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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Harrowden offers ‘dropship’ service

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Harrowden offers ‘dropship’ service: Harrowden Turf has launched its second new initiative to support the horticulture sector in as many weeks. “Let’s Build A Garden” was designed to encourage family-wide engagement in thinking about and making the most of a home’s outside space. 

The company also recognises that many traditional retailers in the sector have been adversely affected by coronavirus restrictions.  Harrowden Turf is looking to offer its “Dropship” or home delivery solution which enables retailers to continue to service customers via telephone or online orders which will be fulfilled directly by Harrowden Turf using its well-established no-contact direct to home delivery service.

Harrowden offers 'dropship' service

Harrowden offers ‘dropship’ service

Stuart Ridd-Jones – Managing Director

“There is currently significant interest in home-improvement projects and with the improved recent weather the garden is no exception.  Harrowden Turf’s “Dropship” service gives retailers the ability to continue to sell turf and other landscape products without holding stock or otherwise being involved in fulfilling that order”

“We have a well-established no-contact direct to home delivery service which can enable you to continue to provide ongoing service to your loyal customers whilst generating some much-needed revenue.  This is very straightforward to set up and administer.”

Whilst supporting retailers we would like to reassure you about ordering from Harrowden Turf during the COVID-19 outbreak. As a business, our priority above all, is to keep our people and customers safe. We are following the expert advice of the Government, Public Health England and World Health Organisation to make the necessary changes to our business to ensure everyone stays as healthy as possible.

Nearly all office staff are working remotely from home but the important work that can only be completed at our farms means that some staff are travelling to work as normal but we have adopted strict hygiene and social distancing protocols to protect both them and customers safety.

Our carefully selected delivery partners have introduced “no contact” delivery procedures in order to protect their drivers and our customers as much as possible.  We are currently able to operate a normal home delivery service.

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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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Well-Being Wednesday

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Well-Being Wednesday: Activity and exercise

Activity and exercise are essential in maintaining good mental health. Being active not only gives you a sense of achievement, but it boosts the chemicals in your brain that help put you in a good mood. Exercising can help eliminate low mood, anxiety, stress and feeling tired and lazy. It is also linked to living a longer life.

Well-Being Wednesday

Well-Being Wednesday

You don’t need to run a marathon or play 90 minutes of football; a short walk or some another gentle activity might do the trick.

Take a look at our Exercise and sport section, or go to our Events calendar, for ideas and information on what is going on in your area.

Do something you enjoy

Try to make time for doing the fun things you enjoy. If you like going for a walk, painting or a specific TV show, try to set aside time to enjoy yourself. If we don’t spend any time doing things we enjoy, we can become irritable and unhappy.

Whether you need help to get out and about or not take a look at our Things To Do section, or go to our Events calendar, for ideas and information on what is going on in your area.

Connect with others and be sociable

Make an effort to maintain good relationships and talk to people whenever you get the chance. Having friends is important not just for your self-esteem, but also for providing support when you’re not feeling too great. Research has found that talking to others for just ten minutes can improve memory and test scores!

Whether or not you find going out and meeting people difficult you can have a look at our Social Activities pages or our Events calendar for inspiration.

Do things for others

Helping others isn’t just good for the people you’re helping; it’s good for you too. Helping someone can help with your self-esteem and make you feel good about your place in the world. Feeling as though you’re part of a community is a really important part of your mental health. You could try volunteering for a local charity, or just being neighbourly.

Ask for help

One of the most important ways to keep yourself mentally healthy is to recognise when you’re not feeling good, and to know when to ask for help. There’s no shame in asking someone for support if you’re feeling low or stressed. Everyone goes through patches where they don’t feel as good as they should. You can try speaking to your friends or family, or if you think your mental health is getting on top of you then you can speak to your GP.

Other information and advice

Please see the Other information and Advice page for organisations and services that support people with experience of mental health issues.

Thanks to The Sleep Foundation for providing the tips on how to sleep well, and to overcome problems with sleeping.

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