Building Trust is Fundamental
Long term relationships are a key facet of the way Lister Wilder likes to do business. From the company’s earliest days, there has been a recognition that true sustained success is heavily dependent upon building shared trust.
It’s an approach that sits well with Simon Grant, who has been Facilities Manager at the Deer Park Secondary School on the outskirts of Cirencester for the past 12 years. The embedded loyalty has become all the more relevant in recent years as his team’s responsibilities have grown, with Deer Park together with primary schools at Kemble, Siddington and Chesterton becoming part of the Corinium Education Trust
With some 1,200 pupils across the four schools, Simon’s small facilities team has a big commitment, and the lone groundsman who looks after the extensive Deer Park grounds needs all the help he can get from a reliable groundcare equipment supplier who gives good advice and provides sound after-sales back-up.
Key to the relationship is the input from Lister Wilder’s experienced Areas Sales Manager Ian Davies. “He really knows his stuff and he is good to work with,” says Simon. “I am the Chairman of our local football club, where I also look after the grounds, and work with Ian there too.
“Pretty well all the machinery we have we buy locally from Lister Wilder. It’s how I like to work with any contractor; you build up a good relationship and you know you are going to get a good deal. They do an annual service on all our machinery including an elderly tractor we bought from them many years ago, which as a result still works fine.”
Simon is also a great advocate for Kubota on account of the brand’s ’outstanding reliability’. His most recent purchases include a Kubota L5040 tractor, which provides the motive power for a Trimax Procut 237 sports fields utility mower.
Given the long hours Simon’s groundsman spends cutting grass, the L5040’s comfortable cab and its heating / air conditioning are fundamental. The large turf tyres are designed to minimise ground compaction, while providing good traction and performance.
The Kubota L5040 MK2 features a glide shift transmission that makes for smooth shifting and easy operation, further enhancing operator comfort and the tractor efficiency. Two double-acting spool valves, facilitate the use of a wide range of hydraulic implements.
In Deer Park’s case the key item to be towed is the Trimax Procut 237 with its exceptional ‘LazerBladez’ cut quality. With more spindles and shorter blade beams than comparable rotary mowers, it delivers more cuts per forward metre of travel and a finer clip for a tidier mulched finish. It also, very importantly for a busy schedule, covers the ground at speed.
Lister Wilder’s involvement with the school extends even to the small machines for hedge cutting, strimming and an assortment of other jobs. “We put a lot of faith in Lister Wilder,” says Simon.
