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Once again Nationwide was, quite literally, behind much of the world's TV coverage of the last European golf Open Championship series. The company provided the powered access that ensured that devotees of golf enjoyed every drive, chip and putt, whatever the lie of the ground or however challenging the course obstacles.
The company, Britain's leading powered access rental business, provided a number of its Skylift truck-mounts for no fewer than 19 of the events, providing the filming platforms for Opens as far a field as Sweden and Switzerland, Paris and Scotland. Camera cages were fitted to the truck-mounts' platforms, which were also used to house the telecommunications equipment that networked all of the camera operators on the course.
Truck-mounts were chosen for several reasons. They can be moved quickly around the course to enable the filming director to ensure that his camera crews cover the right players and shots. They can also, thanks to their articulated and telescopic booms, provide precisely the desired camera angle. Truck-mounts also offer the elevation that is essential for filming the in-flight fairway shots, plus they are highly manoeuvrable yet stable on soft ground. A number of machines in the Nationwide Skylift fleet are all-terrain, four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Transworld International Productions, one of the world's premier sporting event production companies, chose Nationwide as it is the only powered access rental company with the fleet - currently around 6,000 machines - the logistics skill and the international experience that could be relied upon. The filming of major sporting events is recognised as being one of television's most harrowing challenges; there is no opportunity to repeat the winning putt on the 18th green, so a high premium is placed on supplier and equipment reliability.
Different specification machines were used throughout the series, depending on the topography of the course. Typically each event required two or three truck-mounts with the most popular models offering 44-metre, 50-metre and 55-metre working heights. All feature controls that are located on the work platform, enabling the film crew and the production team to be in complete and immediate control of the camera angles.
Such is the growing popularity of Skylift truck-mounts that Nationwide has dedicated Master Skylift depots in Glasgow, Coventry, Manchester, London, Leeds and Cardiff. These depots are staffed by experts who can offer guidance on selecting the most suitable machine, arrange a free site survey and assist with any traffic management or local authority approvals that may be necessary. Advice is also available from any of the 50 Nationwide powered access depots.
Nationwide is part of the publicly-quoted Lavendon Group Plc and is headquartered in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. The Group is European market leader in the powered access rental market, trading under the name Zooom in Germany, France, Spain and Austria. Full details on the Nationwide offering of booms, scissor lifts and truck mounted units can be found at www.nationwideaccess.com.
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