JULY 2009

OMK launches T500, a new mass transit seating system

Back in the early Eighties, OMK designed the original seats for Gatwick Airport, a line of seating called Transit. Looking to create its successor, Rodney Kinsman designed the T500 to minimise the number of components and create a minimal appearance better suited to today's trends.

The beam is made from extruded aluminium, which connects to a single wishbone-like bracket that supports two identical seat and back panels. The final component is, of course, its legs. The seat and back panels are available in sheet steel with a new hard-wearing powder coating or an injection-moulded, self-skinned polyurethane in any RAL colour.

This simplified concept not only reduces manufacturing costs, but also offers advantages for airport maintenance when cleaning and changing the panels. The entire unit may be assembled in minutes using a single tool. The aluminium beam allows the panels to be positioned as a continuous bench of any length, or as individual spaced seats with intermediary arms or tables. With comfort in mind, Kinsman rolled the top edges of the back and the front of the seat panels. This helps to eliminate accidental impact injuries as passengers struggle with luggage or jet lag as they sling an arm over the chair's back in attempts to snooze, perhaps after a flight is cancelled.

JANUARY 2009

OMK continues to supply the new Hamburg Airport and extension

We have supplied seating for the new Hamburg Airport extension, which opened in December 2008.

This is part of an ongoing program over the last ten years where we have supplied a total of 5,000 seats. The new extension incorporates Trax MKIII using injection molded polyurethane seat panels. This demonstrates the high performance, longevity and timeless quality of the Trax seating system.

The new Hamburg Airport extension has been dubbed northern Germany's gateway to the world. With 65 different airlines flying to more than 130 destinations worldwide, it is now the fifth largest of Germany's 24 international airports.

SEPTEMBER 2008

Brussels Airport to upgrade existing Trax seats

Brussels Airport are upgrading their existing Trax seats to incorporate molded polyurethane panels to the original seats installed in 1996.

The Airport comments that the seats have performed extremely well over the last 12 years and are delighted that the latest development of the product could be incorporated on the original frames without modification. This demonstrates the companies policy of interchangeability of components adding to the longevity of the product, which is structurally guaranteed for 25 years use.

AUGUST 2008

OMK wins two major new airport terminals in Cyprus, Pathos and Larnaca

Pathos and Larnaca have been won against an international tender. Pathos terminal has been executed this month on time and in budget and Larnaca will be installed in early 2009.

Trax mk II seats were chosen by ADPi after rigorous testing, the product out performed all other contenders for quality and durability. Considered a crucial factor by ADPi as they will be operating the airport over the next 25 years. This brings or total number of international projects to over 145.

JULY 2008

Eurostar on TRAX with OMK's most luxurious seating range yet!

The stunning new Eurostar Terminal at St Pancras Station has the luxurious TRAX high back seating manufactured in coach hide leather in its public seating areas.

OMK worked closely with the architects Land Design Studio Limited to develop a customized version of their award-winning seating system which was originally designed and developed for Intercity Rail.

OMK were chosen by Eurostar to provide a distinctively up-market specification seat with one major criteria, that it had to have an aura of "Britishness" about it and the essential quality of being durable together with being elegant on the eye. The TRAX system, which has been developed for passenger terminals and public seating requirements around the world was constructed with a high back offering full body support and covered in saddled stitched coach hide. For OMK this contract is very prestigious as the company's founder Rodney Kinsman comments, 'as this is the new gateway to Europe we were proud to contribute to the design process and recommend the use of coach hide, in order that with long term use the material would create a patina evocative of the era of custom made travel trunks'.

The TRAX system has also been installed in the intermediary Eurostar terminal at Ebbsfleet.