Steve Bullman

Arboricultural companies, large and small, are discovering the benefits of switching their fuel over to Aspen Alkylate Petrol. The UK’s largest tree contractors, Gristwood and Toms, together with Merseyside-based grounds and landscapers, Kingsman Gardens, have both reaped the rewards of using Aspen fuel – reducing harmful fumes and costly machinery servicing and repairs. Gristwood and Toms started using Aspen 2 in their fleet of chainsaws 18 months ago. “With a team of 220 people and nearly 200 vehicles on our books, it’s important that we’re taking steps where we can, to improve our green credentials” explains Director Dave Gristwood. “Aspen came in to demonstrate the product and how, by removing all of the nasty chemicals, the fuel burns much cleaner than regular unleaded. Our chainsaws run well, now without the fumes which is much better health-wise for the guys using them.” He continues, “In our line of work, it’s also quite common for spillages to occur, and if this happens now with the Aspen product, it’s noticeable that it doesn’t cause damage to plants or the surrounding environment to the same degree as conventional fuel.” For Kevin Prince, Owner of Kingsman Gardens, the difference he has noticed in the longevity of his machinery has been massive since he switched to Aspen 2 two years ago. “My team of five guys undertake a variety of domestic and commercial works from landscaping, garden clearances, tree cutting to pressure washing and cleaning. Because of the scope and variety of work we do, some items on our machinery fleet will sit around unused for a few months – sometimes even longer. Because the Aspen fuel doesn’t deteriorate like regular petrol would do, and keeps the inner workings so much cleaner, it means we’ve had machines that are unused for over a year that still start up first time.” Kevin uses Aspen 2 in all of his 2-stroke equipment, including chainsaws, strimmers and hedgecutters together with a small amount of the Aspen 4 mix in some of his 4-stroke hover mowers. “Being ready prepared, we’ve all but eliminated issues with mixing which is much safer and reduces my maintenance costs when machines weren’t running as they should. Customers have also commented on the reduction in smell and smoke which is especially important when you’re working in small, confined areas.” Being virtually free from sulphur, benzene and solvents, Aspen alkylate petrol burns cleaner than regular petrol making it safer for operators, machinery and the environment.

Marlow Ropes, the leading Commercial and Leisure Marine rope manufacturer officially announces the introduction of their new environmentally-conscious innovation; the BLUE OCEAN RAPTOR Lowering Line made using 100% recycled waste plastic bottles. Every day more than 16 million plastic bottles end up in landfill in the UK alone, and this latest innovation from the pioneering UK rope manufacturer uses their engineering expertise to make an environmental difference; through the development of a high-quality premium Lowering line rope made using 100% recycled plastic bottle yarn. Managing Director, Jon Mitchell explains how the new product evolved; “When we found out about the astonishing quantities of plastic bottle waste, we knew we had to act, and sought partners who had the expertise to develop and produce quality rPET (recycled polyester) yarn. This, combined with our knowledge of engineering plastic polymers, allowed the innovation to become possible.” For every 1m of Marlow’s 16mm BLUE OCEAN LOWERING LINE, 7.5 waste plastic bottles are used to make it and this latest product launch demonstrates the UK company’s environmental commitment, as Jon expands on here: “We hope that by introducing this new product to the Arb market, it will encourage other manufacturers to act, enabling us as a manufacturer to make further progress towards a circular economy. Our ultimate goal is to switch all our polyester fibres from virgin PET to rPET.” The Blue Ocean’s unique construction offers the same popular attributes as the normal Raptor and Marlow’s other Arboriculture products including good abrasion resistance and shock absorption with soft and supple flexibility with zero strength loss or shrinkage but in an environmentally friendly way. The Blue Ocean range extends into Marlow’s Leisure Marine industry encouraging a more sustainable approach to the rope manufacturing industry. For further information about the BLUE OCEAN Lowering line and Marlow’s commitment to eco-conscious practices visit www.marlowropes.com and the Arb Show in Cirencester between 15th – 16th May. We will be exclusively talking about the Blue Ocean Lowering line along with other sustainable new products being introduced.