History

Established in 1984, Globe Organic Services sprang from the lifelong interest of its Managing Director, Tom Raitt, in recycling. Due, no doubt, to his Scottish ancestry and upbringing, the idea of avoiding waste appealed to him – and still does.

When he took early retirement from his job as a quality assurance engineer he turned his attention to his half-acre garden and began to look for a shredder that would be big enough to cope with all the organic waste he wanted to recycle for compost. He found plenty of small electric shredders but they were all inadequate for the job and had almost decided to make one for himself when he saw an advertisement for a petrol-engined shredder/chipper, made by the Kemp Company in the USA, which seemed just what he was looking for.

He learned that a few Kemp machines had been exported to England and was able to buy one. He liked what he saw and decided that there was probably enough business in them to help him while away a few idle hours of his retirement.

He formed the company that is now Globe Organic Services Limited and began importing Kemp shredders and making a market for them in the United Kingdom by advertising in gardening magazines and exhibiting at horticultural shows. A start was also made in marketing the ComposTumbler, another of Kemp’s products, because it fitted in so well with the shredder/chipper, the two making an ideal composting combination. A little later, the Smart Cart was added to the range because its top quality and excellence of design perfectly complemented the other products.

In 1992, the enforcement of European Community rules on machine safety made it necessary to cease importation of Kemp shredder/chippers. Rather than wind up what had by that time become rather more than a retirement hobby, Tom decided to manufacture a replacement machine in the UK. Certain changes were required to conform to the EC regulations and the opportunity was taken at the same time to introduce some others to improve the performance of the machine. The result was the Globe Garden Master, equipped first with a 5- or 6-hp engine and later with the choice of 8- and 9-hp as well.

The need for a machine with a larger capacity soon led to the development of the 13-hp Forester and the story progressed in 1999 to the introduction of a machine based on the Forester specification but without the petrol engine. Instead, it was mounted on the 3-point hitch of a compact tractor and driven from its power take-off shaft.

Globe later secured a dealership from Kubota, the largest manufacturer of compact tractors and small diesel engines in the world, enable it to offer tractors to drive the Forester PTO shredder/chipper, plus the full range of Kubota garden machinery. The product range continues to expand and 2003 saw the introduction of the Brushmaster at the entry level to shredder chippers and the Greenline at the top end. No doubt 2004 will see further additions.

Globe sees the market for its products principally in individually-owned garden of half-an-acre and over. It concentrates on that market but is increasingly supplying to landscapers, garden designers, local authorities and gardens open to the public. After 19 years, it remains a small company selling direct to the end-user, delivering all over the UK by its own vehicles whenever possible and concentrating on personal contact with customers. As the interest in organic gardening grows, and the need for efficient recycling of waste continues, the demand for the company’s products continues to grow. Tom now has plans for his second retirement firmly in place. The succession is assured but he will no doubt retain his interest in the company for some time to come, whilst leaving the actual work to all the others.