Movetech UK’s mini carousels and slip ring units have brought the festive fun to Summerseat Garden Centre, by animating Christmas trees and jolly Santas which have enthralled customers.

The Bury-based centre has long prided itself on having the best Christmas displays in the area and is constantly trying to find ways in which it can make next year’s more impressive to draw in the crowds.

This year, manager Sam Ainscow contacted Movetech UK about rotating decorated Christmas trees and installing a moving ferris wheel – all of which was completely powered by electricity providing sound and light.

Two mini carousels featured fully-dressed trees, and Movetech UK provided a maxi 3m carousel, as well as slip rings which allowed power to run through the displays without any wires getting tangled. The slip rings consist of two metal plates which maintain a connection, allowing a constant current.

Mr Ainscow said: “Our winter wonderland is proving to be a real pull – lots of people are coming along just to see our display.

“This is the first time ever we’ve had so much moving in a display. We decided to have a fun fair theme, and everything there is, of course, based on moving parts. Christmas displays can be quite boring but using a turntable has allowed us to create a bit of atmosphere with the trees and the slip ring has allowed us to light them as well, which is an advantage.”

He added: “The customer feedback we have had has been great. We’re a family-run business that likes to cater for children and they have loved our display this year.”

Tim Entwistle, managing director of Movetech UK said: “We worked with Sam, who picks the theme and designs the layout of the Christmas display each year, on creating something that would really draw in the customers.

“The mini carousels are versatile and reliable and the slip rings bring electrical power to the surface of the rotating turntable, allowing for lights on the tree and audio from the Santas. When we visited the display it looked fantastic and more and more children came along and we witnessed the joy on their faces that the display brought.”

Take a look at our video clip of this project.

You can also view a selection of photos on our Flickr Photostream.

View the displays on Google Street View, by visiting Summerseat Garden Centres’ website.