Based in the Norfolk Broads, semi-professional football club, Wroxham FC, has swapped hours of manual labour for eco-smart autonomous mowing, to help the club maintain its vast Trafford Park pitch.
In just three months, the club has noticed a significant increase in turf quality, and credits Husqvarna Automower for the change.
Following long hours spent maintaining the pitch, the Wroxham FC team, following a recommendation from agricultural construction and machinery dealer, Ernest Doe, liaised with robotic mowing founders, Husqvarna, and set up a trial using the brand’s Automower 550 models.
Relying heavily on volunteers from the club, Wroxham’s pitch previously took ten hours of manual labour to mow each time, something which was a big undertaking for the team. Turning to the help of Automower, the club looked to free up time, save financial resource, create a healthier pitch, and do their part to help the environment. In June 2021, two Automower 550 models were installed using Automower Club Solution, to help the team tackle the challenges they were facing.
Barry Letten, committee member at Wroxham FC discussed the club’s move to autonomous mowing: “Following the club’s initial meeting with Husqvarna and Ernest Doe, there was no doubt in our minds that we wanted to test out the Automower technology, and in just three short months, we’ve already seen some exceptional results.
“To maintain the quality of the pitch we’d regularly spend 10 hours at a time mowing and having to rely on volunteers to do it was a big ask. Automower has saved us countless hours and has allowed us to redeploy resource on more important and skilful tasks around the club, without having to sacrifice on turf quality.
“We use the Automower Connect app to control the mowers, which has been absolutely brilliant and has enabled me to track what they’re doing and send them out to mow whenever we want. Better yet, I’m able to do it from the comfort of my sitting room, without the need to make a 20-mile round trip.”
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, whilst featuring the ability to withstand a busy match schedule and hours of intense training.
As Automower cuts the grass every day, the impact on the turf and ground is minimal. The very small, quick-composting clippings provide a constant source of fertilisation and moisture, creating greener and denser turf, which increases the pitch’s ability to withstand a busy match schedule and hours of intense training. Research also shows that the constant cutting allows grass roots to grow 25% deeper, resulting in a healthier and stronger pitch.
Barry continued: “The two mowers were set up using Husqvarna Automower Club Solution, which allows the two 550 models to work simultaneously alongside each other, enabling faster mowing. The technology also eliminates the need for a boundary wire placed in the middle of the pitch, which allows us to aerate the turf without any worries of damaging wires.
“In addition to ease of use, the Automower models have been great for the club, both financially and environmentally. In previous years we would have to budget for fuel, which is not an issue with the battery powered Automower. This in turn has helped our green agenda by reducing our CO2 emissions.
“Husqvarna Automower has completely opened our eyes to the possibilities of autonomous mowing, and it would now be difficult to imagine going without. The whole process has been a complete breeze, from the seamless setup which took no time at all, to the Automower Connect app which allows us to control the mower from the tips of our fingers, it’s been a brilliant process.
“It’s not just the Wroxham Committee which has noticed the difference, players and supporters alike have commented on the quality of the turf, with some even turning to Twitter to express their delight. We look forward to the upcoming months with Automower and enjoying the results which it consistently provides.”
