One of Scotland’s leading weed control, ground maintenance and tree management specialists has experienced stellar growth in its latest financial year with sales up by more than a third, while also investing heavily in state-of-the-art new plant and equipment.

Complete Weed Control, which now covers the greater part of Scotland from its newly acquired base in Larkhall, Lanarkshire, has posted a record £2.75 million to May 31, up from £2 million last year.

Growth has been boosted by new client acquisition as well as its tree services division, which now contributes equally with the longer-established weed suppressant and grass cutting services it supplies to mostly public sector organisations.

The company which employees 19 full time employees, has ploughed £420,000 out of existing resources into new machinery assets over the year, including £240,000 on a Merlo Roto 50.26s with GMT 050 TTC grapple saw tree removal machine, one of only a few of its kind in Scotland.

Keith Gallacher, director of Complete Weed Control operations in Scotland, said: “It has been a considerable achievement to increase sales by this figure at a time when local authority and public sector budgets are tightening.

We will be pleased if we can maintain this level over the coming year in what is becoming a significantly resource-restrained financial environment, but by continually investing we are ensuring that our offering remains not only relevant to clients but attractive.”

He added: “I expect that the investment strategy of the past year will continue to bring dividends and will help to provide high quality and dependable employment for our people throughout the seasons.”

Complete Weed Control moved from its original base in Carluke, Lanarkshire, to its new 45,000 sq ft HQ in Larkhall to accommodate its ongoing expansion. As well as the new Merlo machine, it has moved from Massey Ferguson tractors to JCB Fastracs, the fastest production tractors in the world.

It is now an active partner with South Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Falkirk Councils and has just won a three-year contract with Stirling Council. It works closely with BEAR and Amey, the companies charged by Transport Scotland with the maintenance of the country’s roads.

Since inception, the company has differentiated itself by investing heavily in the latest technology, with the twin aims of achieving maximum efficiency and maintaining the highest possible health and safety standards for its continually-expanding workforce.

A large part of its operation is roadside vegetation cutting, for which its uses tractors with side-arm mounted mowers, as well as spring-loaded barrier mowers which can reach over roadside barriers and reduce the need for manual strimming.