Nestled in the heart of Sherwood Forest lies Nottingham & District Gun Club, established for over 55 years, the club has turned its attention to robotic mowing, crediting Husqvarna Automower for maintaining the club’s immaculate grounds.
Directing their attention to innovative mowing in 2019, the Club chose Husqvarna Automower 550 to maintain four of its shooting layouts. Covering up to an acre of land, the robotic mower has enabled the grounds team to free up hours of time, previously spent mowing.
Offering lessons, shooting memberships, events, and stag and hen parties, the Gun Club requires picture-perfect grounds, all year round. With a restricted amount of time to mow, fears of theft, and the limitations of shared equipment, the Club turned to B&B Tractors and Husqvarna Automower, to help assist with their challenges.
Carl Smith, Owner at Nottingham & District Gun Club, discussed the switch to Automower: “For many years we’ve worked with the team at B&B Tractors as their service has always been fantastic. When we discussed the idea of turning to robotic mowing, it quickly became evident that it would be the smart thing to do, and Husqvarna Automower stood out as the obvious choice.
“The Club has always had the challenge of maintaining the grounds when clients are there, which means limited hours in which to do so. Time is the most precious thing that the ground staff has, but with limited hours to work in, it’s never something we’ve had surplus of.
“Trying to keep the layout tidy has always been a challenge we’ve faced, with dandelions and daisies becoming a particular issue in the past. As quick as we’d be at removing them, the quicker they’d be at growing. We knew we needed an innovative solution, and so purchased Automower 550.
Ever since the first Automower was introduced in 1995, Husqvarna has been known as the world leader in robotic mowing. With over 2 million sold worldwide, Automower is renowned for its low energy consumption, zero emissions, low noise and high productivity. Covering everything from smaller urban gardens to challenging areas up to 5,000m2, Automower can also handle difficult inclines up to 70%.
Carl continued: “Shortly after our Automower was installed, it wasn’t long until we were seeing the fruits of its labour. Being able to mow day or night, in rain or shine, our layouts looked better than ever. The dandelions and daisies were also no longer an issue, as Automower keeps the grass at a short length. Just as we need it.”
One of the biggest issues the Gun Club faced was the breakage of garden machinery while being swapped between the grounds team, and the threat of theft while being stored overnight. Carl discussed: “Storing expensive equipment has always been a worry in case of break-in’s, and when tools are being swapped between many different team members, breakages are inevitable, and so it became a conscious decision to stop buying expensive equipment.
“Using lower-quality equipment was okay in the short-term, but eventually we decided it was time to invest in Automower, thanks to its abilities to avoid these issues.”
Featuring GPS theft tracking which registers the mower’s GPS position every 30 seconds, as well as a high-pitch alarm which starts when moved and can only be deactivated with the mower’s unique pin code, extra security is provided with the Automower models.
“One of the best things about Automower is that it never gets ill, doesn’t need any holidays, and can work day or night, in any weather condition. With minimal input needed, the risk of damage is minimal, which has eased my worries about breakages significantly. In addition, the amount of time it has saved our team is incredible and allows us to spend more hours on tasks that require more skill and precision.”
“With the Automower Connect app, we’ve been able to remotely control the mower through our phones and tablets. We’re able to change its settings, track its movements, and check its status, at any time, wherever we are, it’s really remarkable.”
“I have to admit, I was initially sceptical whether the Automower would be able to deliver all that it promised, but it has certainly proved its worth. In the future we look forward to expanding our Automower range and taking further advantage of Husqvarna’s innovation.”
