Newton Aycliffe factory celebrates 60 years of Flymo lawnmowers

Flymos have been manufactured in Newton Aycliffe since the 1970s – and it continues to be a source of pride in the community.

Julie Blades, Flymo product manager, joked that she “bleeds orange” and revealed that she had become an undercover shopper to get customer feedback.

“We live and breathe the brand,” she said.

“Our blood is orange and I’m super proud to work for the brand.

“When I go to B&Q with my husband on a weekend I observe people looking at lawnmowers and exploring whether they pick up a Flymo.”

The first Flymo – the name is a combination of flying and mower – was actually blue but changed the colour after speaking to a range of consumers – and the famous orange brand was born in 1965.

The idea to combine a hovercraft with a lawnmower first came to a Swede, Karl Dahlman who thought: “Why push a lawnmower, when you can make it fly?”

Dahlman made his vision of a flying lawnmower a reality, and by the 1970s, the production of these innovative, floating lawnmowers found its home in Newton Aycliffe Business Park, where it stayed ever since.

From then on, the factory has been the beating heart of the brand, producing countless machines – from the first electric model launched in 1970 to the game-changing grass-collecting version in 1981. The latter even earned the prestigious Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.

Love Actually’s Bill Nighy, Peter Sallis from Wallace & Gromit and Coronation Street’s Ken Morley are among a host of stars to appear in Flymo’s famous adverts over the past 60 years.

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Darren Feasey, senior director for product strategy for Flymo said: “The colour is iconic.

“My kids recognise the brand every time they see an orange lawnmower.

“Flymo has been passed down generations – my dad and grandad had one, and over the years Flymo has stayed in the family.”