Crown Equipment, one of the world’s leading forklift manufacturers, now brings modern office technology and comfort to its lift truck seats with its innovative FlexSeat™. Recently introduced on the new Crown C-5 internal combustion forklift, the Crown FlexSeat’s patented design offers superior comfort through an exclusive suspension, responsive back flex and wider seat cushion, resulting in a more alert, efficient and comfortable operator.

During the development of the Crown C-5 forklift, company engineers studied a range of lift truck seats to uncover drivability challenges and conducted numerous ergonomic tests to identify pressure points and areas of discomfort for operators. With the knowledge gained from this research, the engineers designed and built the patented FlexSeat, the widest, most durable and flexible seat on the market. The seat is now standard on the SC 4500, FC 4500 and C-5 Series trucks.

Crown's FlexSeat provides a number of benefits, which are listed below.

• Inherent suspension that offers a smooth ride without adjustments.
• Back flex that channels jolts and vibrations away from operator.
• Seats that are 10-17 percent wider than competitor’s seats to offer maximize comfort.
• Replaceable components that lower the cost when a seat cover wears out so there is no need to replace entire seat.
• Shoulder cutouts that improve comfort when driving in reverse.

“The FlexSeat is another example of how Crown is committed to operator comfort and safety. Because we view the operator’s compartment as their work space, we set out from the beginning to basically develop a technologically advanced office chair,” said Product Manager Andrew Smith. “Most competitor seats have high pressure points resulting in shocks moving through the body of the operator the entire day. Crown has raised the bar on comfort by utilizing innovations in materials and design to reduce those pressure points.” 

The innovations referred to by Smith include:

• a polymer spring that allows Crown's FlexSeat to flex backward, channeling jolts and vibrations away from the operator and into the shock-absorbing seat. The polymer spring also provides postural relief throughout a work shift;
• a wide bar on the front of the seat that allows for easy adjustment of the seat from front to back; and
• a layer of Dymetrol® mesh that eliminates pressure points found on conventional “foam-on-steel” seats and does not “bottom out.” This flexible mesh is located beneath an easily replaceable industrial cover and two inches of high-density foam.

About Crown Equipment Corporation
Crown is one of the world’s largest lift truck manufacturers. Crown’s award-winning line of lift trucks maintains a reputation for exceptional product design, engineering, and manufacturing. From the smallest hand pallet truck to the highest lifting turret truck, Crown seeks to provide users with safe, efficient an ergonomic lift trucks that lower total cost of ownership and maximize uptime. Headquartered in New Bremen, Ohio, Crown manufactures lift trucks that are sold throughout the world.