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Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

April 10, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA Wildwood Machinery and the Hampshire FA have announced an exclusive partnership, with the Winchester-based groundcare business set to provide all grounds maintenance machinery and equipment and service back-up. Managing director James Bastian says: “This is a moment of real pride for us as a Hampshire-based business. We […]

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

April 10, 2026/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Admin

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress For Mike Day, owner of Mike Day Garden Maintenance, consistency is everything. Running a thriving business across Hertfordshire and North London, he and his team rely on equipment that can perform day in, day out without compromise. That’s exactly why every van in their fleet now […]

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

April 10, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

April 10, 2026/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Admin

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

April 10, 2026/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

Wildwood Machinery and the Hampshire FA have announced an exclusive partnership, with the Winchester-based groundcare business set to provide all grounds maintenance machinery and equipment and service back-up.

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

Managing director James Bastian says: “This is a moment of real pride for us as a Hampshire-based business. We really feel the prestige of working with the Hampshire FA, who are serial winners of Awards from the Grounds Management Association.”

Isabella Pearson, Commercial Manager at Hampshire FA, said: “Wildwood Machinery has already brought vital specialist support and expertise to our network of unsung heroes – the groundskeepers and volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain playing surfaces across the county.”

“State-of-the-art groundcare equipment and reliable service are so valuable to grassroots and league football clubs. This exclusive partnership is a key part of our objective of raising the standards of playing surfaces across the county”.

James Bastian added: “The Hampshire FA Partner Network does great work with the sporting community, investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in grassroots football, acting as a hub for the county’s business community, and connecting a wide range of local organisations.”

“We are also helping community clubs unlock vital funding for groundcare equipment by supporting them with applications to the Football Foundation,” says James Bastian. “Funding applications can be quite demanding for grassroots clubs, and so we’re very happy to bring our own resources and expertise to the task.”

As part of the agreement Wildwood Machinery offers a reduced hourly labour rate for groundcare machinery servicing and maintenance, and discounted prices on groundcare equipment purchases.

“With our background in golf club ownership in Hampshire, and our current customer base that includes both elite and community sports clubs, we can bring the latest groundcare equipment, technology and knowledge to the local sporting community.”

Wildwood Machinery partners with the leading brands in groundcare – including Iseki, Wessex, Stogger Turfcare, GKB, DW Tomlin, DeWalt, ECHO Robotics, INFINICUT, Raymo and Rovimo – and offers high-level mobile and workshop servicing support from its base at East Horton Golf Club in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

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One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

April 10, 2026/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Admin

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

For Mike Day, owner of Mike Day Garden Maintenance, consistency is everything. Running a thriving business across Hertfordshire and North London, he and his team rely on equipment that can perform day in, day out without compromise.

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

That’s exactly why every van in their fleet now runs exclusively on Kress commercial tools.

“We’ve got the whole range,” Mike says. “Strimmers, hedge trimmers, blowers, chainsaws, everything that Kress make, we use day in and day out. We’ve even got their 20V small hand saws and secateurs, which we use pretty much every day.”

It’s a setup that has evolved over time, but one that now gives Mike and his team complete confidence across every job, from routine maintenance to full garden renovations.

“We’ve tried a lot of different brands in the past,” he explains. “But we’ve ended up going all in with Kress. Every other battery product we had used in the past, we’ve sold. We’re one brand now and that’s something we wouldn’t have been able to do before.”

A key part of that confidence comes down to performance. Across the entire handheld range, Mike says the Kress tools deliver more than enough power for both everyday tasks and more demanding work.

“We’ve genuinely tried to find their limit, and we’ve never been able to find it,” he says.

“There’s just an abundance of power. Even when we’re doing full garden renovations and putting the tools through really demanding loads, they always outperform your expectations.”

For Mike and his team, the most-used tools are the grass strimmers, particularly the latest lightweight model with the motor positioned at the head.

“It’s slightly less powerful than the bigger machines, but for what we do, it’s perfect,” he explains. “Most of our work is regular maintenance, so we don’t need huge power. What we want is something lightweight and easy for us to use all day.”

Weight and balance are where the Kress tools really stand out.

“That strimmer is about 2.5kg, and even with a battery on, you’re only up to around three-and-a-half, maybe four kilos,” he says. “That’s the weight of a lot of other machines without a battery and that is why my team prefer using the lighter kit.”

The same thinking applies across the range, including hedge trimming. Mike highlights the articulating long-reach hedge trimmer as a particular standout.

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

“We use the smaller articulating long reach, and it’s brilliant,” he says. “It’s really well balanced, and the blade speed is right up there – 3400 to 4000 cuts per minute. I honestly can’t think of anything I’d improve on it.”

While performance and comfort are key, it’s the battery system that continues to set Kress apart according to Mike.

“It always comes back to the batteries and the infrastructure,” Mike says. “They charge quicker than you can deplete them. You’re never waiting around.”

Rapid charging has completely changed how the team works throughout the day.

“With other brands, once a battery was at zero percent, it was basically out of action,” he explains. “You’d throw it in the van and grab another one. But with Kress, you stick it on the CyberTank or a charger, and 10, 15, 20 minutes later, it’s back in use. That makes a massive difference to a garden maintenance company such as outselves.”

Even in extreme conditions, the system has proven its reliability.

“We’ve used them in minus eight degrees and up to nearly 40 degrees last summer, and they’ve never missed a beat,” he says. “The batteries just keep going.”

Durability over time has also stood out, with minimal degradation even after years of use.

“I’m still running the same batteries from 2022, and they’ve barely lost any capacity,” Mike adds. “That’s important because a lot of brands don’t last like that.”

Beyond the tools themselves, Mike also values the support behind the brand.

“There’s always someone at Kress you can speak to,” he says. “Very helpful support – they’ve all got time for you. It’s a close-knit setup, and that makes a difference when you commit to switching over to battery powered equipment.”

It’s that combination of performance, reliability and support that has led Mike and his team to fully commit.

“At first, I didn’t know how the team would feel about going all in with one brand,” he says. “But it didn’t take long before they were asking for everything to be Kress and none of us have looked back since.”

For Mike, it’s a simple equation – one system, one brand, and no compromises.

For more information, please visit https://www.kress.com/en-gb/

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

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

Wildwood Machinery the exclusive partner of Hampshire FA

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

One system, every tool: why Mike Day trusts Kress

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