The Etesia ET Lander electric utility vehicle is like having an extra member of staff according to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s Head Gardener Gary Spreadbury.

Following a competitive procurement process, idverde was selected as a grounds maintenance partner for the Queen Elizabeth Park in in early 2012. Ever since then it has been responsible for park, plant and wildlife management and maintenance.

Gary Spreadbury has been the Head Gardener at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park since May this year, and he claims his working life has been made a little easier by the Etesia ET Lander.

“What I really like about the ET Lander is that it fits and can manoeuvre in tight spaces around the Olympic Park,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of small paths which big vehicles can’t fit down, so it’s very efficient and time saving. It’s used mainly for the transporting of materials around the site, especially during the winter and autumn months when it comes to the leaf clearing and for the mulching of the gardens.”

100% electric, spacious, well-equipped and user-friendly, the ET Lander is built on a robust chassis and has an array of options including a three-way tipper bed with dual control from the fully fitted two-seater cab or by remote control when outside the vehicle. With a length of just 3.72 meters, the ET Lander is very compact. Thanks to the power steering, the short turning radius of 4.40 meters and 360 ° visibility, it goes anywhere. The autonomy of the vehicle lasts for a full working day – without noise pollution, can transport loads of up to 940kgs and can also tow up to 750kgs.

The latest models are fully N1 homologation compliant meaning that the ET Landers are fully road legal along with being able to be used off road. They also feature lithium-ion batteries which ensures that the range of the ET Lander extends to 100km and have a charger system compatible with a standard type 2EV car charger.

“I’ve used battery powered vehicles before but in my opinion the ET Lander is the best by far,” continued Gary. “It runs a lot smoother and feels like you’re driving a car; it is so light that you could take it onto the pitch without causing damage and it just makes working life a lot easier. The ET Lander is like having an extra member of staff – it’s definitely earning its living and is well worth the money.”

Gary isn’t the only one at the Olympic Park who has been impressed with the ET Lander. Chris James, Contract Manager for idverde, is also upbeat about the innovative electric utility vehicle.

“Aside from its ability to manoeuvre, the ET Lander has lots of other great features such as reversing cameras and the option of adding things to it like PTO’s, salt spreaders and water tanks. I like the fact that it’s got some storage units within the vehicle underneath the body too.

“The all-round visibility from the cab is another key feature that we like about the ET Lander. We have around 6 million visitors through the park each year so it’s essential to be mindful of the public.

“The ET Lander is an absolute must-have vehicle for any grounds maintenance contractor, but I believe that there are a lot of other industries out there that could make use of this vehicle as well.”

idverde purchased the Etesia ET Lander through RT Machinery, and Chris feels as though they are in good hands.

“The communication that I have had with the team at RT Machinery has always been positive and they are quick to respond to emails and questions. Some of our other contracts use RT machinery and they always speak highly of them. The availability and the quality of the products that they’re selling is 100%.”