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Meet the Grower

May 14, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Coral Russell

Meet the Grower: Turfgrass Growers Association – Meet the Grower Stephen Edwards, Inturf How long have been growing turf for? (including any history facts/ old pictures) We have been turf growing for 36 years, and it all started with 50 acres, we now produce well in excess of 2000 acres or more than 800 hectares […]

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

May 14, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Francesca Wyatt

Husqvarna scoop seven awards: Husqvarna picks up seven awards in this year’s expert reviews by PriceRunner, including; Best Choice and Best Premium Choice robotic lawn mowers, Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer, Best Choice Strimmer, Best Choice Leaf Blower, and Best Choice and Best Choice Premium Ride-On Lawn Mowers. Husqvarna gains full marks in PriceRunner’s 2021 […]

Meet the Grower

May 14, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Coral Russell

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

May 14, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Francesca Wyatt

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Meet the Grower

May 14, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Coral Russell

Meet the Grower: Turfgrass Growers Association – Meet the Grower

Stephen Edwards, Inturf

How long have been growing turf for? (including any history facts/ old pictures)

We have been turf growing for 36 years, and it all started with 50 acres, we now produce well in excess of 2000 acres or more than 800 hectares in new money. My father Derek Edwards worked with another turf growing company in the late seventies and early eighties, and helped shape the face of the cultivated turf industry into what it is today, but wanted to carve his own path in the sportsturf World. This was extremely successful, customers included; the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC) in Wimbledon, Wembley National Stadium, and many Famous Golf Courses. Since then, we have mechanised and now supply nearly all of the national DIY chains, various Building Merchants, and many Open Championship Golf Courses. We also grew turf in Northern France in the 1990’s from where we re-turfed the Parc des Princes, Paris using our patented ‘turf tile’ and ‘thick-cut big roll’ systems; pioneering systems which were adopted by a handful of other turf growers across the UK and Europe and helped numerous football clubs re-turf during the playing season. We also introduced the ‘standard big roll’ turf format in 1991, and by 1992 no other turf grower anywhere in the world was using this so ubiquitously as Inturf!

Meet the Grower

The Team (tell us a bit about your team and what they do in your business)

We have a very dedicated team at Inturf, the majority of whom have been with us for many years, 30 years plus in a few cases, and we are hiring new recruits regularly to keep pace with an inexorable increase in demand for our turf. As the business grows, we will require more and more staff to drive the latest technology and to occupy the growing office.

Employee training and engagement are key markers to retain staff and for success, and we leave no stone un-turned in the respect. Valuing staff is a priority for Inturf.

What is your proudest achievement (within turfgrass work that you have done)?

There are many, however, I think the proudest moment was re-surfacing ‘Centre Court’ at the AELTCC in August 1997. My brother (Alex) and I completed this work behind closed-doors for the club during a very long hot summer. Nearly every court had been re-surfaced using our custom-grown-turf service (another first in the turf world), either before or following the centre court re-turf… to my knowledge, this had not been undertaken before or since our time working with the AELTCC, which spanned circa 20 years.

Why do you love producing turfgrass?

Most importantly, turf is good for our planet… socially, environmentally, and economically and generally speaking the people who operate within the industry are down to earth and helpful. We have an amazing manicured 2000-acre plus garden too, so we benefit from the abundance of positive health benefits turf offers – for instance; it’s noise reductions qualities, flood defensive applications (it reduces water run-off), it has a high efficacy of carbon capturing, in fact, better than any tree per square metre of plantation and turf really does have the ability to calm even the busiest of minds… just try walking on your natural lawn in bare-feet… wearing footwear is an exclusively human characteristic!

What is your favourite piece of equipment or machinery on your turfgrass farm?

It has got to be the turf harvesters, albeit they are temperamental, they cut 4 million square metres of natural turfgrass every year, and without them, we simply could not grow the business in the way we have… hats-off to the Americans for this technology!

If you had one piece of advice for turfgrass customers, what would it be? (can be laying tips, watering tips, choosing the right turf etc)

Prior to turfing; get the ground preparation right by following our ‘online’ advice and easy steps or call a trusted landscaper, lay the turf as quickly as possible (preferably on the day of delivery) and water it well until it is rooted to approximately 100 mm or 4 inches and for no longer than 28 days.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the future of the turf growing industry?

In the short-term, artificial turf has become more ubiquitous and the money and marketing behind the carpet manufacturers is matchless. That said, I think that in the medium to long-term, we have to be careful not to ‘over-cook’ the current high demand for natural turf by using quicker growing methods, such as using plastic netting, which isn’t good for the environment and will only serve to offer the artificial turf producers more ammunition and indeed mitigation against using natural turf in the future… oh, and another global pandemic, because next time, we might not be so lucky!

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Husqvarna scoop seven awards

May 14, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Francesca Wyatt

Husqvarna scoop seven awards: Husqvarna picks up seven awards in this year’s expert reviews by PriceRunner, including; Best Choice and Best Premium Choice robotic lawn mowers, Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer, Best Choice Strimmer, Best Choice Leaf Blower, and Best Choice and Best Choice Premium Ride-On Lawn Mowers.

Husqvarna gains full marks in PriceRunner’s 2021 Awards, boasting Best Choice for four of its products, including; Husqvarna Automower® 310, Husqvarna 115iL Strimmer, Husqvarna 525BX Leaf Blower and Husqvarna Rider 214TC.

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

Tests were carried out over several months to judge how well the machine’s performed over a long period of time, carrying out demanding challenges in various types of weather conditions, to ensure accurate results.

All products were intensely tested and scored on factors including; performance, reliability, ease of use, build quality, functionality, effectiveness, battery life and charging, and then subsequently judged on how well they performed in comparison to other products available on the market today.

Best Choice Robotic Lawn Mower 2021

The Husqvarna Automower® 310 came out as top choice when compared to 33 different robotic lawn mowers available on the market. Husqvarna Automower® 310 impressed testers thanks to its winning combination of reliability, functionality and user-friendliness, whilst being incredibly reasonable on price. Testers praised Husqvarna Automower® 310 for keeping grass short, both on slopes and in narrow corridors, and were extremely happy with how quick and easy the robotic lawn mower was to install.

View PriceRunner’s robotic lawn mower review here.

Best Choice Leaf Blower 2021

Along with testers being impressed with Husqvarna Automower® 310, Husqvarna’s 525BX leaf blower blew judges away with its power, user-friendly design and functionality. As a result, it was nominated as the best leaf blower of 2021 when compared to 10 other leaf blowers available on the market today.

View PriceRunner’s leaf blower review here.

Best Choice Strimmer 2021

The praise doesn’t stop there for Husqvarna products, as testers labelled Husqvarna 115iL Strimmer as the best battery operated cordless strimmer of 2021 when compared to 11 other models. The 115iL Strimmer was voted Best Choice as a result of its power and ability to cope with almost every challenge it faced, trimming thick and dense tufts of grass and weeds with no problem.

View PriceRunner’s strimmer test here.

Best Choice Ride-On Lawn Mower 2021

In addition, Husqvarna Rider 214TC was noticed and voted ‘Best Choice’ when compared to 12 other ride-on mowers and was named ‘king of the ride-on lawn mowers’ as a result of its excellent comfort and manoeuvrability, superb cutting results and its suitability for many different garden types.

View PriceRunner’s ride-on lawn mower here.

Best Premium Choice Robotic Lawn Mower

In addition to being nominated for four ‘Best Choice’ awards by PriceRunner, Husqvarna has also been awarded ‘Best Premium Choice’ for Husqvarna Automower® 430X.

When comparing Husqvarna Automower® 430X to 33 other robotic lawn mowers on the market, testers admitted that Husqvarna Automower® 430X is ‘still the king among the better equipped models’. Testers were impressed by the model due to its user-friendliness, reliability, intelligence, technology and its value for money.

View PriceRunner’s robotic lawn mower review here.

Best Premium Choice Ride-On Lawn Mower 2021

Alongside Husqvarna Automower® 430X, Husqvarna R 216T AWD was also voted ‘Best Premium Choice’. Testers found that the R 216T AWD was very powerful and had phenomenal terrain-handling abilities, while also being user-friendly, easy to start, and effective at delivering an outstanding cutting result.

View PriceRunner’s ride-on mower review here.

Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer 2021

In addition to the above six awards, Husqvarna also won PriceRunner’s award for ‘Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer’ with the PW 235 pressure washer.

Husqvarna PW 235 impressed testers with its value for money, providing a high pressure wash that handled challenging tasks very effectively, despite the model’s compact sizing. Describing the PW 235 as “an ideal choice if you want a light pressure washer that goes a long way for a good price”, the model received a positive 4.5 rating out of a possible 5.

View PriceRunner’s Pressure Washer review here.

For product information, imagery or product loan requests please contact Husqvarna’s UK PR agency, Wolfstar. Email Francesca@wolfstarconsultancy.com / (0)113 273 7816.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Meet the Grower

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

Meet the Grower

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Meet the Grower

Meet the Grower: Turfgrass Growers Association – Meet the Grower

Husqvarna scoop seven awards

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