Marshall Land Systems Acquires Assets of LifTow Ltd

Towbarless Aircraft Tugs to be Designed and Manufactured in Suffolk

Cambridge, 12th January 2012; LifTow, a leading supplier of electric aircraft tugs, has been acquired by Marshall Land Systems, part of the Cambridge based Marshall Group.

The LifTow range of electric tugs provides a towbarless solution to move aircraft.  LifTow removes the need for

different fittings for each aircraft type and removes the need for tow bars and the double articulation restrictions inherent in the design of such systems.  The LifTow Tugs also reduce the space needed for manoeuvre and storage making them highly suitable for operations in confined areas such as aircraft hangars, aircraft carriers or small heliports.

Design, development and production of the tugs will be moved to the company’s site at Mildenhall in Suffolk, where the expertise in vehicle engineering resides.

“Even in times of economic stress people still wish to travel by air which means that aircraft need to be moved on the ground.  The LifTow range of tugs is capable of moving most classes of aircraft without the need for different fittings and towbars. Our expertise in vehicle engineering will enable us to develop LifTow’s product range still further,” commented Peter Callaghan, Chief Executive of Marshall Land Systems.

The LifTow tugs are able to move aircraft of less than 10 tonnes to over 100 tonnes ramp weight, using a system to load and unload an aircraft’s nose wheel.  The tug can be operated by one person who has excellent all round visibility with controls ergonomically mounted on the panel in front of the operator’s seat.  The vehicle has a traction drive axle with regenerative breaking and an additional disc brake system for emergency breaking.

Depending on the requirement the tug can be fitted with additional equipment.

LifTow tugs are in service in many airports around the world including at Le Bourget, Paris – Pisa, Italy and Johannesburg Lanseria Airport, South Africa.

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