OKNygaard is a multi-disciplinary landscaping contracting firm with a head office in Hasselager, Denmark. Their clients include housing associations, cemeteries, institutions, parks and business parks. The company has 500 employees and offices in 11 locations around Denmark to deliver a local and personalised service. Their 2019 investment programme included a MAJOR Winged Swift, 1.75m Synergy Deck and a 1.5m Cyclone Deck.
The machines were delivered following a demonstration to OKNygaard’s operating managers and drivers by Brørup Traktor- & Maskincenter, the exclusive distributor of MAJOR products in Denmark. The attendees at the demonstration day were very impressed by both the quality of the mowers and the finish delivered.
The MAJOR 5.4m Swift Roller Mower is being used to maintain a 7 hectare site at Tusindårsskoven, the famous concert venue in Odense, which plays host to the Tinderbox festival amongst others. “It takes us just under 1.5 hours to complete which is impressive,” said Helge Opsand, an operator at OKNygaard.
The Winged Swift Trailed Roller Mower at Tusindårsskoven has 8 rotors with 16 blades cutting at 75m/s. The cutting height can be adjusted from 10-130mm and the transport width is a neat 2.4m. The mower is equipped with brakes and LED lighting for safe highway transportation. “What we liked about the MAJOR Roller Mower was that it is driven by gearboxes,” said Helge. “This means that there are no annoying belts to service. It also facilitates a larger overlap between the blades, because the gearbox rotations are precisely timed. This is not possible with a belt driven mower due to the change in elasticity over time and changing temperatures. People don’t consider this but it makes a huge difference to the cutting result.”
Helge, who is based at the Odense depot, was involved in the purchase of the MAJOR mower. “Following a demonstration of the MAJOR Swift, it was clear that it could give a cut just as good as many cylinder mowers – with the added bonus of completing the work much faster. The blade system on the MAJOR mower produces a “suction” effect, which lifts the materials upwards and into the path of the blades. The high blade tip speeds give a really nice cut and a long-lasting finish,” he says.
“We cut a lot of grass and our current mower has coped reasonably well with the workload. However, with the new Major Swift we can handle even more work,” he continued. One of OKNygaard’s very large customers is Odense Council, where OKNygaard has the contract to cut and maintain just over 75 per cent of the municipal grassland. This equates to an area of over 500 hectares every week. “The Major Swift gives us additional capacity and we can take on more work now,” concluded Helge.