Family, Food, Farming

Food & drink DIY

Power up! We catch up with our friends at Ryobi, which has kindly donated power tools to Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park for essential work.

Tell us a bit about the history of Ryobi and the products you offer…

Ryobi is an innovative cordless battery brand. Our investment in cordless technology means we are the no.1 cordless brand worldwide. Building towards a more sustainable future, the ‘plug and play’ nature of our power and garden tools means they’re better for the environment, easy to use and provide superior value for money – as the same battery can be interchanged across all tools, so repeated battery and charger investment isn’t necessary.

Our market-leading 18V ONE+ system, which currently has over 200 tools which fit the same battery, can benefit customers from all walks of life as we have tools for DIY, gardening, automotive, crafting, cleaning, outdoor adventure and more. The ONE+ system is over 25 years old, and the system will never change, so a battery of 25 years ago will work in a tool of today and vice versa, again providing superior value for money for our loyal customers!

You recently donated equipment to Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park – how did that come about?

Our partnership with Jimmy’s Farm is now over three years old! They initially reached out as they recognised that the range of tools we offer could help maintain the entire farm. We were more than willing to donate tools to help with the upkeep of the farm and it’s been great to see how the farm has grown over the years and the increase in the diverse nature of animals.

What has the collaboration involved and why did you want to help?

Initially, it was just donating the right tools for the job in and around the farm. [General Manager] Stevie and the team are doing a great job of nurturing the animals and it’s nice to see the tools being put to good use around the farm. However, last year we went one step further and provided a financial contribution to the build of their brand-new monkey enclosure – which if you’ve had a chance to visit and seen the cheeky monkeys in their new habitat, I think you’ll agree was a wise donation. Why wouldn’t you want to nurture nature? Also, the Ryobi team are animal lovers!

You are innovators in cordless battery – what’s hot in the world of power tools and what are some of your most popular products?

Well, the question alludes to what’s hot, and that’s cordless battery power tools. We see market data and every year cordless power tools are growing, and traditional corded (AC) and petrol-powered products are reducing in market share. The convenience of cordless, the affordability and the much-improved power output due to battery technology innovation means they’ve become accessible to all.

It’s hard to define what’s our most popular product as our range is so diverse. We have successes across the range; this year our 18V ONE+ cordless patio cleaner which tackles moss between paving slabs has performed extremely well,

www.jimmysfarm.com