Trimax keeps on cutting…
- 30% less fuel used
- 60% less mowing time
…says former greenkeeper responsible for town's award winning amenities
Bracknell Town Council has 270 acres of sportsfields and amenity grassed areas.
It prides itself on the way its Recreational Services Department unfailingly keeps all 40 of its recreation grounds immaculately well-groomed.
Taking gold for the last three years in Britain in Bloom testifies to the value this local authority places on presentation.
The department also takes care of the sportsfields and outdoor amenities for the nearby Winkfield Parish Council.
Department Manager Allan Moffatt has been in charge of grounds maintenance in and around the Berkshire town for 14 years and says the switch he made 11 years ago to using Trimax trailed rotary mowers for cutting recreation ground grass is the biggest single factor in keeping them looking so good.
Yet speed and economy are the telling factors for Allan, who had previously been a professional golf greenkeeper.
Three 6ft cut roller mowers used to complete the cutting cycle around the Bracknell recreation grounds in two weeks.
This was halved to a week when a single Trimax Stealth rotary mower replaced them back in 2002, and cut still further to just four days when Allan upgraded from the Stealth machine to a Trimax Pegasus after seven years faultless service, and that includes the Winkfield recreation grass.
A once labour intensive task - three machines: three men: 10 working days - is now a one-man, single machine job that takes 60 per cent less time.
"Aside from getting a consistent quality cut which I instinctively look for, we get the job done more than twice as fast and with a 30 per cent plus saving on tractor fuel," said Allan.
"The Pegasus is now in its fourth season for us. The presentation it gives is even better than the Stealth, and that was excellent. Saving yet another day's mowing is the real bonus though.
"It means we can keep all 40 of our recreation grounds neatly cut all the time, even when growth is at its most prolific.
The fact is, if you cut more frequently you get a much better finish and you save tractor fuel. Longer grass means you have to drop down a gear and it has to work harder.
The speedier and more efficiently you cut grass, the better it looks and the less it costs. Our Pegasus is a big contributor to this double-edged benefit.
"I have a full-time staff of 15 and all year round there's plenty to do keeping pitches marked and fit for play, woodland and garden areas in top order, and children's play areas fully maintained.
There's virtually no maintenance or repair downtime with the Pegasus, so as well as cutting the mowing workload significantly, this is a great plus for the smooth running of the department and deployment of groundsmen."