In This Issue
Bents, Fron Goch and Poppies Oban strike gold in GTN's Greatest Team of the Year Awards
Smart and Westland are voted Greatest Award winners
Christmas gets October trade off to a flying start
Premier announces sad loss of Halloween General Manager, Sean Looney
Apta plans to invest £3.5m to grow its business in Ashford
HTA Garden Futures challenges the industry to capitalise on opportunity by embracing change
Clematis champion Raymond Evison awarded Pearson Medal
SBM Life Science recruiting new talent
The future for garden machinery is cordless…
Santa's spectacular arrival at Squire's Garden Centres
In with the new for Grange Fencing
Plant nursery helps local charity after break in
Ben's Guinness Record bean is longest amid sabotage claim at Mr Fothergill's
Spook-tacular Halloween events at Wyevale Garden Centres
Area Sales Managers
Brand Manager
Sales representative, South East
Nursery Grower Technical Manager
Garden Centre General Manager
Garden Sundries Retail Manager (Northamptonshire)
Horticultural Quality Controller
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Garden Products down year on year despite high plant sales
Christmas product sales off to a flier
Bark and top soil sell in big numbers
Autumn colour drives plant sales up
Impressive roll-call of speakers lined up for GrowQuip
Thompson & Morgan appoints new National Sales Manager
Perennial CEO Richard Capewell to retire in Spring 2017
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
GTN's Greatest Awards 2016
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
HTA study tour to Matthew Algie Roastery & Showroom
Cotswold Fayre expands its Chilled Operation
Situations Vacant
Area Sales Managers
Salary: Very attractive salary, bonus, company car and benefits
 
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Brand Manager
 
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Sales representative, South East
 
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Nursery Grower Technical Manager
Salary: Excellent
 
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Garden Centre General Manager
Salary: Excellent
 
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Garden Sundries Retail Manager (Northamptonshire)
Salary: £18,000 - £19,000
 
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Horticultural Quality Controller
Salary: £20,000 - £22,000
 
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700
The future for garden machinery is cordless…

The future for garden machinery is cordless, manufacturers predicted last week at an open day for retailers at Handy Distribution’s Swindon depot.

Handy, the UK’s largest distributor of garden machinery, representing a clutch of major brands, turned over the frontage of their Murdock Road premises to a mini trade show to update visitors on the latest products and technologies from their brand suppliers, who were on hand to demonstrate and answer questions.

During a tour of the stands, it soon became clear to GTN Xtra’s reporters that, almost without exception, the major R&D focus for most manufacturers is now on the convenience and ease of ownership that rapidly advancing cordless technology can offer to end users.

Brands like Webb (owned by Handy), Ryobi, Greenworks, Bosch, Flymo and McCulloch were all demonstrating new or upgraded battery-powered machinery. 

The efficiency, output, running times and shorter re-charging times of today’s state-of-the-art batteries mean that cordless appliances have become realistic alternatives to mains electric and petrol-powered machines. McCulloch were demonstrating a 40V cordless chainsaw that could slice through a 200mm log with relative ease and was deemed adequate for occasional domestic use. This would have been unheard of for a chainsaw five years ago. Several companies showed small cordless rotary mowers that could cut an average-size urban lawn two or three times on a single charge.

As yet, battery power accounts for only a tiny percentage (estimated to be still in single figures) of the UK market but there is a concensus that battery power will account for up to 80% of the market within 10 years as demand grows and prices drop accordingly. Entry level cordless machines still carry a price premium over mains electric but are beginning to close the gap on petrol.

From what we saw last week, it won’t be too long before cordless becomes affordable standard technology for home users.

For stockists and dealers, it could also mean fewer product returns – and service call-outs.

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