INTRODUCTION TO THE COACH
Mat Storage Units
Mat Hoist ® 1000 Mat Hoist ® 500
Ten year Warranty Five Year Warranty
Stores up to two 45' X 45' mats Stores up to one 45' x 45' mat
Coach
The new NGE, INC. WEBSITE has been created to provide you with decision making information about our Mat Hoist® products. It is our educational effort to briefly present our history, our quality, benefits of the Mat Hoist® as well as somewhat compare our products with the “opponents”. The NGE Mat Hoist® benefits your program and the school in multiple ways as is entailed within this document.
Prolongs Mat Life
The Mat Hoist® ceiling or wall storage system in the gymnasium replaces the typical situation of the wrestlers hand carrying the mats to and from the gymnasium. This “normal” situation varies with each school, but those of us involved with this carrying scenario are aware it may involve carrying mats through the cold, over rails, up/down bleachers, through halls, around tight corners, and through narrow doors. All too frequently damage to the mat results, but worse is the possibility of liability type injuries to the carriers.
Mats stored on floor space are usually occupying space architecturally designed for another use. Floor storage frequently results in damage, especially if it is an attractive nuisance when students have frequent access to it. Obviously, the ideal is to have a competition mat stored in a Mat Hoist® system suspended from the ceiling steel or a wall of the gymnasium. Set-up time may involve five minutes with the simple turn of the key instead of perhaps forty-five minutes of hand carrying mats. Mat damage from carrying is eliminated, and more importantly no liability exists due to injuries derived from carrying heavy mats. A side effect may exist in that basketball practice is not interrupted as with hand carrying.
The Mat Hoist® has operated trouble free for over thirty years. Safety has never been a factor with our NGE Mat Hoist® systems. The original design was safety tested to 17,500 pounds --- far exceeding the weight of one or two mats. This test included all items—the frame, drive mechanism, load bar and cables, as well as clamps, bolts, and nuts by which the unit is suspended.
Obviously, we are addressing the ideal situation with the Mat Hoist® and a competition mat in the gymnasium. Realistically, one may still be confronted with using a practice mat for competition. It is still a tremendous economic savings as illustrated in the following chart to store practice mats in our Mat Hoist® regardless of the suspension area.
Cost Factors, Prorated Savings
We are aware of many instances of mats being used over twenty years simply because the mat was not subject to damage. One can arrive at some approximate per year costs for the combination of a full size mat(s) stored in our hoist.
|
Usage Years
New
|
Mat Hoist ® Model 500
$12,500
|
New Mat
$9100
|
Normal Reconditioning @ 7 Year Intervals
|
|
15
|
$833
|
$607
|
$10,664
|
|
20
|
$625
|
$455
|
$15,240
|
|
25
|
$500
|
$364
|
Probably discarded as too hard due to repeated reconditioning
|
|
30
|
$416
|
$303
|
“ “
|
OR
One could build a small room in which to store a three piece mat on the floor costing approximately $32,000 according to architects. And, then the rolled mats probably become oblong during storage, and perhaps still subject to damage if school personnel start “throwing” other items into this “special” room!
All too frequently coaches relate, “My budget can't cover that expense”. By comparison, does basketball, volleyball and physical education budget the sanding and refinishing of “their” floor? Initial cost for the Mat Hoist ® should be a facilities cost --not a wrestling budget nor a booster club expense -- because, it becomes a part of the facilities the same as floors, basketball boards, boilers, etc.
Product Awareness
The Mat Hoist® was designed because of my attachment to wrestling. I competed through college which provided me with awareness of needs for our sport. From that, the original mat hoist was designed with the concept to prolong “mat life”, with an ultimate design for machine durability, operationally simple, safe and cost effective. Over thirty years of use has fulfilled these five considerations. Especially the cost effectiveness because it is maintenance free, AND the safety design has never failed.
Other manufacturers eventually saw the need. Some infringed on my rights and trademark registration, and then they had to modify resulting in an inferior redesigned unit. Others avoided infringement by using two motor system which at this point is reported to not lift in a balanced state nor is it maintenance free.
In new construction, architects do respond to a school request for a mat hoist, but typically may go with a package bid for all athletic equipment UNLESS a request is made for a specific brand and model. If in this situation, and you wish our product, you have to specify Mat Hoist ® by NGE. We still have problems as some manufacturers are using the term mat hoist, and it is being accepted as ours. The point is—do not be led astray by innuendo of another company. Architects love the phrase “or equal”. In the mat hoist business none are equal if for no other reason than they have not been safety tested as ours has undergone. Be safe, be product satisfied, and economically oriented as thirty years of Mat Hoist ® use has proven.
Help me decide which product is right!!!
Mat Hoist® 101 (Introductory course)