keepitgreen.be
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Platform for the management and construction of sports and golf courses
For natural grass, artificial turf and hybrid pitches
You recognise GKB Machines“ maintenance machines from afar. ”Orange and blue, like you see the autumn sky only during the most beautiful morning frost," director Jan-Willem Kraaijeveld smiles proudly. His family business develops and manufactures all kinds of machines to make green maintenance easier for you. For natural grass, artificial grass and hybrid fields. Agricultural machinery specialist Cofabel is exclusive distributor in Belgium.
Kraaijeveld continues: “GKB Group started as a green space maintenance contractor, mainly for larger projects of companies and governments. To do our work even more efficiently and better, we adapted machines. That was forty years ago now. This is how GKB Machines was born: our own machine factory. All our machines grow from our practical experience. Like you, we want machines that do the job quickly, evenly and with great precision. We want machines that help create fantastic greenery, within budgets and agreed timings. Our slogan is therefore ‘Built with passion for professionals’.”
One of the most popular GKB machines is the Sandspreader: a sanding machine that allows you to spread sand evenly over your sports field or golf course. By spreading sand, your lawns become more even. You improve the soil structure, so water drains faster. Many American companies sell sand spreaders, but they are not allowed on our roads. GKB Machines is one of the few European manufacturers that do.
A second high-flyer is the Deep Tine Aerator or deep aerator. The aerator punctures holes up to 40 centimetres deep in the soil at high speed. You set the depth yourself. Thanks to these holes, water and air penetrate deeper into the soil. As a result, the roots grow better and water penetrates the soil more easily.
Third in line among the best-selling GKB machines is the Combiseeder: a seeder that pokes holes, scatters seed and sweeps into the holes with a brush. The machine has a large bucket that lets you seed an entire field without refilling.
Kraaijeveld: “Two things are paramount in the development of our machines: the convenience of the garden contractor and the health of nature. With machines like our TopAir and Combiseeder, you tackle weeds without pesticides. Moreover, our Ecodresser mills the top layer and throws the loosened soil directly onto the field.”
“In addition, as a member of the EMEA Synthetic Turf Council, we think about the environmentally friendly management of artificial turf pitches. The synthetic turf fibres of the first generations are starting to wear down, causing microplastics to be released unintentionally into nature. We are developing machines that suck up and filter even the smallest microplastic particles.”
After seventy years, the GKB Group is still owned by the Kraaijeveld family. The company now has more than 300 employees and supplies dealers from the United States to Australia. GKB Machines' latest machine is the Leaf-Blower: a leaf blower that clears golf courses, sports fields and city parks of leaves in record time.
