Steve Bullman

For marine engine specialist Peter White of Swordfish Marine, carburettor issues caused by extended periods of storage and inactivity are a thing of the past since the discovery of aspen Alkylate fuel. Having extensively tried and tested aspen 4 in his workshop, at home and in his own 4-stroke outboard engine, the family-run firm became stockists three years ago to make the ethanol-free fuel more accessible for their customers. Established by Peter in 2007, Swordfish Marine cover all areas of servicing and support for small leisure and commercial boats – based at the Holy Loch Marina in Dunoon, Scotland. With the vast majority of Peter’s customers being ‘seasonal boaters’, issues with expired fuel and component failures due to water ingress were a common occurrence until the team were introduced to aspen Fuel. “A friend recommended we look at aspen Fuel maybe eight or nine years ago” he explains. “You often hear that once you try it, you’re hooked… and from just using it in our own petrol engines, we really were. The main difference is that the engine starts first time, every time, no matter how long it’s been in storage and knowing how much that would benefit the vast majority of our customers we knew we needed to offer it.” After their original stockist ceased trading during COVID, Peter became a stockist himself in late 2020. As an alkylate petrol, aspen 4 contains no ethanol and a vastly reduced harmful hydrocarbon content when compared to traditional petrol. Its greener, cleaner credentials make it an ideal option for those working in ecological and sensitive environments such as waterways, with Swordfish Marine selling aspen 4 with all boats up to 6hp. “There’s nothing more frustrating for people than pulling the boat out in April and finding the engine won’t start after a winter spent in the shed. The shelf-life of aspen reduces the anxiety and risk of engine-related failures which ultimately gets people where they want to be, on the water.” Peter continues, “While the initial expenditure may be increased, this is negated by the vast savings in servicing and repair bills, and most find that one can will last them the whole season if not longer.” “Ultimately when you think about it, we’re losing business! But morally aspen has proven to be a fantastic decision and seeing everybody enjoy their boating, reliably and without horrible repair bills is what we’re all about.”

The combination of impressive performance and outstanding service has sealed the deal on a GreenMech EVO 205D woodchipper for leading Wiltshire-based arborists Conservation Contractors. While the EVO 205D is the first machine on their fleet from GreenMech, it has quickly cemented its status as the most-utilised, with peace of mind that the daily demands will not result in costly downtime thanks to the first-class back-up support from local dealers GA Groundcare Ltd. Entrusted on a wide variety of projects from high-end domestic to commercial, including local authority work and nationwide contracts which sees them responsible for the ongoing external maintenance of hospital and residential homes, the EVO 205D has been busy since its delivery in July 2023. Daniel Butler, Manager of the Arb Division, explains how this demand, coupled with previous struggles with breakdowns and repairs lead Conservation Contractors to GreenMech. “We pride ourselves on delivering the very best service to all of our customers and this means having equipment that is fully-operational and at our disposal, at all times. We don’t have the luxury of a raft of spare chippers in the yard. If something fails, we need it running as soon as possible and with our ageing 8” machine, the service and back up support we were receiving was not where we needed it to be.” He continues, “GA Groundcare Ltd have helped us out on more than one occasion, with loan GreenMech machines which was ultimately a big factor in our recent purchase.” “Like everything, there’s been a big rise in the costs of arboricultural equipment, but the EVO came in at a reasonable price and the team were really impressed by its performance.” The largest machine in GreenMech’s EVO Series, the 205D boasts a generous in-feed hopper and unparalleled processing power for a machine in its category – tackling the biggest of tasks with both reliability and ease. “The size, versatility and user-friendliness of this machine has seen it become our go-to for most jobs that come our way, it’s out on a daily basis.” Daniel emphasises, “The team have no complaints, and from an investment point of view, the fact we have dealer support 3-miles down the road and the no quibble 3-year parts and labour warranty gives us no doubt that the GreenMech was the right decision.”