Nineteen Kubota RTVs are helping to keep Glasgow safe, clean and operational following a sizeable investment by Glasgow City Council in October 2025.
Supplied by dealer Hamilton Ross, the RTV-X1110s are fitted with rear-mounted gritters for winter work on pavements and cycleways. They join Kubota ZD zero-turn mowers and mini excavators in the fleet that handles maintenance across the city centre all year round.
Close to 1,700 machines support more than 600 staff working in parks, streets, schools and public spaces, where performance and reliability are essential. Plant Workshop Manager Jack Aikman has more than 40 years of mechanical experience and knows whether a machine is up to the job.
“There aren’t many makes of equipment I haven’t worked on and when it comes to build quality, Kubota is right up there,” he says. “As soon as we put the RTVs on the ramp you could just tell they were built to last which, given the strenuous demands placed on the vehicles, is crucial.”
Aikman worked closely with the Hamilton Ross Group team, particularly Thomas Connor, to replace the ageing fleet used for gritting. “What we’ve got is a comfortable vehicle, that’s smooth and easy to drive, with a good payload and compatible, high-capacity gritter to get maximum time in the field before the need to head back to base to refill,” he says. “We also specified the RTVs with a front-mounted plough so we really are equipped to deal with all weather conditions.”
The RTVs will also work outside the winter months. “These will become a real workhorse, whether that’s for spraying, towing other pieces of equipment or simply loading and moving soil, manure or other materials around the city,” says Aikman.
The RTVs have since been joined by two Kubota ZD zero-turn mowers for cutting the city’s parks. “Compared to years gone by, the grass we’re having to cut is often longer and denser meaning you need something durable here to get through the task at hand,” he says. “The Kubota decks seem to take everything in their stride.” Two Kubota excavators have also been bought for the city’s crematoriums and cemeteries, where they will work alongside the RTVs moving materials.
Aftersales support is a key part of the relationship. “In this line of work, things get broken: indicators get caught, windows break. It’s just the nature of the beast,” says Aikman. “The back-up we receive is as good as it gets. Running such a large operation, we simply can’t afford to have equipment off the road. Any parts we need are either in stock or available in a matter of days and it truly feels like getting the machines up and running is as important to them as it is to us.”
That, he adds, is why the council’s partnership with Hamilton Ross Group “has thrived for close to three decades”.