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We delivered a brand-new ZD1211 zero-turn mower to Crofthead Holiday Park, bringing their already buoyant fleet of Kubota machines to a staggering eleven, four bought from Thomas Connor, Area Sales Manager at Hamilton Brothers. We took this opportunity to talk about why Kubota is the perfect fit to maintain an excellent quality of cut all year round for the only five-star rated holiday park in Ayrshire.
Lewis McCormack, Thomas Connor & Gordon McCormack
Gordon – We’re at Crofthead Holiday Park, in Ayr, which we’ve owned for 22 years. It’s a family-owned business – almost everyone, including my wife, is involved in the day-to-day running of operations. Lewis, one of my sons, has done a degree in Caravan Park Management.
We started off very small, we only had about 14 owners to begin with. The park has now been brought up to a five-star standard, and it’s the only one in Ayrshire. We have a range of facilities to suit the whole family, such as a large play park, an 18-hole crazy golf course and outdoor gym equipment.
In total, we now have 580 homes, spreading across approximately 90 acres. We rent 50 lodges with hot tubs, and we have 500 privately-owned units, which come in different specifications so they can be personalised to the owners’ tastes. The holiday-makers can come up and down whenever they want – but what they do expect is the park always to be looking perfect, no matter the time of the year.
Gordon – We’re open 12 months, and we’re probably cutting about nine months of the year, usually from March until the end of October or November, depending on the weather. There’s about three months where we can’t really cut, because it’s not practical without making a mess.
Gordon – There’s 11 machines in total – an F391, an F3890, three ZD1211s, two ZD326s, a B2261, an RTV900 and two M5 series. All the ride-on mowers are fitted with additional mulching kits.
Gordon – We have a lot of grass in between the caravans, with some flat ground, but as you can see the park’s quite elevated. The ZDs are used for the flat areas, and they all have tough tyres. That’s why we have three of these, so if the weather’s not been kind to us, we can still get out and keep the place looking tidy.
For the very steep parts – what we call the bankings – we use the F series, because we’ve found it’s the only machine that can sit in that gradient. They have rear steer, and they are equipped with ag tyres.
The RTV, it’s in use all the time, it just scoots about the park doing something, whether it’s the gardeners using it, or us – that’s actually the second one we’ve had, we traded the old one in.
Gordon – Well it wasn’t so much the machinery that I knew about to begin with, it was the dealership being up the road and getting good service from them, and it just so happened they were Kubota dealers. I hadn’t bought any new machinery before, so it was all new to me, what machinery to get…
Thomas – For me personally, the benefits of choosing Kubota is one, reliability – there’s not very much out there that doesn’t have a Kubota engine in it, not just Kubota products, but there’s chippers, generators, etc. Kubota also seem to change their models very regularly – they design and try and improve their products in a timely manner.
For example, when Gordon started driving his first ZD1211, he could see the quality and difference in the cut between the newer model and the ZD326s he’d purchased before – and that’s down to the decks, because in the ZD1211 the airflow is engineered for a cleaner finish.
Gordon – I’ve always had Kubota machines – when the park was smaller, we had rear-fitted GCD collectors on the mowers. Over time, it’s always been good and always gets better, so it’s always done a good job in the park.
The first thing I’d be seeing is reliability – we’ve never had a breakdown issue with the machines. They’re very strong, but we also buy them for the quality of finish that we get, because to have a five-star rating, the park’s got to be looking smart, and the mulching kit that we put on them also helps with that.
They’re comfortable as well, so when the guys are on them for a few hours during the day, you know nobody’s having issues getting out of the machines after work.
“Over time, it’s always been good and always gets better, so it’s always done a good job in the park.”
Gordon – If it’s a new model, I’m always offered a demo. We’ll keep the machine for a few days, to see how it works, and if we like the machine and the quality of cut, we’ll order it. I remember when we demoed the ZD1211, I had one to try and there was no turning back after that zero-turn – it worked excellent, so I knew I just had to get it! Once I know what I’m getting, I can just order the same one again without the demo.
Gordon – About 20 years. In the first two years, we couldn’t afford any new grass cutters, we had a gang mower behind our 1954 Massey Ferguson tractor. That bit of grass over there was about two feet long before I could even get the tractor to start, and the farmer next door had to come in and help me!
After that, we started getting machinery from you. Since then, our machines have been progressed every two to three years, to keep them as up-to-date as possible.
“I call it excellent service, because if I really need somebody, that person will be down usually within a couple of hours if not sooner.”
Gordon – Well I call it excellent service, because if I really need somebody, that person will be down usually within a couple of hours if not sooner – not that’s required very often, but anytime we do need them, they’re down right away.
Availability of parts is always quick as well, and they’ll come down and service us on site. For us it’s very convenient, not having to bring things up and down in trailers and waste time.
Likewise, my relationship with Thomas is very strong. He’s always keeping me up-to-speed with what’s available, the machines and the deals. You might not be thinking of buying at the time, but it’ll prompt you to think about it – you don’t know if they don’t tell you.
Gordon – The park was shut, but grass doesn’t stop growing, so we had to keep working all throughout and the machines were running constantly. Obviously, it was tough to get started again then – we were looking for other machines, and Hamilton Brothers looked after us to keep the flow of machines coming through, despite supply chain issues.
Gordon – We’ve got a development going in for an additional 150 units over 22 acres, and that’ll hopefully start this year.
Get in touch with Thomas Connor via email at [email protected] to find out more about our Kubota range of machines.
If you or someone you know has an interest in a career with the Hamilton Ross Group, please send your CV to [email protected] or visit our Indeed page.
