Why Ground Tamers Chose the VX2000 Hydromulcher!
“We love the VX2000, and we certainly recommend this product to anyone, but not our competition,” says Russell Shermer, a director of Ground Tamers alongside co-director Mark Birkbeck. That’s not a throwaway line from a happy customer. It’s the conclusion of a business that spent years frustrated by other people’s schedules before deciding to run its own hydroseeder.
A Reliability Problem Only Their Own Machine Could Fix
Ground Tamers is a commercial landscaping company that specialises in hydromulching and polymer spraying, but for a long time it couldn’t do that work entirely on its own terms. “Some of the challenges that we had prior to purchasing our hydromulching trailer was the reliability of other practices doing the work for us, and we would have to bring them in from other parts outside of our local area,” Russell says.
“We were having to get others to help us a lot with hydroseeding and hydromulching, so we were trying to get a reliable trailer that we could use ourselves,” he adds. Where that trailer came from mattered too. “This one fit the build because mainly we’re Australian, and we love that it’s in Queensland,” Russell says.
One Trailer, Two Applications, No Compromises
Ground Tamers’ business is built on hydromulching and polymer spraying, and the VORTEC® VX2000 covers both without asking the business to run two machines. “Their main goal is doing hydromulching and polymer spraying. You can do both applications in the VX2000,” Russell says. “We’re able to use this trailer in many applications, from small areas through to large areas.”
The VX2000 hydroseeder runs on a 1,900 litre corrosion-resistant poly tank with paddle agitation, the same agitation type Russell credits with the trailer’s low mixing and preparation time. A high-flow gear pump drives both the hose and cannon applications he describes, and the trailer itself is ADR-compliant for road transport between sites. VORTEC designs and manufactures the VX2000 in Australia, which lines up with what Russell says he loves about where the machine comes from.
Owning the machine outright has changed how Ground Tamers works with clients too. “We’ve got our own machine, which is a wonderful asset to the company, and the benefits that we’ve got from it is having that machine available to us at very short notice for our special clients,” Russell says.
Simple to Run, Fast to Load
A recommendation like Russell’s only holds up if the machine is easy to live with day to day, and Ground Tamers says it is. “Our mixing time and our preparation time is very low. We’re putting in four bales per trailer and our seed mix, as well as we usually do put a fertiliser mix in,” he says.
The controls back that up. “Our controls that the VX2000 have are very simple to use, very simple instructions. For the agitator through to the pump operation to emergency stops, it’s very user friendly as a machine,” Russell says. “Our maintenance is extremely simple. Our loading, our preparation is very straightforward. The hose application, as well as the cannon application, can get us into a lot of different areas.”
Faster and More Cost-Effective Than Turf
Ease of use is one reason to recommend a machine. Results are another, and Ground Tamers has both. “A lot of clients are wanting to use it instead of the traditional way of just rolling turf out. We can do it a lot faster and a lot more cost effective than doing traditional turfing, and we’ve had very little issues,” Russell says.
The Financial Case Behind the Recommendation
None of this would matter to Ground Tamers if the numbers didn’t work, and Russell says they did, fast. “We’ve seen the benefit financially, and the machine would have been paid off within the first 12 months of operation,” he says.
He also expects that case to keep getting stronger. “We’re seeing a huge future with this machine,” Russell says. “Most of your projects now require this hydromulching and polymer spraying to go down on your projects. The VX2000 is right there to help any company, any developer, any client, any personal homeowner that needs these erosion control measures done.”
That combination, fewer contractor headaches, a machine that’s simple to run, and a payoff inside a year, is why Russell doesn’t hedge when he’s asked whether he’d recommend it. He’d recommend it to anyone.
Frequently Asked Questions About the VX2000 Hydromulcher
How long does it take to pay off a hydromulcher?
Russell Shermer says the VX2000 would have been paid off within the first 12 months of operation.
Can one machine do both hydromulching and polymer spraying?
Yes. Russell confirms you can do both applications in the VX2000.
Is hydromulching cheaper and faster than laying turf?
Ground Tamers has found hydromulching a lot faster and more cost effective than traditional turfing, with very few issues since making the switch.
