Ransomes Jacobsen WIN Major Newcastle City TURF MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT contract

Newcastle City's grounds maintenance department has awarded a significant contract for the supply of new turf maintenance equipment to Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd. The contract, worth over £1,000,000 at retail value, was the result of a two year feasibility study by the City's grounds care team and looked at all the aspects of delivering best value to the residents of Newcastle.

David Hay, Principal Grounds Care Manager at Newcastle City Council said, "We began the feasibility study by looking at contract hire and invited several companies to submit their proposals. However, it soon became apparent that we could purchase the equipment outright and improve the delivery of best value to the City.

"We then spent a year evaluating the products from the two major suppliers in the industry, which involved on-site demonstrations, visits to the manufacturing plants and included a detailed review of their after sales performance as spare part availability and supply was a crucial element of the contract. Most of all, we wanted to create a real partnership between our chosen supplier, and ourselves with both parties fully committed to the provision of a first class service.

"We selected Ransomes Jacobsen because throughout all of our negotiations they, and their local Hexham based dealer Rickerby, proved their commitment to meet our requests. We also considered various environmental aspects and Ransomes Jacobsen are the only turf equipment manufacturer with ISO14001, the international standard for environmental management. This aspect was essential to our recently acquired EMAS accreditation, a further improvement on ISO14001, and stretches the organisation to take account of wider issues and results in the production of an annual 'Public Environmental Statement' which is published on the Newcastle City website:www.newcastle.gov.uk.

"I know we made the right choice in Ransomes Jacobsen and as a result we have some of the best turf maintenance machines in the industry."

The fleet list is impressive and all the equipment was put to immediate use, due to the fine weather of early spring. The equipment inventory includes 11 five-cylinder Ransomes Commander ride-on mowers; 12 ride-on Ransomes Highway 2130 triple mowers including one of the latest LPG-powered units; two Ransomes Frontline 728 rotary mowers; four Iseki SGR19 compact tractors with 48" rear discharge rotary decks; 15 Ransomes Super Bowls, one Ransomes Marquis and one Ransomes Multimower, all walk behind cylinder mowers for the preparation of tennis courts, bowls courts, cricket pitches and prestigious, high visibility grass areas within the City;

David Withers, Sales & Marketing Director at Ransomes Jacobsen added, "To win this prestigious contract is a testament to the team ethic that exists within the Ransomes Jacobsen operation. Our dealer, Rickerby Ltd, have been a very important asset during the negotiation period and while facilitating the subsequent delivery of the equipment. They will continue to be in the forefront of the contract providing service and parts support to the grounds care team. Also, the team at Ipswich worked extremely diligently and provided a high level of professionalism during the process.

"I'm also delighted that our commitment to ISO14001 was a significant factor in the placing of the contract and the fact that we have a truly enviro-friendly mower, the LPG Highway, included in the fleet. This will enable the Street Services grounds maintenance team to evaluate it against the diesel version throughout 2003.

"It is particularly satisfying to win this contract when competing against another major supplier and I'm sure that this partnership will provide the residents of Newcastle with grounds care operations that will be the envy of many other cities across the UK."

For further information please contact:

Peter Driver, Command Publicity Ltd,

1 The Matchyns, Rivenhall End, Witham, Essex CM8 3HA. Tel: 01376 535400