World’s first dividing retractable football pitch at Tottenham Hotspur, designed and built by SCX Special Projects

Sheffield-based SCX Special Projects, a provider of bespoke engineered solutions, to complex mechanical handling and lifting challenges for customers in the nuclear, defence, aviation and architecture sectors, has acquired Denley Hydraulics Ltd.

SCX is well known for designing and constructing the retractable roofs at Wimbledon and is heavily involved in building and supporting complex mechanical handling solutions, for the UK nuclear decommissioning programme. In the aviation sector, SCX has solved challenges in the lifting and movement of complex engine and airframe structures for Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Bombardier.

Denley Hydraulics which has a facility in Heckmondwike, has over 50 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of bespoke electro-hydraulic solutions across a diverse range of industry sectors.

Working in collaboration with Denley, SCX designed and installed the world’s first dividing retractable football pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur FC stadium in London.

In under 25min, the 9,000-tonne football pitch splits into three sections and moves into a storage area beneath the South Stand to reveal a full NFL American football field.

SCX executive chairman Steve Henning said: “During our collaboration with Denley Hydraulics on the Tottenham Hotspur retractable pitch project, we were very impressed by the company’s quality and capabilities, as well as the skills and experience of its team. It has a strong presence in the nuclear, renewable energy, oil and gas, flood defence and bridge sectors.”

Jon Nock, Denley Hydraulics managing director, said: “As hydraulics are a key element in many SCX projects, a closer collaboration made great sense for both businesses.”

Mr Henning concluded: “Bringing both businesses together, within the SCX group of businesses, will enable SCX and Denley to offer their customers a complete hydraulic, mechanical and electrical, control and instrumentation solution to complex handling and lifting challenges.”