Open to Question Christian v. Elverfeldt
Christian von Elverfeldt is joint managing director of the well-known German ride manufacturer Mack Rides. Here he discusses the theme park industry with InterPark Editor Andrew Mellor, looking at the challenges faced by operators and manufacturers, global trends, the impact on the industry of the worldwide economic crisis and various other key areas of the business
Mack Rides
IP: How did you become involved in the leisure and attractions industry and what was your background prior to joining Mack? CvE: Like most of us, when I was a kid I was always keen on visiting fairs and riding as many attractions as possible. It was the famous Wild Mouse and the bumper cars which fascinated me most. I remember several times when I decided to become one of these adventurous travelling people, which was in the end avoided by my parents. Later, when I was about 14 years old, since I grew up in the same region, I was lucky to see the birth of Europa Park and later always observed the growing and big success of this great endeavour, but still from outside. After school I studied economics in Munich and was always one of the most loyal visitors of the Oktoberfest. When I finished university I started my business career as
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a consultant with Price Waterhouse, but changed after a number of years for more responsibility as the managing director of an industrial window company in north Germany. After some time in this flat country I became homesick and went back to the south west of Germany where I first started with a cosmetic company. Five years later I was asked by the Mack family to become one of the two managing directors of the traditional and sophisticated company Mack Rides. I can say that this was, beside my marriage and the birth of my four kids, one of the best days of my life. I really love this industry.
IP: What would you say are the park and attractions industry’s main concerns at the present time? What are its biggest challenges? CvE: Of course the first answer has to be the economic climate at the moment, but having said that we also
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