Sweeping up – it’s boring, time-consuming, backache-inducing hard work.  Whether its leaves and twigs in the company car park, dust and debris around the yard, packaging and strapping across the despatch bay, or just general rubbish and muck, sweeping up is a thoroughly dislikable task.  

But it’s also very necessary – apart from keeping areas clean and tidy and the upkeep of premises, unswept areas are unsafe areas.  Slips and trips lead to injuries, work absences and worse – sometimes damages claims.  So like it or not, sweeping up is here to stay.

However, the traditional hand broom and shovel approach is old hat – the kit to use for all small to medium sweeping and collecting tasks is sleek, red, easy to use and powerful – and it’s called BroomEx.

BroomEx is a four-strong range of walk-behind rotary brooms, all powered by reliable and efficient Honda or B&S engines.  As the engine powers both the rotating brush and the driving wheels the operator simply steers the unit, in similar fashion to a lawnmower, adjusting the drive speed, brush rotation speed and height of brush quickly and simply from the operating position.  A choice of four brush widths is offered – 0.7m, 0.8m, 1m and 1.2m – while all models are finished in high quality 3 layer lacquered paintwork similar to the finish used in the automotive industry, for surface protection from corrosion.

“BroomEx is a product that doesn’t just fill a niche between a hand broom and a forklift-mounted broom like a SweepEx, but actually revolutionises the way we think about sweep-up tasks,” says Roy Wolfenden, manager of Broadwood International. “There are many instances where traditional methods of sweep-up just don’t do the job, in particular the problem of wet leaves in autumn.  As most operators will tell you, a leaf blower cannot easily shift a wet leaf from tarmac however hard you rev the engine, and if you do manage to shift the leaf you’re still faced with the collection problem.  Because of the powerful rotary action and durable polypropylene bristles of the BroomEx, wet leaves are just flicked up and swallowed by the hopper in no time and in one pass across the surface”

For tight spaces and instances where access is a problem the highly-manoeuvrable BroomEx PZ80 comes into its own, as its zero turning circle means the machine can turn in its own length.  “We were asked to look at a sweeper for a garage forecourt with honeycomb paving – when the garage staff were trying to sweep up absorption granules after a fuel spill they’d spend 6-7 minutes going over and over the paving with a hand brush trying to sweep it clean,” says Mr Wolfenden. “So we recommended they try a BroomEx PZ80 and it did a better job in 25 seconds! Not only did the brush action mean it swept better and quicker than a hand brush, it also collected the granules in the debris hopper and was extremely light and easy to steer around the forecourt kerbs and obstacles, getting in between parked cars and obstacles without stopping”.

BroomEx is now available as the entry-level PR70 (0.7m wide brush), PZ80 (0.8m brush and zero turn), PX100 (1.0m brush and 3 speed gearbox) and PX120 (1.2m  brush), with retail prices from just £915 + vat. 

Contact Broadwood International on 01420 478111, or email sales@broadwoodintl.co.uk for more information or a brochure.