Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire is home to an impressive range of sporting facilities, supporting rugby, cricket, football, hockey and athletics across its expansive campus.
Keeping those surfaces match-ready is the responsibility of Chris Moody, Head of Grounds, and his small but highly skilled team. Over the past year, the introduction of the PaintMaster™ Pro RLM01 Robotic Line Marker, supplied by Agrovista Amenity, has delivered a significant improvement in efficiency, consistency and presentation across the site.
Operational Upgrade
“I’ve been in the industry a long time and a line-marking robot has been on my mind for a good few years,” Chris explains. “When I first started at Ratcliffe, it was something I raised as a real opportunity for us. As the technology has advanced over the last five or six years, it just made more and more sense to revisit it.”
Responsible for nine rugby surfaces, six grass cricket areas, nets, two full-size artificial hockey pitches, a four-lane 400m track and a range of football pitches, Chris and his team of four manage a demanding programme of activity all year round. Traditionally, the school used external contractors to carry out initial robotic markings at the start of each term before the grounds team took over for weekly over-marking and maintenance.
“That system worked, but it only got us so far,” he says. “We wanted more flexibility, more control, and greater consistency week in, week out. That’s when we decided to properly assess our own robotic line marker.”
Game Changer
After researching the market, speaking with other schools and arranging demonstrations, the PaintMaster™ Pro RLM01 stood out as the clear choice. Supplied by Agrovista Amenity, with technical sales support, training and backup from XDC, the system offered both cutting-edge capability and reliable aftersales support.
“The PaintMaster Pro ticked a lot of boxes for us – including the finance options, which are important in an educational environment. But what really sold it to me was the full package: the machine itself, the user-friendly tablet, the size of the paint tank, and the support network behind it,” says Chris. “The people who already had one couldn’t speak highly enough of it – and now I completely understand why.”
The PaintMaster Pro is a smart, GPS-guided robotic line marker that delivers centimetre-accurate results on a wide variety of sports surfaces. Using dual industrial-grade GNSS positioning and a local base station, it produces straight, consistent lines every time. For more challenging environments, such as areas surrounded by trees or buildings, an optional laser kit ensures reliable performance where GPS may struggle. A 0.5 kWh battery enables marking of up to eight full-size pitches on a single charge, while the 1 kWh upgrade doubles that capacity. A fast-swap battery system also allows for extended operation during busy periods.
Enhanced Productivity
“There’s no complicated setup,” Chris adds. “Once the aerial and base points are in place, everything is controlled through the tablet. Getting the base points for our first pitch took about 15 to 20 minutes, and in a day we had the whole site mapped and saved. Now those pitches are always stored in the system, ready to go. We could take the robot out of the shed and have a full-size pitch marked in around 90 minutes, perfectly to our exact dimensions.”
For the team, the biggest benefit has been the time saved and the flexibility it brings.
“It frees us up to improve other areas of the site,” Chris explains. “We can be setting up posts, pads, flags and barriers, or working on another pitch while the robot is marking the first one. That efficiency has definitely enabled us to provide a better surface and a better overall experience for students and staff. We take huge pride in our work, and knowing the lines will always be spot on adds to that professional finish.”
Outstanding Support
Beyond the machine itself, Chris has been particularly impressed with the support from Agrovista Amenity and XDC.
“The backup has been brilliant,” he says. “They even set up a WhatsApp group so if we have a question or need a tweak, it’s dealt with straight away. The software is always being updated and improved based on user feedback. In terms of customer service, it’s second to none.”
For Ratcliffe College, the PaintMaster Pro has become an important asset in raising standards and supporting a busy sporting calendar.
Raising Standards
“We don’t see it as replacing skills – it’s enhancing what we do,” Chris concludes. “It’s helping us deliver consistency and quality across the whole site, and that’s exactly what we aim for here at Ratcliffe.”
As the exclusive distributor of the PaintMaster™ Pro RLM01, Agrovista Amenity continues to support facilities of every level in raising standards of precision, efficiency and presentation in sports line marking.
For more information about Agrovista UK, visit https://amenity.agrovista.co.uk/
