The winner of the SALTEX ‘heart’ competition has been revealed as Paul Woolley, proprietor of Diligentis – a garden maintenance business operating in South Staffordshire.

Overwhelmed by support from the industry, the SALTEX 2015 image – a heart formed of a blade of grass prompted industry professionals and volunteers to publicly show their support to the industry and SALTEX by forming a heart shape with their hands. As the photos begun to flood in, show organisers decided to run a competition for everyone who submitted a photo.

In doing so, SALTEX partnered with Etesia UK – a company that specialises in building high quality ride-on and pedestrian rotary mowers. Paul’s winning photo landed him one of the company’s newest models complete with a rear roller kit, worth nearly £1,500.

The PRO 46 PHCS has a 46cm cutting width and offers extreme versatility with the ability to cut, collect and mulch without the need for an accessory, and when Paul saw the competition announced in an email – he didn’t think twice about entering.

“We were interested because we were running an older Etesia Pro 46 which we have had for three years and thought that it would be good to get another one on-board to improve our operations. We looked at ideas to take a good photograph and we tried to think outside the box.

“At the time we were working on a manor house in South Staffordshire, which had a lot of coloured maple leaves across its lawn. So we formed a heart with the maple leaves using a rake. My business partner Howard Medlicott then positioned himself in the centre of the heart and I climbed a tree to take the photograph.”

Paul, who established Diligentis five years ago, has been presented with his prize by his local Etesia dealer – Burrows Grass Machinery, and believes that the new mower will enable him to add yet another string to his bow.

“I’m over the moon with the new mower – It cuts well in the wet and the new roller on the back now allows us to offer customers stripes on their lawn too.”

Both Paul and his business partner Howard – who has attended SALTEX for the last 15 years, were also pleased to see SALTEX move to the NEC, Birmingham in November.

“We both attended SALTEX this year and thought it was a fantastic exhibition. Firstly, you are not affected by the weather and secondly it is now situated centrally in the country – which makes it more accessible for everyone. The previous event at Windsor seemed to be very spread out and a bit sparse but at the NEC it was nice and compact meaning that you could see everything you wanted to.

“We went to look at what was out there on the market, to get advice and I got a lot of information that I wouldn’t have been able to get from anywhere else. It’s also a much better time of year being in November because work is a bit quieter.

“Overall, it’s two big ticks from us for SALTEX moving to the NEC.”

SALTEX 2016 will be held at the NEC, Birmingham on 2 and 3 November 2016.

Etesia UK announces finance options

Etesia UK has announced affordable lease and hire purchase finance options to allow its customers flexibility when purchasing new Etesia and Pellenc machinery.

Designed to give buyers the power to enjoy their Etesia and/or Pellenc machinery straight away, the easy payment plans are designed to help customers buy or lease the most up-to-date machines that they want without compromising cash flow.

Through Etesia’s finance partners, Timali Finance, they are now able to offer customers a range of finance products, allowing them to spread the capital outlay over three years or less.

Not only will they offer some of the most competitive rates around, but they will also tailor each package to suit your individual budget requirements.

All Etesia and Pellenc machines come with a commercial three year warranty ensuring that during the finance period, customers will have full peace of mind.

If a three year lease package was chosen, there are then four options available to customers after the three year period is over:

Return. Return the products at no extra cost.

Retain. Continue leasing the products.

Renew. Start a new lease agreement with new products.

Recycle. Purchase the products for a nominal fee.

To illustrate, a Pellenc Excelion 2000 ‘Cow-handle’ Brushcutter (with tapcut head), Pellenc Airion Blower, Pellenc Helion Hedgecutter + 75cm cutting blade with a Pellenc ULB110 (1100 Battery) to power all of the tools leased over three years, would cost approx £32.44 per week which is less than most operators would spend on petrol in a week.

You could not only protect the environment by using battery-powered tools, but also protect your finances.

After the three year period, simply choose one of the Return, Retain, Renew or Recycle options.

Commenting on the launch of the Etesia finance options Les Malin, Operations Director for Etesia UK said: “We have looked at the best way to help our customers with the purchase of new machinery. There are plenty of good finance companies in the market but we wanted to offer our customers something different and with some added value.”

To discuss finance options in more detail please call George on 01371 870 815. Alternatively, call Etesia UK on 01295 680 120 or email sales@etesia.co.uk to request a free finance leaflet.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk. You can also follow Etesia on Twitter @EtesiaUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

Mid Hants Mowers become new Pellenc dealer

Etesia, the exclusive distributor of Pellenc battery-powered equipment in the UK, has announced Hampshire based Mid Hants Mowers as a new Pellenc dealer.

Established in 1978, Mid Hants Mowers provide sales, servicing, collection and a break down service for all types of domestic garden machinery, professional ground care and arboriculture tree care. Based at the beautiful Hartley Park Farm in Alton, Mid Hants Mowers has a fully stocked show room with a comprehensive selection of top brand machinery, which is complimented by good honest advice to help you select the right machine to match all your requirements.

The company has gone from strength to strength over the years, with managing directors Saul Ross and Simon Clarke seeing an increase in both members of staff and business. Their success can, in part, be attributed to their forward thinking approach which sees them embracing new technologies such as the Pellenc battery powered products.

After listening to their customers, Saul decided the time was right to introduce the Pellenc brand.

“We’ve been asked about the battery products over and over again and to meet our customers’ needs we actually started stocking some products from another company. These were fine for domestic use but we’ve started kitting out a few professional arborists and the feedback I was getting was that they just were not good enough. They said that they didn’t want twenty batteries to last a day – they wanted one battery to last the whole day without sacrificing on performance. The products we were offering were not commercial products and this is why we chose to bring in Pellenc.”

The addition of the Pellenc range of equipment will present Mid Hants Mowers customers with a lighter, odourless, noise-free and more cost effective alternative to petrol powered machinery. Not only will users see improved performance but they will also be contributing to protecting the environment by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and noise pollution.

“A lot of our customers work in private schools and orchards so this equipment will be perfect for them. The Pellenc products have clearly been developed for the commercial market and I can’t fault any of them. When you’ve got them in your hands, they just feel like premium products suitable for the commercial market or even for top-end domestic use. In fact we have got a few domestic customers who have been waiting for the products to come in, so I’ll be arranging demos for them straight away.

“Here at Mid Hants Mowers we like to offer something for everybody and this is why we very much go with the good, better and best theory. The intention is to put Pellenc up on the best pedestal because we have every confidence in these products,” said Simon.

Simon has every right to place his confidence in Pellenc: The emergence of Pellenc in the UK over recent years has been phenomenal with over 50 dealers now stocking the battery powered products in various parts of the country.

It certainly is an exciting time for Mid Hants Mowers and Saul believes that green technology will play an even bigger role in the future.

“Green technology is the future without a shadow of a doubt. Simon and I are both fully aware that it is going to take over. We are forward thinking enough to realise that it’s coming and in fact it’s already upon us. More and more contractors are eager to speak about it and we’ve certainly noticed that the ones who are willing to take on these new technologies are the ones who are winning the contracts.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk where you can also find more information on Pellenc which is sold exclusively in the UK by Etesia UK.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK. You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK.

Etesia launch customer review website

Etesia UK has announced the launch of a new website – www.planet-etesia.com, which allows visitors to the site to read customer reviews and comment on its extensive range of innovative products.

Etesia has long been impressed by the brand loyalty shown by its customers and it is these customers that have helped the company lead the way in introducing new mowing innovations year on year. A lot of Etesia’s success has been due to word of mouth recommendations from happy customers and now the new Planet Etesia website puts these recommendations all in one place for everyone to see.

With over 100 comments from users across the UK so far, the site promises to be a fantastic resource for both existing and potential Etesia customers as well as other industry professionals. As the exclusive distributor for Pellenc products in the UK, Planet Etesia also gives customers the opportunity to read and contribute reviews from Pellenc’s impressive line-up of technologically advanced battery-powered equipment.

www.planet-etesia.com will also be useful for anyone making machinery purchasing decisions. If you’re torn between a battery-powered or a petrol-powered mower you’ll appreciate the ability to compare independent comments on both technologies. Perhaps you’d like an insight into what venues of a similar size, big or small, are using – or maybe you’re just curious to know what a landscape contractor makes of its mower! What’s more; visitors to the website will be able to locate their nearest Etesia or Pellenc dealer by simply entering their postcode or area.

The website is user friendly with navigation around the site extremely easy. Visitors can simply select the product range they are interested in from the navigation bar which consists of Pedestrian Mowers, Ride-on Mowers, Brushcutters, Pellenc products and ET Mowers. From there they can then browse a number of product reviews.

Planet Etesia offers un-biased, freely submitted comments so for those who are wary of advertising promises.

Commenting on the new Planet Etesia website, operations director Les Malin for Etesia UK said: “We’re pleased with the launch of www.planet-etesia.com – it’s going to be extremely beneficial to our customers. We have our main website of course which does a great job of providing product information but Planet Etesia goes that extra step.

“It’s all very well taking a company’s word that the machines are excellent but in most cases people want to hear from those who regularly use them – the Planet Etesia website does just this. It can help someone make a final decision before purchasing and can also perhaps open their eyes to an alternative they hadn’t previously thought about.”

Etesia UK is encouraging all of their customers to visit the website and add their voice – simply click the ‘add quote’ option to submit your thoughts on your favourite pieces of kit.

You can visit the new Planet Etesia website here – www.planet-etesia.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK. You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK.