It’s the firm that never lets the grass grow under its feet – and now Husqvarna UK’s engineering excellence has been recognised with a Make Your Mark award.
Its evolution from manufacturing Flymo hover mowers to switching to more complex robotic mowers has been outstanding.
And it’s now the 2025 Engineering and Manufacturing title holder thanks in particular to three new products – the P22 for professional open spaces such as golf courses and sports pitches, the P21NA for the American market and the P25 EPOS with boundary wire-free technology.
The award was collected by new products engineer Simon Thompson – to Simon’s surprise as much as anyone’s because he thought colleague Kris Childs, who presented the Innovation Award, had been assigned the task should Husqvarna win.
But once the shock of being “stitched up” had subsided, Simon paid tribute to the various teams at Husqvarna for fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.
“It’s a really good place to work,” said Simon, who received the award from Chris Boughen, volume operations manager at category sponsor GEM Partnership.
“I’ve worked in a few sectors and coming to Husqvarna three and a half years ago was a real shock but in a positive way. Everyone’s so helpful – a genuine team, working together towards the same goal.”
Referring to the latest products, Simon said: “One of the products mentioned, the North American project, was the first major project I worked on.
“Designing one product suitable for everywhere from northern Canada to southern US was certainly a challenge, but it’s very satisfying when it’s done.
“It’s a relief after two or three years working on something to finally see it palletised and ready to go out the door.”
And with work ongoing to constantly push the boundaries of robotic lawn care, it’s a feeling that’s likely to be repeated in the not-too-distant future, with new robotics constantly being designed and developed in Sweden and industrialised in Aycliffe.
Simon added: “There’s plenty of things that we’re working on. We’ve already moved on to new projects and have taken that next step again.
“It’s constant evolution, really – we’re always looking to develop the next generation of mowers.”
Manufacturing director Caraline Robinson said: “Every year we’ve got new products coming out and we have a fantastic team developing those products.
“We’re now branching out into professional products rather than just residential, so things like golf courses, football pitches and other larger recreational spaces.
“We’re always looking to go forward.”
Husqvarna edged Durham Precision Engineering and Senstronics to the Engineering and Manufacturing trophy at the 2025 Make Your Mark Awards, held at Hardwick Hall in front of 300 guests.