Big News for 2025

February 2025

In this newsletter, we have a new chair to show you, a few changes to our team, and news of some wonderful projects we've been working on over the past few months. 

Our Latest Chair Design

We're starting off this newsletter with a newcomer to our product list: E-Form. Suitable for retractable platforms, E-Form was developed in response to feedback from some of our clients. They asked us for a high specification chair design in which each chair is individually mounted to the retractable platforms.  

We've been hard at work together with the design team at our parent company Kotobuki Seating in Tokyo, and we think you'll love what we've come up with! With sharp design, supportive contouring, and clever, space efficient shared armrests, it's a high specification seat perfect for theatres and multipurpose facilities. 

Find out more here!

Team News

Our aftersales business is absolutely key to our business, looking after our customers throughout the life of their products.  It's a complicated operation though, with hundreds of small orders coming in every year.

We're delighted to announce that Gavin Ward is moving from our sales team to take up the position of Aftersales Manager. With his deep understanding of our business and customers, and many years' previous experience in aftersales roles prior to joining Audience Systems, Gavin is the ideal appointment to make sure our customers get the very best from their seating. 

Replacing Gavin in our sales team is Callum Elkins, who also joins us with many years of experience in sales, aftersales and operations. Callum will be managing sales in the South of the UK.

From March, Ben Carfield will be managing sales across Wales, Central England and East Anglia, as Emily Langdown will be taking Maternity Leave. Ben started in our Engineering team and has spent the past year getting to know our customers in our projects department. 

We are sure you will join us in wishing both Gavin, Callum and Ben every success in their new roles, and wishing Emily all the best with her new arrival!

Pictured from top: Gavin, Callum and Ben.

The 30 Year Cycle 

We do tell our customers that our seats can last for 30 years, and here's the proof! We've just replaced the seating at the Paul McCartney Auditorium at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts. The previous seating was installed by us in 1995. It's a great example of how long our product lasts, with a customer that has stuck by us for their new seats. Let's hope these seats last another 30 years or longer!

UK News

Our projects in the UK are nothing if not varied! Just through the door is a major order from Northern Ireland's biggest entertainment venue, the SSE Arena in Belfast, where we'll be replacing an impressive 15-row bank of retractable platforms. 

In contrast, we have also just won a project in the most remote part of the UK, the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Cnoc Soilleir will be a centre for music, dance and Gaelic culture serving the island's community of just 1800 people. We're supplying a mix of retractable and stacking chairs for the centre's main auditorium. 

New Installations in Brazil

We've been enjoying success in Brazil with our dealer AET. Among the installations we've completed are this 21 row travelling retractable unit at the beautiful Estação das Artes, home of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. 

In Rio de Janeiro meanwhile, we've installed bench seating on retractable platforms and K-Roll at the fashionable arts venue Armazém da Utopia. 

With another large 450 seat project installed at the Pan American School of Bahia, and more interesting prospects in the pipeline, it's been a fantastic year for Audience Systems in Brazil.