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Spider keeps grass in check for Sheffield City Council

08 January 2009

Sheffield City Councils’ Parks and Countryside Department has recently taken delivery of a Ransomes Jacobsen remote controlled Spider II Slope Mower from local dealer Golf & Turf Machinery.

Working for up to 5 hours with a 16 litre fuel tank, on slopes of up to 55° with an integrated winch, the Mark II version of the Spider is specially designed for mowing steep banks and slopes. With a cutting width of 1.23 meters it boasts 4 overlapping mulching blades driven by a powerful Kawasaki 680cc 23hp engine and is much more versatile than its’ predecessor.

Sheffield City Councils’ Parks and Countryside Departments’ District Officer Melvyn Riley said;

“Historically we had a particular issue with Stocksbridge Clock Tower Gardens which we maintain in partnership with Stocksbridge Town Council. In years gone by gardeners were employed to cut the steep bank on which the clock tower stands with pedestrian mowers. Recently, health and safety issues have meant that we could not continue with the maintenance of this space. It is important we get the grass maintenance of this site right as the gardens were overlooked by the town council’s offices and is a prominent feature of the town centre.

“We investigated possible solutions for mowing the bank and came across the Ransomes Spider. We had it on site for a demonstration and even had the Town Clerk operating it in the gardens. It was so impressive it actually stopped the traffic! It has proved to be an ideal solution to our problem.

“Use for the mower has grown due to other HSE issues and we have continued to identify more areas across the City where it can be used. That’s why we’ve now purchased this latest version, the Spider II, because it has a wider width of cut and is more productive than our previous machine. Also it has a synchronised winch, which can enable it to be used on steeper slopes, which means we can mow more areas, which previously were not possible to maintain. We share it with our colleagues in Street Force and it’s really helped us to raise the general standards of tidiness of the steep banks in the various open spaces across the city.”

Ransomes Jacobsen is a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.

Textron Inc. is a $12.6 billion multi-industry company operating in 28 countries with approximately 42,000 employees. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, defence and intelligence, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, Ransomes, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation.

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