The first of our brand new “air hover” solutions for moving retractable seating units has just been successfully installed at the University of Northumbria’s arena.

While hydraulic trucks are the simplest solution for moving a retractable seating system, air hover systems do have some advantages. Firstly, less people may be required to move the seating system, taking less load – an important consideration from a health and safety perspective. Secondly, for venues like Northumbria with its sports floor, there’s less need for floor reinforcement – while the area where the seating is actually used would probably still need strengthening, the area over which the seating unit will travel can be standard sports floor. However, air hover systems need an extremely even, almost millpond-like floor, so they won’t be suitable for every venue.

The particular solution deployed at Northumbria uses a centrally located compressor. Operators simply plug the air hover trucks into air lines located in the hall. This particular system is cost effective, simple for operators to use, and, as the compressor is located elsewhere, far quieter than systems where the compressor is located on a truck.

Based on an adaptation of our existing hydraulic truck, the new air hover system can be supplied as a “retrofit” to existing, hydraulically moved systems at a competitive price – as there’s no need to adapt the telescopic platforms themselves. Please contact our Service and Spares department to discuss feasibility and organise a quotation.

Air Hover System moves retractable seating unit at Northumbria University