The switch to Aspen Fuel has transformed operations for the Cowdray Estate forestry team– delivering significant health, safety and efficiency benefits to maintenance works across the 6,800 acres of managed woodland.
Cowdray’s decision to start using Aspen two years ago has brought tangible benefits to both daily working conditions and long-term equipment performance.
Assistant Forestry Manager Kris Gillespie has worked at Cowdray for the last seven years and is part of an 11-strong team looking after the maintenance of the conifers, broadleaf high forest and chestnut coppice that make up 36% of the total footprint of the estate.
“Anyone who works with petrol-powered equipment will know that one of the major downsides is the fumes, and the implications this has for operator health and safety” Kris explains. “Even if you’re not actually using the tools, simply transporting cans from one place to another is enough to notice the smell.”
“As soon as we started using Aspen, this all changed. The fact that it’s odourless in operation not only brings real health benefits for the team, it is also really beneficial for the visitors who regularly use the 100 miles of footpaths that run through our woodlands.”
Aspen is an alkylate petrol, available for two and four stroke engines. Aspen 2 is pre-mixed with a fully synthetic, biodegradable oil removing the need to manual mixing and improving consistency and engine performance.
Kris continues, “Not only has Aspen presented us with a cleaner, safer alternative, it’s also brought us efficiency savings by having Aspen delivered to site by the pallet – eliminating trips to the petrol station.” The absence of ethanol and other hazardous hydrocarbons has also been a gamechanger.
“With a range of tools of all shapes and sizes, it’s not unusual for some machines to sit unused for a year or two at a time. Because Aspen is ethanol-free it doesn’t degrade like traditional petrol which means we can take a saw that hasn’t been used for a while, start it up and get straight to work.” He adds, “Before, we’d be spending money on repairs to machines which had barely clocked up any hours, just because of rotten fuel lines. That hasn’t happened since we started using Aspen fuel.”
The Cowdray team has also adopted Aspen’s Fillpartner Combihandle, bringing further practicality and safety into practice. “With this, we can ensure no spills and quickly and easy swap out the Aspen can with a spare when required to get through a full day’s work with ease.”
