Around 25 members of the Norwegian Greenkeepers’ Association visited Ransomes Jacobsen’s European headquarter in Ipswich as part of their annual conference.

The association (NGA) holds its conference annually, taking the event to countries across Europe, with this year’s main venue being the Lingfield Park Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Surrey.

Ransomes Jacobsen sales director Rupert Price welcomed the party to Ipswich which, following a brief introductory company presentation, saw the delegates walk the short distance to “the RJ National”, Ransomes Jacobsen’s own three-hole golf course, where they spoke to head greenkeeper James Gotts about its construction and his maintenance regimes.

They then split into two groups for a tour of the manufacturing facility to see the range of commercial mowers being made. The tour was followed by lunch and a presentation by product manager Lee Kristensen on the future of mowing equipment and hybrid power sources.

The visitors then boarded a coach to nearby Trinity Park, the home of the Suffolk Agricultural Association, for a series of product demonstrations on some of the latest Jacobsen equipment, including an opportunity to drive and mow with some of the machines.

Henrik Lund, Ransomes Jacobsen’s regional sales manager for Scandinavia, said: “The NGA contacted us to see if we could accommodate them during their conference week and we were delighted to oblige.

“From the feedback received they had a thoroughly enjoyable time with us and it proved to be an excellent learning experience.”

Ransomes Jacobsen, which is part of multi-industry group Textron Inc, based in the United States, is a member of the EADT/EDP Top 100 listing of the 100 largest companies based in Suffolk and Norfolk.