Successful APF For Jensen: The UK’s largest forestry, woodland, arboriculture and biomass show came to Ragley Estate near Alcester, Warwickshire, again this weekend, with great success. The APF Exhibition, which takes place biennially in September, hosted 320 exhibitors over 3 days at the 6,000-acre estate, welcoming 18,500 visitors this year despite heavy rain and wind as a result of Storm Ali which pounded the site but not the spirits of visitors and exhibitors.

The Machinery Imports team were pleased to hold a large demonstration stand at the event this year, with Jensen woodchippers leading the charge complemented by the array of Groundcare machinery available from brands Ferris, Wright and Spider.

With over 800m2 of stand space, the team were able to showcase a large range of machines including the ever-popular Jensen A530 and A530L towed woodchippers, with sub-750kg towing weights and 6-inch chipping capacity. Representing the range of PTO chippers were the A530XL and A540 models, with the A540 model boasting a 190mm capacity and 18m3/h output for powerful chipping with only a 40hp requirement.

For off-road, sloping or unstable terrain, Jensen presented the A540 Spider, a tracked woodchipper offering superb stability with independently controlled hydraulic tracks both vertically and horizontally, making it the most versatile machine of its type in the market.

Jensen are the only manufacturer of woodchippers in the industry to offer the option of a turntable chassis for all their woodchippers between 8” and 12” capacity, and to highlight this at the APF visitors to the stand could see an A540 turntable road-towable chipper. The 270° turning ability offers the perfect solution for anybody working alongside highways and paths where safety is paramount and space is limited, enabling the users to turn the woodchipper to face an alternative, safe direction.

As well as static displays of the models on offer, the Jensen team were able to practically demonstrate the power and versatility of the range including the huge A231 model, the second largest disc chipper in the Jensen line-up and the largest feed roller aperture available of any brand in the market. With a 310 x 240mm aperture, 30m2/h chipping capacity and 75hp engine the A231 is truly one of the most powerful and robust chippers on offer today.

Complementing the Jensen line up at the APF Exhibition were a range of Ferris, Wright and Spider mowers, including the Wright Stander I and Sport I models – the original zero-turn stander mowers in the industry, and Spider Mini, ILD01 and ILD02 remote-controlled, robotic slope mowers.

From Ferris, visitors could see a variety of pedestrian, ride-on and stand-on mowers including the new-for-2018 Ferris 400S with 4-way deck discharge options; larger models including the stand-on SRS™ Z1 and ride-on, zero-turn IS®700Z, IS®2600Z and IS®3200Z models. For those who prefer walk-behind grass cutting, the popular pedestrian mowers, FW25, FW35 and FW35 Flail were available to view, offering 18.5hp and 26hp petrol engines respectively and deck sizes from 36” to 52” for all mowing situations.

Bill Johnson, Business Manager for Jensen in the UK, found the show to be hugely successful for Jensen, commenting “I am delighted with the enthusiasm and loyalty shown by the Jensen users from around the UK and abroad who visited our stand and shared their Jensen stories with us. A particular highlight was meeting a terrific Jensen owner who happily uses his 31-year old Jensen A111Z woodchipper almost daily with no problems – a testament to not only his care for the machine but the durability and longevity of our premium chippers.”

“The 2018 APF Exhibition was hugely successful for us, giving us the opportunity to speak to industry professionals about the USPs of the Jensen brand as well as offering demonstrations to see the machines in action again on home-turf and welcoming visitors to enter our competition to win £1000 of arboricultural equipment, a great talking point with which to further engage customers.”

Clive Carter, General Manager for the Ferris, Wright and Spider brands in the UK, was also happy with the outcome of the event, adding “As an arboricultural-focused event we knew that the principal brand of interest would be Jensen however we were delighted to not only showcase our range of groundcare machinery which may be of interest to many woodchipper users too, but also to show our support for the Jensen brand which is growing ever more popular in the UK. We’re looking forward to seeing many visitors again at demonstrations and site visits which were organised as a result of attending the exhibition.”

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 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.