantastic and we’ve had no issues whatsoever,” he concluded. “The cut quality of the ES-860s is by far the best in the industry. They’re easy to set up, simple to use and ideal for training new staff. The range is more than adequate for almost everybody and the quality of both the machine and the finish it produces is outstanding. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.”

Find out more about the ES-34R Rotary Mower
Find out more about the ES-860 Cylinder Mower