Vikings Moved by Thorite Technology 

The world famous JORVIK Viking Centre is a ‘must-see' for visitors to the city of York and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the UK.Visitors aboard "time capsules" travel around a faithful reconstruction of York's Viking streets as they were 1000 years ago, experiencing the sounds, sights and smells of Viking life. 

Part of the attraction's success are the complex animatronic characters who populate the shops and houses of the re-created Viking settlement. These moving and talking Norse-men and women are all powered by compressors supplied by Thorite. 

Thorite has been associated with JORVIK Viking Centre for many years, supplying and installing the original HPC compressor in 2001. This machine has proved to be a real workhorse, clocking up 112,000 operating hours, which equates to 12½ years of continual running, but fears of costly future repairs led to Thorite being approached to recommend a modern, energy-efficient replacement. 

Thorite proposed the installation of two 4Kw HPC screw compressors controlled by a duty switchover mechanism to equally share working hours between the two. A condensate management unit was also installed to ensure any waste oil or water was removed from the compressed air supply and treated prior to disposal, as these contaminants can have harmful effects on the animatronics. 

Speaking of Thorite's contribution to the running of JORVIK Viking Centre Mark Shepherd, the Head of Technical Services said: 

"We have been delighted with Thorite's outstanding levels of service and unique pneumatics know-how, which has resulted in virtually zero downtime over the years. The new energy-efficient compressors will be of huge benefit, not only saving energy costs but also providing complete confidence that our visitors always have the best experience possible. Considering that we run all the systems for around 8-10 hours every day, it's vital that the machinery behind the scenes is up to the job, but Thorite really know their stuff."

Full details of the HPC model range and many other leading manufacturers of pneumatic equipment can be found on the Thorite website or by contacting any of Thorite's regional network of 10 Sales and Service Centres located throughout Yorkshire, Lancashire, the West Midlands and North East. 

ENDS 

Further Information: Ross Gowler

Thorite Marketing and Engineering Services Director

Tel: 01274 663471.

Email:ross.gowler@thorite.co.uk

Web:www.thorite.co.uk 

Note to Editors

A family owned business since its foundation in 1850, Thorite has grown to become theUK's largestdistributor of pneumatic products and process systems. From its head office in Bradford, which also houses the company's state of the art National Distribution Centre, showroom and trade sales centre, Thorite has expanded to create a regional network of pneumatics Sales and Service Centres in Blackburn, Bolton, Doncaster, Huddersfield, Leeds, Rochdale, Sheffield, North Shields and the West Midlands. 

Thorite, Thorite House, Laisterdyke, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 8BZ. 

About JORVIK Viking Centre

Located on the site of the famous Coppergate dig and welcoming over 17 million visitors during the last 30 years, visitors journey through the reconstruction of Viking-Age streets, as they would have been 1000 years ago. JORVIK Viking Centre also offers four exciting exhibitions and the chance to actually come face to face with a "Viking". 

www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk