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Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

November 24, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Graham Robson

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!: A recent chance conversation revealed a homeowner only two miles away from the STM head office in Warwickshire who has a 1992-build STZ ride-on mower. The STZ was the first Zero-Turn Ride-On SCAG produced, and one is still retained at the plant in Wisconsin. But Alan Griffith, […]

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

November 24, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Rachel Bell

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility: Last year, Husqvarna announced its new virtual boundary technology EPOS and that the company was going to pilot test it on selected markets. After successful testing during the spring and summer, the first ever Husqvarna robotic mower with virtual boundary technology, Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS, will now be launched. Husqvarna […]

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

November 24, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Graham Robson

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

November 24, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Rachel Bell

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

November 24, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Graham Robson

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!: A recent chance conversation revealed a homeowner only two miles away from the STM head office in Warwickshire who has a 1992-build STZ ride-on mower.

The STZ was the first Zero-Turn Ride-On SCAG produced, and one is still retained at the plant in Wisconsin.

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

But Alan Griffith, here in leafy Warwickshire, has one too.

He explained:

“In 2000 we brought the property ‘The Wharf’ in Wilmcote, though the process was unusual.

We made a good offer that was increased twice but still did not secure the property. Eventually we received a tender form because of the high level of interest.

It was not a basic form, though. We had to price everything that was up for sale. Apart from offering a sum for the house, we also had to price separately: the dining table, study desk, hens, geese, peacocks, pot belly pigs and 2 on-site mowers.

The Scag was one of those mowers and it was obvious that it was several years old even then by the knocks it had had to the deck.

We have 4.95 acres of which we cut about 2.5 to 3 acres regularly. The Scag we use on the heavy areas so over the years it has had to put up with a fair amount of hard work, hitting pot holes, tree roots etc. Over the years the Scag has been used about 2.5 hours per week .

The great thing is it has been very reliable, once battery is charged up at the start of the season. I have usually serviced the machine every year and no major problems have occurred except that 3 small plates have had to be welded to the top of the deck. The first bearing on the deck needs to be changed this winter so I will change all 3. Also an oil seal has started to leak on the Briggs and Stratton engine; this is the first major issue with the engine.

We plan to keep it going as long as we stay at The Wharf. Can’t think of a better lawn mower particularly as we have so many trees to cut around.”

On the one hand it’s good to know that a SCAG mower has so much life in it.

On the other hand, if everybody kept their mowers that long, we’d never sell any new ones!

We’re grateful to Alan for his story, and to Jake Segrin at SCAG’s Wisconsin headquarters for tracing the manufacturing date.

SCAG machines are available through the STM dealership network. To find your nearest dealer ring 01789 488450, email info@st-mach.com or look at our website www.st-mach.com

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New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

November 24, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Rachel Bell

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility: Last year, Husqvarna announced its new virtual boundary technology EPOS and that the company was going to pilot test it on selected markets. After successful testing during the spring and summer, the first ever Husqvarna robotic mower with virtual boundary technology, Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS, will now be launched.

Husqvarna – global leader in robotic lawnmowing – is now, after months of thorough testing internally and with customers, launching the new high capacity Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS robotic mower. Its satellite-based virtual boundary solution offers new levels of flexibility, convenience and performance for areas up to 5,000 m².

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

The pilot of the Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS robotic mower with virtual boundary technology included 100 robotic mowers in four countries. It was, for example, tested at Royal Djurgården in Stockholm, the Ullevi Stadium in Göteborg, Munich Airport, La Seine Musicale in Paris and at a baseball stadium in New York.

Gunnar Björkman, Park Manager at Royal Djurgården, a park with more than 15 million visitors each year, tested the Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS robotic mower during the spring and summer. He said: “The main benefits we saw from testing the Husqvarna 550 EPOS robotic mower was the easy installation and the flexible area management which allowed us to create temporary stay out zones when lawns were being used for events or closed off for other reasons. With robotics using virtual boundaries we can use robotics for 75% of our mowing, compared to 25% previously.”

At the “Planten un Blomen” park in Hamburg, a Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS robotic mower was installed in collaboration with Elbgarden OHG on a demanding public area of 1,200 m2. The test area is located in direct connection to a footpath and an artificial lake, where events such as the music-accompanied water light games take place. Matthias Olinski, head of the “Planten un Blomen” park in Hamburg, was impressed by the performance and flexibility of Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS.

He said: “It offers many advantages over conventional mowing technology, especially in terms of flexibility. We no longer have to plan whether we have enough staff for mowing. This offers more time for other work like grooming or bed care. Via the app, we can manage when the robotic lawnmower should run or pause. During organised events, for example, we can easily adapt the mowing work to the respective situation – very practical and user-friendly.”

Husqvarna’s virtual boundary EPOS technology is a high-precision satellite navigation system that delivers an accuracy of 2-3 centimetres, giving the user a new level of flexibility and offers a robust and flexible installation on areas with an open sky. The virtual boundaries also enable aerating and scarifying without breaking physical wires and the user can change boundaries and transport paths from their phone. With the Precise Area Management feature, several work areas can be defined with different timers and settings, including cutting height. It also makes it possible to create temporary stay out zones.

Kevin Ashmore, UK Manager of Husqvarna Professional commented: “We are extremely proud to bring the new Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS robotic mower to the market. Utilising Husqvarna’s EPOS technology, it offers a sustainable and cost-efficient solution that simplifies maintaining large green spaces. Being battery powered it emits no fumes and the light weight of the mower and low electric energy consumption reduce its carbon footprint.”

Operating with low noise levels, it is suitable for environments that require some degree of noise control – for example at golf courses, football stadiums or in urban areas such as city parks. For a convenient user interaction, as well as easy maintenance and handling, it is possible to monitor and control Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS through the Automower® Connect and Husqvarna Fleet Services™ apps.

Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS will be available from May 2021 and costs £5,199 inc. VAT for the unit and £1,099 inc. VAT for the reference station. The reference station can serve multiple machines.

For more information, visit the Husqvarna website: https://www.husqvarna.com/uk/lawn-garden/professional/professional-robotic-mowers/epos/

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)

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!: A recent chance conversation revealed a homeowner only two miles away from the STM head office in Warwickshire who has a 1992-build STZ ride-on mower.

New Automower® offers productivity and flexibility

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