Inverallan expands Pellenc fleet

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Inverallan expands Pellenc fleet: Inverallan Landscapes has taken one step further in its quest to become fossil fuel free by expanding its Pellenc portfolio with the purchase of two Rasion Easy self-propelled mowers and a set of Airion blowers.

Step by step, Inverallan Landscapes, a gardening and grounds maintenance contracting business in Stirling, is changing the way it does business. By integrating battery-operated equipment and reducing its carbon footprint, it hopes to offer customers a completely ‘clean’ service – according to managing director John Maxwell.

Inverallan expands Pellenc fleet

Inverallan expands Pellenc fleet

“We want to be the first landscape contractors that operate battery-only, so during the past three years we have been upgrading our tools and equipment to the equivalent battery models, as well as installing solar panels at our business unit,” he said.

The company first became acquainted with Pellenc equipment back in 2018 after purchasing a set of Helion 2 Compact hedge trimmers – the lightest battery-powered hedge trimmer on the market. After reporting excellent results, it continued to invest in Pellenc equipment and two years later, Inverallan Landscapes now boasts an impressive portfolio which includes chainsaws, blowers, hedge cutters, pole saws, road sweepers, grass strimmers and mowers.

The company’s most recent Pellenc additions were prompted after it was awarded a new contract in which a dedicated maintenance team would be working for a large housing association with over 1000 properties.

According to John, the zero-emission approach made total sense.

“To my knowledge this may well be the first maintenance team in Scotland to be 100% environmentally friendly so we are making huge strides. Not only will they solely be using the Pellenc equipment to maintain the houses and grounds, but they will also be using a brand-new Nissan E-NV200 electric powered van.

“It ticks every box – from the machinery point of view, the operator’s point of view and also from the residents’ point of view. There are just so many benefits from using the Pellenc equipment.”

Light, odourless, noise-free, with no starting problems and enough power to enable professional users to work for a full day on a single charge, it’s no wonder more and more professional users are turning to Pellenc. It is an attractive alternative to those who have, for a number of years, been relying on fuel-based machinery.

Not only will users see a huge amount of savings by eliminating the necessity of purchasing fuel but by using the Pellenc equipment, they will be contributing to protecting the environment by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and noise pollution.

“The team much prefer using the Pellenc equipment compared to the two-stroke products,” John continued. “It is far more lightweight, so they are less fatigued while working, there are no fumes and the equipment is so quiet. You particularly notice the benefits in those long, hot summer days.

“You also don’t have the issue of maintenance or parts going wrong in comparison to traditional two or four stroke equipment – such as spark plugs, air filters or oil changes. With the Pellenc equipment you just push a button and off you go.”

John saved particular praise for Rasion mower, claiming that it has enhanced the team’s grass cutting operations: “It’s a brilliant machine and it has more advantages than a traditional petrol mower. Firstly, it is so much lighter and from our point of view up here in Scotland, with the amount of rain we have, the ground can quite often be saturated. If you go onto that ground with a petrol mower, you are adding a lot of weight and you find yourself sinking into the ground. With the Rasion mower we have been able to get onto those saturated grounds and we have been able to tend to grass that we might not have previously been able to cut.”

“The other benefit is that it is wider than most petrol mowers, so we find ourselves cutting faster and covering more ground in a shorter amount of time.”

Inverallan Landscapes purchased the equipment from Agrovista Amenity in Stirling, and Allan Wright, amenity specialist for Agrovista, said: “It’s great to see that Inverallan Landscapes is revolutionising its approach to service provision through the introduction of battery-operated equipment.

“With Pellenc tools, there’s no compromise on performance, and users benefit from long-term cost savings, reduced noise and operator vibration.

“All Pellenc tools come with a three-year commercial warranty and batteries benefit from the new improved four-year commercial warranty. I believe the future is in the use of battery equipment and the new technological developments from Pellenc are certainly leading the way.”

Pellenc is exclusively distributed in the UK and Ireland by Etesia UK.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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EVO 165D delivers powerful performance

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EVO 165D delivers powerful performance: An EVO 165D from GreenMech has become the dominant machine on the arb fleet of Swansea-based Rooted Tree & Landscapes.

Owner Craig Mylan has been a loyal user of GreenMech woodchippers since he started the company in 2008 with the EVO becoming his fourth machine, and it’s the most powerful yet – transforming the way they carry out both commercial and domestic tree works.

EVO 165D delivers powerful performance

EVO 165D delivers powerful performance

“I first saw the EVO 165 at its launch at the 2019 Arb Show and the first thing that really hit me, or didn’t hit me more to the point, was the noise! We have a duty to our customers and our operators to look at things like reducing noise and this machine demonstrates real progress” explains Craig who heads up a team of six. “There are so many new developments on this machine – simple things like the foldable chute which makes storage of the unit that much easier.”

From a performance perspective, the re-designed flywheel and large infeed chute have resulted in labour and time savings when it comes to processing large volumes of woody waste. “The more powerful pull-through means we can feed in material without having to sned it down first. It then chips whatever we feed in quickly and efficiently before throwing it out again cleanly. It is without doubt the most powerful machine we’ve used in terms of torque and bite.” With its 165mm chipping capacity, the EVO isn’t the largest machine in Craig’s fleet, however it has been used on a range of projects both large and small.

Another factor that has kept Craig loyal is the superior back up support he’s received from those in the GreenMech dealer network. “I’ve worked closely alongside Julian Cullis of GreenMech since way back when, who has always kept me abreast of new and future developments. We’re also fortunate to have Chipper Hire South West not too far away who have a fantastic fleet of GreenMech machines to hire if we need them. With the EVO, the support we received from our local dealer Powercut in Carmarthen has again been first-class.”

“For us independent companies” Craig concludes, “our success depends on reliable and robust equipment that’s capable and working to its full capacity. The fact that the new EVO is a great machine is one thing, but the whole GreenMech ethos to support their users every step of the way is another to really be applauded.”

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Hayter Harrier’s 50th anniversary

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Hayter Harrier’s 50th anniversary: The Harrier range, manufactured by Hayter, the makers of the finest mowers, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2020.

The ever-impressive range of rear-roller lawnmowers have set the benchmark for this class of mowers since its original model in 1970. The Harrier has won various accolades through the years, including the prestigious BAGMA award, which in 1998 the Harrier was awarded the ‘Product of the Decade’ title, after a nationwide dealership vote.

Hayter Harrier's 50th anniversary

Hayter Harrier’s 50th anniversary

In 1960, the Hayter company received one of the country’s greatest accolades, when they were granted the Royal Warrant for the supply of machinery to HM Queen Elizabeth II – which is an honour that is still retained, 60 years later.

The Harrier range has always been synonymous with luxury and a premium mowing experience; being one of the first rotary-bladed lawnmowers to feature an integrated heavy rear-roller and enabling the user to achieve the quintessential British, striped finish in their gardens.

Craig Hoare, Sales and Marketing Manager at Hayter, said: “We are really excited to be celebrating 50 years of the Harrier. This machine has been a staple of British gardening ever since its initial release in 1970, and even today, it has proved to be more popular than ever.”

“As we look to the future of the Harrier, this year we have released a series of updates to the range, including new blades, improved engines and our patented Crank-Safe Blade Brake Clutch (BBC) system on some of the Harrier models. We are continuing to take a pro-active approach to our products, and these updates to the Harrier mowers demonstrate just that.”

In recent years, the new additions to the Harrier range have seen continued success. The Harrier 48 and 56 continue to provide high-quality and high-performance mowing to people’s gardens all over the country. The Harrier Pro models also offer two-piece steel rear rollers to those using the mowers in a professional capacity.

For more information, please visit www.hayter.co.uk.

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Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord

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Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord: Muir-Of-Ord Golf Club, located a few miles north of Inverness in Scotland, has chosen to invest in Toro for the first time, purchasing a ProCore 648 pedestrian aerator to enable quality aeration across the whole course.  

Head greenkeeper, Darren Hexley, explains: “We’ve never had Toro at the club before, but once our old aerator was reaching the end of its life, we seized the opportunity to improve the course with Toro. We’d been working with a tractor-mounted aerator and were keen to get a pedestrian aerator so we could access more areas of the course.”

Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord

Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord

Years of research, customer input, testing and attention to detail went into making the ProCore 648 the most productive and efficient walking aerator on the market, something Muir-Of-Ord is now experiencing.

“We noticed a difference from just the demonstration,” says Darren. “Staff and golfers have commented on the improvement that can be seen already. As a pedestrian aerator, we no longer have to drive over greens, and with no tyre tracks it’s a much cleaner job. But the biggest thing is that we’ve been able to cover areas of the course we weren’t able to before, such as slopes and the backs of bunkers. The benefits of this is huge. With just one Toro addition to our fleet we’re able to vastly improve the course.”

Darren is no stranger to the quality and results from Toro having previous experience with the brand, he says:  “I’ve used Toro before at previous clubs, and indeed the ProCore 648, so it was no surprise that it proved itself here to be a brilliant piece of kit. We could instantly see the benefits of the ProCore 648 over our old kit.”

It’s not just the improvement to the course that matters though. As a club with only three permanent staff members working on the course maintenance, having efficient and reliable machinery is vital. Something the ProCore 648 certainly delivers on.

“With only three of us on the greenkeeping team, having efficient and reliable machinery is very important and goes a long way,” says Darren. “The ProCore 648 will allow us to get out first thing in the summer and cover more ground than we could with our tractor-mounted aerator in the same time. The variable speed setting also really helps with that – it provides a consistent speed for a more even application.”

With the club’s only Toro machine having made such a difference to both the productivity of the staff and the quality of the playing surface, it seems only natural Darren is now wanting to bring more Toro on board.

“Once we’re in a position financially to make further machinery investment, it is certainly my preference to look to Toro. It would be great to invest in some of the latest technology, in particular one of Toro’s hybrid mowers.”

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PRO 34R magnificent at Meadow Lane

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PRO 34R magnificent at Meadow Lane: Since using the Dennis PRO 34R rotary mower, the pitch at Notts County FC’s Meadow Lane has never been so clean according to head groundsman Matthew Hallam.

Matthew has been the head groundsman at Notts County FC for just over 18 months. In this relatively short time, he has seen a change of ownership and there is now a new sense of hope instilled at the club.

PRO 34R magnificent at Meadow Lane

PRO 34R magnificent at Meadow Lane

This impressive young groundsman has already made a difference in his short tenure and says that the new owners are certainly on-board with his future plans.

“The new owners have been in charge for 7 months now,” says Matthew. “It’s a slow build and they want to take this club as far as they can. We have been fully backed by them and they have really listened to us.”

Matthew has two members of staff working alongside him and admits that it can be challenging at times and that resources are often stretched, and it is for these reasons that the owners agreed to the purchase of two new Dennis PRO 34R rotary mowers.

“We first had a demonstration and I was instantly impressed with the speed of them and the amount of ground they covered due to the size of them. Prior to the purchase of these machines it was taking four rotary mowers and four people to clean up after a match.

“Purchasing these machines would mean that we would be able to get the pitch cleaned with just two people in a quicker time – it made complete sense and fortunately the owners agreed to it.”

The Dennis PRO 34R is a 34” (860mm) rotary mower which has been designed to help groundsmen achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches and lawns producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ while a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently.

The angle of the cutting deck and twin blades can be easily adjusted using a single ‘click adjuster’ ensuring the mower is suitable for changing conditions and meeting groundsmen’s requirements.

“The PRO 34R’s are so good at getting all the debris off the surface – the vacuum is absolutely brilliant,” he continues. “We’ve found that after a game we have never seen the pitch as clean compared to how it used to look with the old rotary mowers we were using.

“You also get great presentation and we often use them on a matchday as well. If we have had a training session on a Friday, then we will use the PRO 34R to stripe the pitch on a Saturday morning before a game. We also take them across to the nearby training ground and they can easily fit onto the back of a trailer.

“We did look at other rotary mowers but with Dennis we knew exactly what we would get. We’ve used the machines before, they are reliable, you get great service and if you need parts you can call Dennis and get them straight away.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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