IAAPA Expo 2009 news
inversion of the gondola. A counterweight is used on the new model, as opposed to water ballast. A travelling model of the ride was due for delivery
to Austria in February, while due for delivery in March is a travelling Loop Fighter to Spain. This too is another of the company’s extreme spinners which in addition to a complete loop also features vehicles which can swing through 360 degrees on their own axis, while the complete vehicle section also turns. Other deliveries set for this year include two
Baby Aviators, to the Aqua Show Park in Portugal and Linnanmaki in Finland, and a 28m Typhoon to Bagdad, India, while among other new products is a Caribbean, ghost ship style Pirate Ship with no floor.
Polin reveals new water rides
AMONG the latest developments from waterpark specialist Polin are two recently introduced manufacturing processes for its waterslides and two brand new water rides. The company’s waterslides are now all made
using a resin transfer moulding (RTM) process which provides a uniform thickness, two finished sides and low emissions, along with easier maintenance and a more visually pleasing product. Also now incorporated into Polin slides,
where required, is its Natural Light Effects (NLE) system. This is a manufacturing process that allows natural light into an enclosed tube slide via translucent rings along the tube, thus creating various natural light effects within the tube, notably when combined with the flowing water, without the need for electricity. Indeed, Polin has also recently combined the NLE effects with the RTM process to create another option for clients. The two new rides now available are the
Fabio Martini and Marco Grigolo on the Technical Park booth
Development continues for ETF
“WE are happy about this year. We have done more business than we anticipated at the beginning of the year,” noted Ruud Koppens at Dutch company ETF, during the IAAPA show. ETF is currently involved in a number of projects,
including a dark ride for a venue in Manchester, UK, and a major ride for the World Expo in China. “We are also working on various new products,”
Koppens continued, “and still very much growing this side of ETF’s business. I think the European industry is generally happy, with profits being similar this year to the previous year, despite a little less spend in parks. The Far East is quite active at the moment while the Middle East is quieter, as we all know.”
Dragero, a four-lane racing slide using head first ride mats which takes riders up a hill, into a tunnel, around a “U” bend and along a straight to the end of the attraction. Additionally, the D-Wave has now been introduced, this featuring two towers and a “U” shaped slide making it compact and particularly suited to indoor use. It uses two-person tubes so rides four people at one time and one example had been sold at the time of writing. Discussing various projects, Polin’s Sohret Pakis
said: “We’ve done two slides in Canada recently and have a total of 52 compact slides projects in the US. It is important for us to do these rides in the US. But the recession has affected the US more than anywhere else.”
Asian and European markets holding up well
Intamin/Ride Trade’s Sascha Czibulka (left) and Patrick Spieldiener
INTAMIN/Ride Trade continue to be involved in a variety of projects for both coasters and water rides, although unfortunately details of many of these could not be released when InterPark spoke to the company’s Sascha Czibulka. “We are doing several major projects,” he
noted, “but the ‘higher and faster’ trend seems to be over. Having opened Kingda Ka in 2005 (at Six Flags Great Adventure, US) as our fastest coaster, it’s taken three years to beat this with a 240 kph coaster, at Ferrari World. But the ones we are doing now are not even close to that.” And commenting on the world economy and its
impact on the business, Czibulka continued: “The economic situation depends on the part of the world. There’s a lot going on in Asia, which is not limited to China but China is the main driving area. Singapore and Malaysia are also quite active. Japan has been in a deflationary state for 10 years so there’s no change there. “Inquiries from Europe reflect the industry has
had a good and in some cases excellent year so we can feel a positive atmosphere there. But the US is a tough market at present. “The projects we can’t talk about have surprised
Ruud Koppens of ETF
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From left to right: Polin’s Sohret Pakis,
Sandinavian representative Eija Tervo and Kubilay Alpdogan, with a model of the new D-Wave attraction
us. Water rides have been really popular and we have 10 currently in various stages of production for 2010 and 2011. Further developments are going on in water rides and the number of such rides we are doing reflects this. We are also very busy with monorail systems. For example we are doing one in a mountain area on a steep slope which will even run in icy conditions, while there is also some good business in public monorails. “Considering the overall situation we are all in, we are very pleased.”
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