Purchased new in early 2012, the two Trimax mowers have been used by John O'Conner since the council contract commenced in January of that year. The machines and their respective tractors replaced four tractors and a combination of rotary and cylinder gangs that had been used by the previous holder of the council contract.

The two Pegasus mowers provide a maximum cutting width of 4.93m, folding hydraulically to 2.5m for transport. They are based at John O'Conner's depots in Bexhill-on-Sea and Lewes, each machine cutting close to 60 hectares of grass over its 10-day cycle.

According to experienced tractor driver, Barry Fisher, who was retained by John O'Conner when the firm was awarded the contract, the move to rotary mowing produced a marked reduction in downtime and maintenance with no adverse effect on quality of cut across surfaces ranging from school and college sportsfields to public open spaces and village greens.


Tractor driver, Barry Fisher, guides the Trimax Pegasus rotary mower across a college playing field maintained on behalf of East Sussex County Council by John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance.

"I'm using the Pegasus to maintain the very same grass that I was mowing four years ago with cylinder gangs," commented Barry. "In my opinion, the Trimax mower produces a finish comparable to that of cylinders in dry conditions and does a much better job when the grass is wet, minimising clumping. Apart from the excellent finish produced by the Pegasus, a major benefit of rotary mowing from my viewpoint is the elimination of costly damage and downtime that can result when a cylinder mower hits a solid object lying on the ground."