If you are in the market for the very best in garden machinery and horticultural equipment, then a visit to Parks and Grounds on the Waterloo Industrial Estate in Bidford upon Avon is a must.

Established by Andy Perkins and David Tullett in 1989, the company has quickly established itself as one of the premier dealers in high quality garden machinery of all kinds. Twenty years of continued growth and success has been the reward for putting service and reliability high on the company agenda and that is allied to offering domestic and commercial machinery from the John Deere range. John Deere products are very much regarded as the top end of the horticultural machinery market, where quality and reliability is reflected in high second hand residual values.

From park, golf course and small estate managers to the larger garden owner, the John Deere range of machines offers a comprehensive selection of mini-tractors, ride-on and walking mowers and all terrain vehicles.

As a John Deere dealership, Parks and Grounds has a first class parts and service back-up and a fully qualified staff of technicians for service and repair work. The company has worked hard to establish a very successful partnership with John Deere and this is reflected in the quality of the backup they receive from the manufacturers.

To see more information on John Deere, please visit their website here: http://www.johndeere.co.uk

In the light and airy showroom you will also find garden machinery and mowers from Etesia and Dennis, and a full range of chainsaws, brush cutters, strimmers and wood chippers. Above all you will find sound practical expertise and friendly advice, whether you are a professional horticulturalist or a keen gardener or estate owner.

Many of the machines on sale also have real applications for anyone involved with horses or other livestock, ground works or off road maintenance. The Gator series of off road utility vehicles in particular, must be viewed to appreciate configuration, with or without four wheel drive.

On offer from the showroom is a comprehensive range of John Deere children's ride on tractors making ideal birthday and Christmas presents.

Conveniently located just off the A46 near the centre of Bidford on Avon, Parks and Grounds has got to be worth a visit if you are looking for serious garden machinery and a quality service to support your purchase.

Parks and Grounds Machinery Turns 20!

David Tullett and Andrew Perkins had been in the professional mowing machinery industry for a number of years. Both locally born and bred, they came to know each other working at Turner International of Kings Coughton, Warwickshire. Turners were well known for their flail mowers the world over-Andrew was on sales covering the East and South East of England as a territory manager, while David was a service engineer.

It was in the early part of 1989 that Andrew became aware of John Deere commercial mowers and compact tractors being sold to various local authorities in and around the London area. There was a real buzz going on. Customers who had purchased these new John Deere machines were full of praise for their build quality, operators loved driving them, and spare parts arrived without fail the next day, something virtually unheard of in the industry at that time.

Andrew soon discovered that John Deere was looking for specialist dealers to sell and service their new commercial and consumer equipment, and indeed a dealership vacancy existed in Worcestershire. Andrew spoke to David about this exciting opportunity and following numerous evening sessions preparing a business plan and several meetings with John Deere, the dealership came their way.

“We started the business with only a small amount of capital, but our experience and enthusiasm must have convinced those at John Deere that we were the right people for the job,” says Andrew.

“Parks and Grounds Machinery Ltd was established in summer 1989 and despite the difficulties in our first year trying to sell mowing machinery in what was a drought year, our persistence paid off. The business has continued to develop and grow and it now boasts 14 full-time and several part-time, employees.”

The business was originally located in a garden centre and as it grew, it relocated to an ex-builders yard and finally moved to its existing premises on the Waterloo Industrial Estate, Bidford on Avon in September 2000.

“We just kept growing and we needed more space,” Says David. “Standing still and staying as you are is not an option. We strive hard to meet our customer needs and it has certainly paid off. We are still looking after many customers who first came to us 20 years ago”

“While about 75% of our business comes from professional users, we recognise that homeowner lawn equipment sales are a very important part of the business. The extensive range that John Deere now offers enables us to meet the needs of all types of customers. Our showroom at Bidford displays many of the lawn tractors and walk-behind mowers on offer, and we can usually supply from stock.

“It always gives us a lot of satisfaction to see another John Deere machine on its way to a customer knowing that you are likely to build a long relationship with that person. They come to rely on us for their servicing needs and any technical queries.
We’ve moved a lot of machines over the last 20 years and feel very proud to be associated with John Deere.”

It was in 1837 that John Deere, a young American blacksmith, revolutionised the face of farming by perfecting the world’s first commercially successful self-scouring plough. Today John Deere is one of the world’s leading producers of premium quality agricultural, construction, forestry and grounds care equipment.

Deere & Company first entered the grounds care market in the US in 1963 with the 7hp 110 lawn and garden tractor, which started production that year at the Horicon Works in Wisconsin - so the story goes, because the company wanted a machine to mow the lawns in front of its worldwide headquarters in Moline, Illinois.