By Barbara Leech
Staff Columnist
NORTH BERWICK—
The latest product to come out of Hussey Seating Company, a family-owned business since 1835, is part of recent renovation projects at two major sports arenas in Kansas City.
The Quattro Extreme Series stadium seat, which combines the comfort of an upholstered indoor chair with the durable weather-resistance of an outdoor seat, has been installed for the first time at Kauffman Stadium (home of the Kansas City Royals) and Arrowhead Stadium (home of the Kansas City Chiefs).
“We got the contract about five months ago to renovate the VIP sections of these arenas with our latest product,” Tim Hussey, sixth generation, President and CEO of North Berwick’s Hussey Seating Company said. “We did the seating there about ten years ago, and that was the largest contract in our company’s history at that time, so it was exciting to be called back. And it’s always nice to see a new product going in.”
Hussey’s high quality range of spectator seating includes fixed plastic and upholstered chairs, telescopic platforms, and telescopic gym seating traditionally known as bleachers.
According to Hussey, 51, the Quattro Extreme seating stands up to the elements with everything from rust-proof stanchions and marine-grade fabric to the use of Gore-Tex thread favored by the sailing industry.
The company, started by William Hussey 174 years ago, began with the invention of a new type of plow designed to handle tough New England soil. The company thrived for 60 years as the Hussey Plow Company, but following a fire that destroyed the facility, the Hussey family decided it was time to rebuild and evolve with the times. New product inventions, including seating, were born. Since then, the Hussey name has become a world leader in developing and manufacturing seating solutions for sports arenas and schools around the globe.
A total of 1,500 of the new Quattro Extreme upholstered chairs, which took about one year to develop, were recently installed in Kauffman Stadium and 2,000 of the chairs went into Arrowhead Stadium’s renovations. According to Hussey, these were relatively small contracts and were among the 1,200 to 2,000 contracts the company handles annually, but they represented the first placement of a new product, which he hopes will go far.
“It is exciting to see a new product out there in a major arena… it is good publicity for our company and I believe it is the best product in the industry,” Hussey said. “We have found that even in this recession, renovation projects such as this keep us moving ahead and successful.”
For many schools and sports arenas, the present economy is bringing about more renovations and fewer costly new construction projects. This, according to Hussey, has kept his business going and supports the marketing of the new seating product as a means of making VIP section seating better and keeping fans happy.
“Many sports and entertainment venues, including schools, have sections of club or suite seating for season-ticket holders and other special guests,” said Hussey. “The Quattro Extreme, is ideal for this purpose because it can differentiate that area from the rest of the stadium and justify a higher price of admission.”
The new Quattro chair is presently being installed as part of a 40,000 seat project, Estadio Chivas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Chivas), which is a new soccer and multi-use arena being built in Mexico. Hussey said that arena is using the new product for the majority of their 45,000 seating.
“They wanted a top of the line arena and the comfort and durability that these seats provide,” he said. “Everyone is looking to stay competitive and seating is an important part to fans.”
But for Hussey Seating, which employs 185 people at their facility tucked away on Dyer Street, it is on to the next project, which most likely will be a school renovation or small arena.
“About 75 percent of our work is K-12 schools,” he said. “Right now work means reseating a 40 year old arena in San Diego with 1,000 telescopic seats. We have managed to keep up with the times and our industry and thankfully remain very busy.”
Hussey says his company is making plans for a big celebration for next year, their 175th anniversary. For more information about the company visit online www.husseyseating.com.
Staff Columnist
NORTH BERWICK—
The latest product to come out of Hussey Seating Company, a family-owned business since 1835, is part of recent renovation projects at two major sports arenas in Kansas City.
The Quattro Extreme Series stadium seat, which combines the comfort of an upholstered indoor chair with the durable weather-resistance of an outdoor seat, has been installed for the first time at Kauffman Stadium (home of the Kansas City Royals) and Arrowhead Stadium (home of the Kansas City Chiefs).
“We got the contract about five months ago to renovate the VIP sections of these arenas with our latest product,” Tim Hussey, sixth generation, President and CEO of North Berwick’s Hussey Seating Company said. “We did the seating there about ten years ago, and that was the largest contract in our company’s history at that time, so it was exciting to be called back. And it’s always nice to see a new product going in.”
Hussey’s high quality range of spectator seating includes fixed plastic and upholstered chairs, telescopic platforms, and telescopic gym seating traditionally known as bleachers.
According to Hussey, 51, the Quattro Extreme seating stands up to the elements with everything from rust-proof stanchions and marine-grade fabric to the use of Gore-Tex thread favored by the sailing industry.
The company, started by William Hussey 174 years ago, began with the invention of a new type of plow designed to handle tough New England soil. The company thrived for 60 years as the Hussey Plow Company, but following a fire that destroyed the facility, the Hussey family decided it was time to rebuild and evolve with the times. New product inventions, including seating, were born. Since then, the Hussey name has become a world leader in developing and manufacturing seating solutions for sports arenas and schools around the globe.
A total of 1,500 of the new Quattro Extreme upholstered chairs, which took about one year to develop, were recently installed in Kauffman Stadium and 2,000 of the chairs went into Arrowhead Stadium’s renovations. According to Hussey, these were relatively small contracts and were among the 1,200 to 2,000 contracts the company handles annually, but they represented the first placement of a new product, which he hopes will go far.
“It is exciting to see a new product out there in a major arena… it is good publicity for our company and I believe it is the best product in the industry,” Hussey said. “We have found that even in this recession, renovation projects such as this keep us moving ahead and successful.”
For many schools and sports arenas, the present economy is bringing about more renovations and fewer costly new construction projects. This, according to Hussey, has kept his business going and supports the marketing of the new seating product as a means of making VIP section seating better and keeping fans happy.
“Many sports and entertainment venues, including schools, have sections of club or suite seating for season-ticket holders and other special guests,” said Hussey. “The Quattro Extreme, is ideal for this purpose because it can differentiate that area from the rest of the stadium and justify a higher price of admission.”
The new Quattro chair is presently being installed as part of a 40,000 seat project, Estadio Chivas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Chivas), which is a new soccer and multi-use arena being built in Mexico. Hussey said that arena is using the new product for the majority of their 45,000 seating.
“They wanted a top of the line arena and the comfort and durability that these seats provide,” he said. “Everyone is looking to stay competitive and seating is an important part to fans.”
But for Hussey Seating, which employs 185 people at their facility tucked away on Dyer Street, it is on to the next project, which most likely will be a school renovation or small arena.
“About 75 percent of our work is K-12 schools,” he said. “Right now work means reseating a 40 year old arena in San Diego with 1,000 telescopic seats. We have managed to keep up with the times and our industry and thankfully remain very busy.”
Hussey says his company is making plans for a big celebration for next year, their 175th anniversary. For more information about the company visit online www.husseyseating.com.
