Executive Report:

More business to be won

With the right equipment, hirers can benefit from demand from grounds care professionals. Alan Guthrie reports from the BTME show in Harrogate, where the latest machinery was displayed.

Grounds care equipment hire remains a challenging market. At one end of the scale there have, in the past, been a small number of national hirers chiefly supplying local authorities with large fleets of mowers and other machinery, on contracts of a year or more. This has required investment in regional depots to service equipment and potentially serving other clients like golf courses, requiring machinery for shorter periods. However, if the larger contracts expire and are not renewed, pressure is placed on hire rates in order to win new business, and customers begin to expect lower prices. This, in turn, can affect smaller, local hirers trying to achieve sensible rates for gardening and grounds care equipment in their fleets.

However, Turfleet Hire, one of the exhibitors at the recent BTME (British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association Turf Management Exhibition) in Harrogate, is in positive mood. The business is part of the Burdens Group (www.burdens.com), a Lincolnshire-based distributor of agricultural, construction and grounds care machinery (particularly John Deere equipment), and which also owns Golf & Turf Equipment, a Wokingham-based dealership with a long established hire operation.

Benefits of hiring

“Golf & Turf’s success led us to establish a similar operation two years ago at our headquarters in North Kyme, southeast of Lincoln, and the business has grown steadily,” states the company’s Northern Hire Manager, Mark Addinall. “Customers include local authorities, golf courses and landscape contractors who realise the benefits of hiring and that the hire rate is not the only consideration. Ready availability, quick delivery and collection, and the ability to hire modern and fully serviced machinery are important factors. We can supply customers as far afield as the northern half of Wales and the Scottish borders.

“As well as John Deere mowers and tractors, popular items include Timberwolf TW150 and TW190 wood chippers that perform excellently and are very reliable. We also offer BLEC stone buriers, Major roller mowers, Billy Goat vacuums from Pinnacle Power, Stihl hedge cutters and brushcutters, and Avant Tecno’s 635 multi-purpose tool carrier that accepts more than 40 attachments and can lift 1400kg. Also in demand is a range of turf maintenance attachments from Charterhouse Turf Machinery, which enable cleaning and grooming tasks to be carried out by facility managers themselves.”

At BTME, JCB Groundcare (www.jcb.com) previewed its first out-front mower, the FM30, to be launched later this year alongside the smaller FM25. Designed for low levels of noise and vibration, and powered by 30hp and 26hp Yanmar diesel engines respectively, they will be available with a choice of eight cutting decks, including rotary and flail options. The machines incorporate hydrostatic transmission and a four-wheel drive variant is available with a three-differential system to prevent scalping on undulations. Also displayed was the new Groundhog 4x4 utility vehicle that follows on from the 6x4 model. It has a 27hp diesel engine giving a top speed of 31mph, and has a 500kg payload capacity.

Several specialist hirers supply golf buggies to courses, and targeting this market is the new RXV from the E-Z-Go Division of Ransomes Jacobsen. Its drive train uses an AC motor, said to generate more power with increased intervals between charges. A failsafe braking system is designed to stop the vehicle even if power is lost, and regenerative braking recharges the batteries during operation. Ransomes Jacobsen (www.ransomesjacobsen.com) also used BTME to launch Cutting Edge Training, a package of initiatives to enable end users to comply with the Provision and Use of Working Equipment Regulations (PUWER) in ensuring that persons operating self-propelled machinery are trained in its safe use. The training, which follows the Landbased Technicians Association (LANTRA) scheme and covers mowers, tractors and all-terrain vehicles, can be held at Ransomes’ Ipswich headquarters or customers’ premises.

Husqvarna’s (www.husqvarna.co.uk) stand showed the breadth of equipment that its Outdoor Products division now offers. Key Account Manager, Colin Adams, says that hirers who have Husqvarna Construction Products machinery in their fleets, such as its power cutters, are adding items like chainsaws, brushcutters and blowers. Dominating the display was the PT 26D, an out-front rotary mower that offers mulching capability as well as rear discharge. Designed for local authorities, contractors and other professionals caring for large turf areas, it can accept 132cm or 155cm decks and has a 26hp Perkins diesel engine. Also on show was the range of low-HAV pedestrian mowers from Klippo, which Husqvarna acquired last year.

Versatile system

GroundsCare Products, a separate business established by the Hampshire-based tool and equipment hirer County Hire, promoted the TurfTeq range of implements that can be powered by the same 13hp Honda-engined base unit. These include a power rake suitable for seedbed preparation and lawn renovation, and the pivot angle of the drum can be angled to left or right so debris can be windrowed. A trencher and broom are also available, as well as a lawn edger. A rotary mower attachment is under development. The equipment is narrow enough to go through gates and, according to Managing Director Paul Errington, “the system’s versatility makes it ideal for hirers.”

New from Sisis (www.sisis.com) is the Arrow, a vertical action aerator for golf greens, tees and cricket squares, targeted at local authorities and contractors. It has a 10hp Briggs & Stratton petrol engine with forward and reverse speeds, and working width is 600mm. Hollow, solid and chisel tines are available with a maximum working depth of 12.5cm and variable spacings. The vertical action is said to minimise soil disturbance and anti-vibration handles are incorporated on the machine.

Heavy-duty aerator

JSM Distribution showed the SR 72 Soil Reliever for aeration to depths of 400mm and which can be used with a 45hp tractor. Its angled main frame is claimed to give optimal control of depth, light ground pressure and reduced vibration. JSM says that tine depth can be changed instantly without altering the tine angle, which can be adjusted using the hydraulic top link. Steve Vogels, Executive Director of JSM (www.jsmd.co.uk) says “the machine was developed in the US by a contractor and features a minimum number of specialist parts, facilitating maintenance in the field.”

Lloyds & Co Letchworth (www.lloydsandco.com) promoted its new Lloyds-Maredo Turfcare System, a pedestrian power unit with a 6hp Briggs & Stratton Vanguard engine and which accepts interchangeable attachments including aerators, scarifiers, edgers, spikers and seeders. It also showed an established range of walk-behind top-dressers and aerators. “These are suitable for hirers because of their heavy-duty construction,” says Managing Director, Clive Nottingham. “However, too many companies buy other machines that may well be cheaper, but which are made for the domestic market, and they become disillusioned.” This suggests once more that, if hirers choose the appropriate equipment, they will win more grounds care hire business. There are certainly opportunities. As Turfleet Hire’s Mark Addinall says, “hire is certainly an attractive proposition for professional users, and we expect to be kept busy in the foreseeable future.” •

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