Insight into assets and fleet management
As the sole Toro distributor of turfcare machinery in the UK for golf and sports equipment, we’re widely known to work with some of the world’s most notable golf clubs and premiership football clubs. What’s not so well known is our behind-the-scenes involvement with some of the UK’s leading groundscare businesses. Through them the products we distribute help make meaningful differences to millions of people.
One of the customers we are proud to work with in this sector is Mitie, the UK’s leading facilities management and professional services company. Mitie’s landscape and grounds maintenance teams create and maintain beautiful, clean and safe grounds for its clients – and the Toro mowers we supply them with help cut 10 million m2 of grass a week!
Here we speak to David Ramsay, Head of Assets, Fleets and Machinery, to learn more about the company, its services and ethos, about issues affecting the industry and what matters most to its customers.
Who is Mitie?
Mitie is the UK’s largest facilities management company. We have unparalleled experience in using data-led technology to remotely monitor assets, and environmental systems, to optimise operational performance and enhance the workplace experience. Our team of workspace specialists use the latest technologies to create truly connected and people- centred workspaces.
But inspiring workspaces aren’t just inside the buildings, the outside matters too.
What is Mitie’s landscapes strategy?
With approximately 750 staff, we have built an award-winning team of experts that services 7,000 sites across the UK. With full-service grounds maintenance services that cover everything from landscaping to nature-positive spaces, bespoke winter services and lawn mowing, our highly trained experts deliver environments that improve wellbeing and encourage biodiversity.
Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. A great example of this is the ‘Live Landscapes’ service which offers customers a portal, with real-time information on every service we provide to monitor performance.
Our client base is varied, including managing agents, manufacturers, retailers, hotels, pubs and restaurants, prestigious head offices, utilities estates, distribution and logistics operators and our range of services are tailored to our clients’ horticultural and landscaping needs.
How does Mitie align with sustainability targets?
As well as working on our own plans for achieving net zero emissions we also help customers accelerate their sustainability strategies too. We harness the power of data to reduce energy spend, increase efficiencies, drive sustainability, and improve performance with market-leading technology to decrease carbon emissions and optimise energy supply.
Our Plan Zero City Landscaping Service for example is specifically designed to limit environmental impact by delivering sustainable services in cities and urban areas and supports customers with net zero ambitions by ensuring zero landfill waste, zero single-use plastic and operate electric vehicles and battery-powered equipment only.
What technology has generated the most interest from customers recently?
Without a doubt, electric power. A lot of our customers operate in urban areas and are interested in zero emissions and quiet operation, and just as we have a focus on achieving Net Zero emissions, we are dedicated to helping our customers in the same endeavour. We have a fleet of over 6000 electric vehicles to deploy and have been tasked with installing more than 2000 EV charging points across customers’ sites.
How does Mitie choose which suppliers to work with?
Our suppliers are vital to our business – they help us deliver the exceptional every day and introduce the best-in-class technology.
Our partnerships are long-lasting. With distributor Reesink for example they provide us with hundreds of Toro pedestrian mowers and have been doing so for longer than I’ve been in the business!
The Toro 22285 3 is our main pedestrian mower matching all our requirements in terms of robustness and how it copes with all types of cutting environments. With employee wellbeing being high up on our list of priorities, it is important for our operators to like using the machines and for the mechanics to find them easy to service and maintain. That’s applicable to Toro.
We have a productive relationship with Toro’s exclusive UK distributor Reesink UK and deal directly with several of their dealers across the UK. I have trust not only in the products but the resource behind them and that’s essential when we work in challenging environments. Our machines are put into some tough places and face tough work, and we reply on the back up and support from Reesink. They offer advice, knowledge, best practice and help us find solutions. They are honest and helpful and despite having a vast resource behind them, the service is never anything other than personable. It’s why we’ve worked together for as long as we have.
What makes Mitie a good partner for businesses today?
That’s a hard one, as there are so many, but ease is certainly one. With our integrated facilities management, customers can combine all the services they need to open a whole world of capabilities – they can rely on us to deliver across the board. They can also trust us to use our best-in-class technology and data capabilities to deliver intelligent, efficient, and sustainable services to transform places. We help navigate risk, spot opportunities and turn overheads into assets and believe that is an exciting combination and proposition.
Our conversation with David continues here as shines a light on his role as Head of Assets, Fleets and Machinery at the UK’s biggest facilities management business.