Customer Testimonials

Huw Lincoln, Haywards Heath, Sussex (HD70T)

“I know I’m a bit of stickler for perfection when it comes to hedge trimming, but when you do the job for a living the finished hedge becomes your shop window.” Sharp blades are considered to be important by Mr. Lincoln if good clean cuts are to be made. The blade is sharpened from the curved top side.

Mr. Lincoln says "Proportional electronic controls help to turn in prize-winning performances."

Roger Hicks, Gloucestershire (HD60T Right Hand)

Based at Pilning, a stone’s throw from the banks of the Severn Estuary, Mr Hicks and his son Edward, run a 300 acre farm and a general contracting business. The farm comprises a combination of wheat and barley crops along with a grassland area which supports a beef fattening enterprise.

James Millbank, N Yorks. (HD70T)

Based in North Yorks, at Dalton near Scotch Corner, Mr Millbank farms 400ha (1000 acres) of which 120ha are down to combinable crops and the remainder permanent grassland. The farm's livestock comprises a 700-ewe breeding flock and the fattening of bought in store cattle. "My father was looking for less involvement in the running of the farm and it was clear we were going to need some extra help at harvest and lambing time - but not so much at other times of the year," he explains. "The solution was to start an enterprise that could provide an income for an extra member of staff at these slack times of the year."

Tim Frizzel, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, UK, (HD62VFR)

Tim Frizzel was adamant – he was not going back to using a hedge cutter that required him to spend all his time looking over his left shoulder.With that proviso registered, when his Econ mid-mounted machine had reached the age and condition when the word ‘tired’ was the polite way of describing it, he was keen to replace it with a hedge cutter that could place the flail head where he could see it. Based at Sturminster Newton in Dorset, Mr Frizzel has been cutting hedges for more years than he says he cares to remember – and clearly long enough to remember the aching necks that occur when operating a rear mounted machine. All of which is now history because his latest hedge cutter is a Shelbourne Reynolds Powerblade 6.2m VFR – variable forward reach.

Michael Tomlinson, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, UK, (HD62VFR)

Hedge trimmer design has taken another step forward with the introduction of the variable forward reach system. We visited the first user of Shelbourne Reynold’s innovative 6.2m Powerblade VFR and discovered a success.There can be few better views in the countryside than a well trimmed hedge – its sides uniform, top level and the surrounding vegetation neatly cut.Of the skills used in an industry which now places more emphasis on speed than straight ploughing, hedge trimming must count as one of the last remaining tasks where operator skill can be truly appreciated.And it is one which contractor Mike Tomlinson takes very seriously. Based near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, Mr Tomlinson has taken the art of hedge trimming to new levels - levels that have earned him the respect of his customers.

Pete Rideout, Chettle, Dorset, UK (HD70T)

"One of the most annoying thing about hedge cutting is that after concentrating hard to create a good level, even cut, you look back and see the odd uncut branch sticking up," says Pete Rideout.

And it’s an opinion you can have some sympathy with – the way a hedge looks after it is cut is usually considered to be a reflection on the ability of the operator, not the machine used to cut it.Which is why, he insists, he purchased his first Shelbourne Reynolds hedge cutter a few years ago and, following the success with that one, why he recently purchased a second machine.

Mark Harvey, Hinton St Mary Estate, Dorset, UK (HD70T)

There are over 36 miles of hedges to cut each year on the land which forms Hinton St Mary Estate in Dorset. And the intention is to cut every mile, every year.

Managed by Velcourt under the guidance of farm manager Mark Harvey, the farmed area at Hinton St Mary Estate runs to some 1750 acres of which 1000 acres is down to arable cropping with the remainder under grass and forage maize for the Estate’s 400-cow dairy herd and its 225 followers.

"With that distance of hedge row, you can imagine that our field sizes are not that big," says Mr Harvey. "The average is about 22 acres which is a bit on the tight side for some of the larger cultivators and combines we operate."