EVO 205D SAFE-Trak delivers both quality and quantity for Babraham Research Campus

The Babraham Research Campus, one of the UK’s leading locations for academic and commercial bioscience, have taken delivery of an EVO 205D SAFE-Trak to keep pace with the site’s demand for wood chip and weed suppressant. The 100-acre campus sits within an additional 360 acres of estate land, maintained by Estates and Waste Manager Matt Antrobus and two ground teams – all of whom have been mightily impressed with the power, performance and build quality of their new woodchipper from GreenMech’s EVO series.

“The site has grown and changed a lot over the last decade, both in terms of the variety and types of research conducted here and the push towards more environmentally-friendly methods of maintenance” explains Matt, who has been at the Campus for 15 years. “We use in the region of 300 tons of woodchip every year for suppressing weeds as well as decoration for borders, beds and miles and miles of public footpaths! Our previous chipper was struggling to cope and, after comparing a couple of options, the EVO 205D emerged head and shoulders above the competition.”

The backbone of the EVO 205D’s design is a deep beam, high tensile steel chassis, with a generous in-feed hopper measuring 1250mm x 700mm allowing the easy processing of bulky material. Maximum chipping efficiency is powered by a Kubota Stage V-Complaint 50hp diesel engine, while GreenMech’s SAFE-Trak system delivers ground clearance of up to 400mm, enabling access across uneven terrain and in difficult ground conditions.

“The EVO was installed in July by our local dealer Thurlow Nunn Standen and Julian Cullis of GreenMech, who delivered some outstanding training to the team that was on a par with – if not better than, some of the official woodchipper courses available. Although we’ve only had it a few weeks, the operators love it! The first major thing they commented on was the ease of manoeuvrability and access, meaning we can position the 205D exactly where we are working which saves a lot of time. Secondly, the feed rate is drastically quicker with this machine… the teams just can’t keep up with it!”

“There isn’t really much the team haven’t been impressed with. The build quality is fantastic and from a usability perspective, you can tell that GreenMech have really thought about what the operator wants and needs from a woodchipper.” Matt adds, “This EVO 205D will be fundamental to our new willow replanting and rotation programme which will help give us the quantity of wood and chip we need to continue our sustainable site management programme.”