RIDES
THE RIDE MAKERS
Family rides are restricted with speed and G-force, so how do the ride manufacturers differentiate themselves?
Kath Hudson, journalist, Attractions Management ZIERER
JEROEN NIJPELS PRINCIPAL
Zierer has a wide portfolio of more than 20 family rides and has invented some perennial favourites including its flying chair ride and the free fall tower, both of which sell strongly despite being in circulation for a number of years. “We’re different because lots of family ride manufacturers design rides which only children can go on, whereas we have rides which parents can go on with their kids to share the emotional experience,” says Zierer principle Jeroen Nijpels. Nijpels says Zierer is seeing an
increasing interest in using intellectual property to differentiate an off-the-shelf ride. This year it completed a new ride for Norwegian family park Hunderfossen
Copying patented ideas is a problem in China. Legal action can have repercussions: one company was cut
out of the Chinese market altogether
based on the car from the famous Norwegian movie Jul I Flåklypa. The Il Tempo Extra Gigante represents
the park’s biggest investment in over 30 years. “They wanted a car which would be suitable for all the family, including teenagers, so they didn’t want it to be too small or too tame,” says Nijpels. “They’ve had very positive feedback. The ride has increased attendance tremendously.”
On the request of Legoland Billund,
Zierer adapted one of its major rides for the family market this year. The result was the Polar Express, which is suitable for children over six years old. Nijpels says the family ride market is
buoyant, partly due to the activity in Asia, but also because family rides are always popular. “Our rides are evergreens – every park wants to have them, so it makes us more resistant to crisis,” he says. “Every start-up park needs some family rides. When times are bad the big parks invest in a family ride because they can’t afford a big ride and in the good times the smaller parks invest.” A main concern for Nijpels is the
copying of patented ideas in China. “It’s not so much about loss of income than that the rides are made to look like ours but are inferior quality. If there was an accident it could damage our reputation,” he says. “China has less respect than Europe for intellectual property so they see no harm in it. Legal action is difficult, costly and has repercussions. One manufacturer took a Chinese company to court and found themselves cut out of the Chinese market altogether.” During the next 12 months, Zierer is
Zierer’s Wave Swinger ride, with an apple tree design, at Nigloland in France 56 Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
re-engineering its portfolio to meet new European regulations. After that, it will turn its focus to creating new concepts.
AM 1 2015 ©Cybertrek 2015
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