When Turfland visited LAMMA, the UK’s largest farm machinery, equipment and agricultural show, they couldn’t have imagined that less than 2 weeks after placing an order, they would take delivery of a brand new fleet of Loadmac Truck Mounted Forklifts; and all to Turfland’s specification.

From humble beginnings over 50 years ago, Turfland have grown to become one of the UK’s leading turf suppliers and growers, producing the finest quality turf for both commercial and private use.

Chris Watmore, a Sussex lorry driver, and his wife Janet, a part-time nurse realised the potential for ‘instant lawns’ and set up a small company named Sussex Turf Suppliers but in order to succeed they realised they had to be better than the rest.

So in 1965, they took eight acres of prime land, improved it, sowed the very best seed, applied a weed treatment, fertilised it and mowed the new turf regularly prior to sale. The result was a high quality turf the like of which had never been seen before. Cultivated turf was born in the UK.

The company went from strength to strength, and in 1979 the search for even better pastures led to the North West of England and some of the most fertile land in the country, perfect for the purpose of producing top quality turf. The company was renamed and the Turfland brand was born.

In January 2010 Turfland was purchased by Harrowden Farms Ltd who already own another reputable turf business known as Q Lawns based in Norfolk. The responsibility for the day to day management of Turfland remains in the hands of the original owners’ daughter and son in law Angela and David Mackay; and it was David who found his way onto the Loadmac stand at the LAMMA show.

“Turfland have an excellent reputation for quality and service but the delivery process is critical to our success,” commented David. “Sites are becoming busier and safety is paramount so more often than not we need to park the vehicles off site, unload the turf and deliver it safely and quickly to exactly where the customer needs it.

“So with a growing business, but serviced with an ageing fleet of truck mounted forklifts, we decided to visit the LAMMA show and meet up with Loadmac.”

“From our first discussions at LAMMA, we have been very happy with Loadmac,” added David. “The fact that the forklifts are manufactured in the UK was always a plus point for us but more importantly it meant that we were able to have a brand new fleet, to our exact requirements, and delivered in time for our busy period; and now with all the trucks in use, we have been delighted with the performance, ease of operation and reliability.”