Trimax Mowing Systems recently revisited a council reserve in Papamoa to film promotional footage for the new Pegasus Series 5 wide-area roller rotary mower – nearly 20 years after using the same location to gather marketing material for the original Pegasus (now known as the Pegasus Series 1).
A Brief History of the Trimax Pegasus
Initial design work for the Trimax Pegasus S1 began in 2000 after founder and owner Bob Sievwright recognised an opportunity in wide area mowing applications for which the popular Trimax Stealth was too narrow. It was after some discussion with a Trimax dealer in the United Kingdom that the idea was introduced to attach three Trimax ProCuts to a central chassis to create a triple-deck mower.
Back in New Zealand, the research and development team at Trimax created the first Pegasus, complete with newly designed mowing decks attached to a chassis with linkages allowing each deck to follow contours independently. Pegasus was officially launched at the UK’s Saltex trade show in 2001.
Since then, Pegasus has set the benchmark globally for wide area mowing performance. The mower was responsible for helping Trimax get a foothold in the American market as early demonstrations showed that Pegasus delivered an exceptional cut and finish on warm season grasses. This discovery established the turf and sod farming industry as a key customer base in the United States and led to the foundation of Trimax’s permanent facility in the southeast.
New Zealand Local for 40 Years and Counting
Although Trimax Mowing Systems has expanded internationally throughout its 40+ years of operation, its global headquarters have always been based in Tauranga. From their facility on Maleme Street in Greerton, Trimax designs, manufactures, and distributes mowers both for export and for domestic use.
Consequently, when the original Pegasus was ready to be released to market, all its promotional materials were produced locally in New Zealand. The Trimax team relied on their experiences during Pegasus’ development to choose a location that would best showcase the mower’s abilities. That location was the reserve in Papamoa, commonly used by the local pony club.
Trimax Senior Design Engineer Keith Mabey was present for the original Pegasus S1 filming. “I can’t recall any other location that has made the Pegasus decks all articulate and move so independently,” he says. “I remember seeing all the yellow flowers and we all thought it would be a shame to mow them. I guess we thought it would look messy when we were done. But as we mowed, and the contours of the beautiful green grass were exposed, we just realised we were transforming it from one kind of beauty into another. When we were finished it looked fantastic!”
“I think we had a professional photographer out there as well,” says Bob Sievwright, Trimax owner and founder, who operated the tractor and mower for the original Pegasus S1 filming. “It was a long time ago, and we didn’t have the advantage of a drone in those days!”
These days Trimax not only has the advantage of a drone to capture aerial footage, but also employs full-time photographer and videographer staff to produce content supporting sales and servicing of Trimax mowers.
Caleb Graveson, a New Zealand-based Trimax sales representative, worked with the creative team to arrange the Papamoa reserve as the site for filming promotional materials for the Pegasus S5. “I’ve mown there before and found it a great landscape and even better backdrop. I knew this location would also help us tell the story of Trimax and the beautiful place we live in.”
Introducing the Pegasus Series 5
With the Pegasus S5, Trimax introduces its most recent round of major changes to the flagship mower since the previous series was released in 2016. Developments include a new chassis and outrigger arm design to increase strength and impact resistance without requiring the addition of large amounts of steel, reducing overall weight and resulting turf compaction.
New low-maintenance features are also incorporated into the Pegasus S5 design, including automatic belt tensioners to maintain optimum drive to the spindles without manual adjustment, and the new Trimax Titan roller bearing system which does not require greasing. Overall, there are zero daily maintenance requirements on the Pegasus S5, and the simplification of greasing requirements results in an 80% annual reduction in grease consumption.
The Trimax Pegasus S5 wide area rotary mower is available now in New Zealand and Australia, with plans to release to the UK and Europe later this year and the US in 2023.
