A SCOTS tree management and weed control specialist has won a substantial contract from North Lanarkshire Council to make the area safe by removing nearly 300 hazardous trees.
The deal follows the far-sighted £240,000 purchase last year by Complete Weed Control of a Merlo Roto compact tree removal machine.
The machine makes the removal of diseased and dying trees not only safer and more controlled, but also immeasurably faster. A video of how the machine operates is available here.
The works will take place largely in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth districts and should be completed by March.
Complete Weed Control, which now covers the greater part of Scotland from its newly-acquired base in Larkhall, Lanarkshire, is one of a very few enterprises in Scotland with access to this level of technology.
Councils are required to manage and undertake work to any tree which constitutes a statutory nuisance.
They will also have a programme of inspection and tree maintenance works to not only protect local residents but to preserve and maintain a healthy tree population.
Keith Gallacher, director of Complete Weed Control operations in Scotland, said: “North Lanarkshire Council has a very comprehensive strategy in place to deal with the threat of hazardous trees, which has been exacerbated by the spread of Ash Dieback disease.
“Its teams have surveyed its tree estate and have supplied us with detailed information about all the trees which need to be dealt with within Wards one and four.
“The Merlo Roto can reach up from ground level to remove large parts of the affected tree, and bring them to operators who can further dismantle them for removal and disposal.”
The firm’s investment in the Merlo Roto means that work that was previously done laboriously – and often dangerously by hand – can now be carried out more safely and in a fraction of the time.
The machine can lift nearly 5,000 kilos in one grab and is ideal for working in confined or awkward spaces, or difficult-to-reach areas such as back gardens.
Complete Weed Control posted a record £2.75 million in sales last year, up from £2 million the previous year.
Growth has been boosted by new clients as well as its tree services division, which now contributes equally with the weed suppressant and grass cutting services it supplies.
