Council delivering with Ventrac: North Lincolnshire Council is committed to delivering best value to its residents and demonstrated this with the recent purchase of two Ventrac 4500 all-terrain compact tractors and multiple attachments. Delivered and installed by local dealer Russells, the package also included two MU rotary mowing decks, one Tough Cut deck and a Tiller attachment.

So impressed with the versatility of the Ventrac, the council’s Green and Open Spaces Manager Carl Beacock, is already looking at adding an Aeravator, Contour mowing deck, Edger and Finishing deck to this ever burgeoning mini-fleet.

Council delivering with Ventrac

Prior to taking up this latest position, experience groundscare professional Carl Beacock spent 7 years as Grounds Maintenance Manager at the Riverside Housing Group and 9 years as Estate Manager for Kingston-upon- Hull Council.

“We were looking to replace our aging Aebi mower,” he said, “but I wanted to ensure that we achieved best value with an alternative machine that was more than a ‘one-trick pony’, albeit the Aebi is a very competent one!

“When researching the market, I spoke to some colleagues in the south of England, who provided effusive feedback on the Ventrac, especially its versatility. This sounded exactly what I was looking for – a machine that not only performs well as a mower, but one that could be used 52 weeks a year with the right attachments.

“We contacted our local dealer Russells, who quickly organised a demonstration and within less than a minute I realised it was the machine for us. It performs on slopes, its stability is excellent and every attachment does what we expect, ticking the box for versatility. We are mandated to maintain all green spaces in the area including parks, sports pitches, cemeteries and roadside verges. Traditionally we have been using ride-on cylinder and rotary mowers, but they are designed for one specific purpose. whereas the Ventrac is much more versatile.

“We can mow our sports pitches down at 25 mm, then change out the deck in a matter of minutes and be cutting down bracken and brambles. We have a policy of introducing more wildflower meadows across the area and for this this purpose we purchased the tiller attachment. This helps us quickly prepare the soil bed in readiness for the specialist seed mixes and we can do it on steep slopes. We can also use it when we are restoring football and rugby pitches.

“I think this demonstrates that we have purchased a couple of multi-capacity machines, that produce a finished cut on fine turf as good as our current cylinder mowers, but can fulfil numerous other functions. We have been blown away by their performance; every member of my team is commenting on how good they are and that doesn’t happen very often! Without a doubt, it’s a great piece of kit and the best investment I’ve made during my career.”

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