Providing the first research report and up-to-date information and analysis of the UK Groundcare Professional market, including usage of tools, interest in battery-powered, automation and attitudes towards the environment.

To help any business commit fully to new technology or embrace the opportunities available to become more environmental-friendly, in April and May 2022, a survey designed by TAP and TurfPro, identified the tools and equipment used by groundcare professionals, probed their attitudes, and explored how they believe the industry is addressing opportunities / challenge of climate change.

The results also touched on the on-going labour shortages – retaining and acquiring people with the right skills is influencing the future direction of the industry on how they operate and perform their services with the emergence of some promising automation solutions.

“Comparing the performance of a battery-powered strimmer with a diesel one, isn’t important to us but what is, how we can build a more resilient and sustainable business that cares more for our people, customers and environment”.

“We have a number of vacancies, but I don’t know whether an automated lawnmower is an answer”.

“Whether we like it or not, we all need to work together (dealers, customers and manufacturers) to address all the challenges we face, we cannot do it on our own”.

Some of the key insights from the study highlighted:

• One in five pieces of equipment used is powered by battery, but 82% believe the proportion is increasing
• However, 40% still prefer to use petrol / diesel powered equipment
• Hedge trimmers, blowers and strimmers are the tools most likely to be powered by a battery
• 84% are interested in environmentally-friendly products
• Top 3 brands used are Stihl, Honda and Husqvarna
• Confidence in manufactures to supply the new products to capitalise on technology changes divides opinion

We were delighted to have Stihl and Toro supporting the survey by incentivising respondents with a free tool and machine, which helped us secure a sample of 137 interviews.

Written by Laurence Gale, a leading analyst in the groundcare and turf industry, his extensive knowledge delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.

“Information, knowledge and understanding are key drivers in developing future skills and opportunities when working in the Sports Turf and Amenity sectors. This industry is forever changing at a great rate of knots, there are so many factors and situations that can influence the decisions you have to take on a daily basis when managing a given sports turf facility".

"Having an awareness of what’s going on around you and knowing what resources you have at hand will enable you to make the right call and deliver the expectations of your clients and customers”.

- Laurence Gale 

If you are interested to learn more, a summary presentation of the findings is available by registering below.