TWO new super mowers which are a cut above the rest are nearing completion at Rolawn, in Elvington.

They will bring the Rolawn fleet of Europe's largest grass cutting machinery to ten.

Each machine, with its 21 individual cutting heads suspended from a 12 metre wide beam per mower, can mow up to 60 hectares a day - the equivalent of 75 Premier League-size football pitches.

All the equipment was designed and built by engineers based in the company workshops at Elvington.

Size matters - they will be needed to work on Rolawn's 3,600 acres of turf in production in the Vale of York.

Up to 60 articulated lorry loads of turf a day are despatched across the UK mainland at peak times.

A consistent mowing regime, right up to the point of harvesting, is seen as a vital part of what is now a modern and sophisticated process.

Terry Ryan, Rolawn's sales and marketing director, said: "We often read about British engineering being in the doldrums, but here is something to celebrate.

"Quite simply, there is nothing bigger or more efficient anywhere else in Europe. We are proud of the fact they are a British innovation, developed by a Yorkshire based company."

Updated: 10:31 Thursday, February 02, 2006