ISEKI TM3265 CHOSEN FOR SAFETY AND EASE OF USE AT KEHELLAND CHARITY
Phil Slack joined in 2013 as Site Manager for the charity working alongside 9 other dedicated staff. Following infrastructure change and development the charity has grown from 9 to 36 staff. The young people and adults with learning and, or physical disabilities working at the centre benefit from a horticultural setting and support to develop their personal and social skills, whether it is through horticulture, catering or other maintenance jobs on site to help keep the charity running. The centre gives the trainees and learners the opportunities to become more independent.
To assist in management of the 16 acre site and comply with ever increasing Health and Safety legislation the centre’s old Kubota BX220 tractor no longer met the requirements and had suffered irreparable damage. Following huge fundraising efforts and assistance with grants from the Clare Milne Trust and Camborne Town Council the horticultural centre was able to purchase a compact tractor. Phil explained; “We approached Nigel Rafferty Groundcare as part of the buying process alongside other manufacturer’s dealers. After rigorous demonstrations and testing of the machines we chose the TM3265 with an HST drive system as it enabled operators with some physical disabilities to operate the tractor easily and safely.
The ROPS safety feature ensures the staff and trainees are always kept safe on the uneven terrain around the orchards and meadows when working on the tractor. The operator presence control is a vital health and safety feature for us ensuring the tractor and implements switch off if the driver moves from the seat.
The ISO mounted platform eliminates excess vibration when working on the machine for long periods, decreasing fatigue on our staff. With a large virtually flat operators platform it helps our staff to get on and off the machine easily and along with clear, simple to use controls, perfect for the various staff using the tractor”.
Driven by trained staff on a 1:1 basis the TM3265 is utilised for mowing the grassed areas, moving of bulk deliveries using the loader to save invaluable time and supporting event set up by attaching the pallet forks to move large volumes of items around the site quickly and easily.
Phil added; “the TM3265 26 hp tractor and loader is an invaluable tool as part of our offering at the Kehelland Trust, allowing more time to be concentrated on supporting the trainees and learners.
“With one of the largest orchard’s for Cornish varieties in the UK producing apple juice in-house, 16 polytunnels, Christmas tree plantation, plus acres of woodland and wildlife areas, the TM3265 will be put to good use for many years to come.
ISEKI safety features, reliability and quality build alongside the brilliant after service provided by Nigel Rafferty Groundcare enabled the purchase of a TM3265 to be a very straightforward decision compared to the other products on the market.”