Compact tractor and chipper cuts operating costs

Well recognised for being a highly efficient grounds-care and maintenance business, Cotswold Handyman provides a wide range of services including hedge-cutting, pasture-topping, grass mowing, estate management, landscaping and tree management. Based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, the company has been in business since 2001 and provides resources to large estates, local authorities, regional amenity groups and a wide range of commercial customers.

Co-owner of the business, Polat Sadrazam likes to make sure that his fleet of maintenance equipment is utilised year-round, to maximise cost-effectiveness. “We’ve not been overly affected by the pandemic,” commented  Polat, “we’ve been extremely busy because many of our customers require ongoing grounds maintenance, as we are working in the field or on the estates, we don’t come into contact with other people allowing us to operate in a COVID secure way. We are multi-tasking at every opportunity. We try to use all of our machinery year-round without it costing money laid away in storage.”

A good example of Cotswold Handyman’s preference in extending the flexibility of its machinery fleet, would be where one of their Compact Utility tractors, a John Deere 2036R, is being used year-round, to power a PTO driven Timberwolf TW PTO/150H chipper. Polat said, “We buy most of our equipment through Tallis Amos Group (TAG) in Evesham as they are our local John Deere and Timberwolf dealer and they have a great parts backup and after-sales service facility. Seeing as they supplied our John Deere 2036R, they recommended that it would be ideal to power the Timberwolf mounted and PTO driven machine, instead of paying more for a self-powered, trailed unit. The Timberwolf is a six inch chipper and so handles virtually everything we throw at it. Larger limbs and branches are normally kept for logs and firewood anyway, so it works really well for us. By going PTO driven instead of engine-powered, saved us around five thousand pounds, as well as reducing ongoing maintenance costs, so financially it was a very good option.”

The John Deere 2036R, Compact Utility has a 3-cylinder 27kW (37hp) diesel engine and has more than enough to power the Timberwolf, which has its own, integrated hydraulic system. “We’re working eight or nine hours a day,” added Polat, and fuel consumption is only around ten to fifteen pounds a day, which is really quite efficient from a cost perspective. We are often trimming and pruning oak and fruit trees for one of our large Estate customers and typically, throughput is around four tonnes an hour, which is highly productive. Every day is different, ranging from pruning’s on one job to just brash on another for example, but our John Deere and Timberwolf set-up, really works well at anything we throw at it.”