Staff at Ipswich-based turf maintenance machinery maker Ransomes Jacobsen have marked the end of an era, with the last Ransomes Commander mower having rolled off the production line.

The five-gang Commander model has been a stalwart of wide area cylinder mowing for local authorities and groundscare contractors since it was launched in 1994, since when it has undergone a series of upgrades and improvements.

It is now being replaced by a new model to be known as the MP495 in line with the wider Ransomes range, joining other models including the MP493 and MP653.

The last Commander unit, destined for a customer in France, includes a memorial plate in tribute to Tony Dunnage, a former Ransomes assembly technician who became known as “Mr Commander” in recognition of his contribution to production of the model, who died last year.

A short ceremony was held to mark the completion of the final machine, with operations director Simon Rainger giving an overview of its development, and the machine was then driven way accompanied by Gracie Fields’ popular Second World War song “Wish me luck as you wave me good-bye”.

A spokesman for Ransomes Jacobsen, which is a member of the EADT/EDP Top 100 listing of the 100 largest companies in Suffolk and Norfolk, said the send off was “a fitting tribute to the fine old lady of municipal mowing”.