The first of the new generation of the Husqvarna Automower that Lincolnshire dealer, Gavin Bird of Green Stripe Garden Machinery, put into stock in 2006 is still hard at work as a demo unit 14 years later.

Nicknamed ‘Bob’, and somewhat ‘battle-scared, the mower has gained something of a cult status for staff and customers and has clocked up almost 35,000 hours keeping a plot of 1400 sq metres trimmed at his Market Rasen dealership.

“Apart from an annual service, and from memory three batteries, blade motor and several blades, ‘Bob’ has worked tirelessly and trouble free for all those years,” says Gavin.

“It was a more satisfying machine that the original Husqvarna Turtle Solar mower that I decided to stock in 1998 which cost an extraordinary £2000,” he told the latest episode of the Inside Agri-Turf podcast.

“That was not a glorious beginning to our robotic experience, but over the years and as robotic mowers have got ever more reliable and improved out of all recognition, their sales have become ever more important to us.

“It is one machine that the customers sell for you, they show to their neighbours, they talk to their friends and we find that machines appear in clusters in certain areas”.

Whilst robotic mower sales have increased in recent years, according to Husqvarna’s UK sales and marketing director, Ken Brewster, they only represent around 5% of the UK mower market value, whereas smaller countries like Switzerland and Austria are accounting for around 50% of value.

“For any dealers still unsure about the sector,” he tells the podcast, “my advice is to talk first to other dealers who have built a successful robotic mower business”.

He added that the next opportunities will come in the landscape and professional turfcare sector, particularly as the need for a boundary wire is removed with new technology.

Listen to the Inside Agri-Turf podcast at https://inside-agriturf.captivate.fm/