Paul Shapter, Head Gardener at St Catherine’s College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, claims that his new ISEKI ride-on mower has made life a lot easier.

St Catherine’s College, affectionately known as St Cat, is the largest college within the world-famous University of Oxford. The college is renowned for its modern architecture and many restful open spaces which offers a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Paul and his team maintain these open spaces which comprises of gardens and lawns; and he revealed that he was looking for something to make life a little easier for everyone.

“We are all getting a bit older, a bit creakier, and our backs are a bit more susceptible to damage,” he said. “Therefore, we started looking for something that would make everything a lot easier and after some searching, we came across the ISEKI SXG326, which we found to be very cost efficient.”

Tough, reliable, and productive, the SXG326 has been built for the most demanding users. It has a larger operator platform for a comfortable working environment and a 54″ (1.37m) mower deck with wider overlapping which provides enhanced productivity and a superior quality of cut. A 2-pedal hydrostatic control and more legroom is featured while the large capacity, high torque 1123cc diesel engine is powerful and fuel efficient.

The new instrument panel and dial in height-of-cut adjustment makes the SXG326 the most operator friendly and intuitive large compact tractor mower on the market. Hopper capacity is an impressive 600 litres with an easy to remove collector that allows for simple cleaning and maintenance. The SXG326 is available in road homologated version with lighting kit and handbrake.

Paul explained how the SXG326 has indeed made life easier at St Catz.

“I think the versatility of it is one of the best features – as well as cutting grass excellently it is also like an outdoor hoover. It is great at sweeping up and collecting a whole range of debris.

This gives us the diversity to use it in the autumn just as much as we use it through the summer and spring. I find that it picks up remarkably well in all weathers whether it is wet or dry.

“The high tip is really good, and it means that one person can do the job a lot quicker without having someone running around fetching, carrying, shovelling, cleaning up or tipping. It
combines all sorts of efficiencies.

“The size of the box is another big plus – being able to collect that amount of grass and condensing it into a huge box is fantastic. Another good feature is that all the basic maintenance points are accessible and easy to get to.

“Adjusting the height is a simple manoeuvre – there are no rulers or measurements involved, it is as simple wheel that just turns to adjust the height of cut – it is incredibly easy. “I think what really makes a big difference for us is the lack of blockages,” continued Paul.

“The size of the chute and the way that the blades cut mean that it is all gathered and shot out the back quick enough not to block.

“Essentially, you just can’t beat the value of this ISEKI machine and I would certainly recommend it to all gardeners and grounds people.”

www.iseki.co.uk