Park Rides
parkworld-online.com
New, used, or refurbished? Meet the European ride broker doing all three
Zierer Wave Swingers are much in demand as used rides
Dance and Zierer Wave Swinger. The more popular used rides tend to come from European manufacturers, either still in business or not. Europeans are known for their quality of engineering as well as manufacturing often overseen by governmental bodies or norms, raising the overall reliability and safety of such rides.
Have you done many deals where you supply a complete park/carnival? There have been quite a few projects where we can say that we have delivered a larger amount of used and/or refurbished rides, but not complete parks since this is not our core business and a complete park or carnival usually consists of a mixture between new and used rides. However, we can say that we have bought up complete parks that decided to stop operation such as Vidam Park in Budapest, Hungary, from where we relocated all movable rides about four years ago.
We talk a lot in these pages about new rides, but for many operators used and
reconditioned rides are a great way of offering something fresh without
breaking the bank, or to help assemble a new park from scratch. Give them the right retheme and your guests might not even know they aren’t new! Here we talk to
Jaron Duivestein, one half of ride broker United
International Leisure, who
offers some top tips for those buying and selling used rides, tells us about his company's plans to start building new rides, and also why he
expects to start doing more deals outside Europe
How buoyant is the market for used rides compared to the market for new rides? More and more we see that operators, small and large, appreciate the trustworthiness and reliability of classic rides that have a proven track record. Financially strong amusement parks may easily decide on a brand new rollercoaster or major attraction, but then contact us for the rental or purchase of a smaller ride or more economical (sometimes refurbished) attraction. An important thing to mention here is that we have now established own leasing facilities, making it easier and possible for a smaller park to make a more substantial investment.
Where are your key markets? Since the introduction of new EN norms, it has become more difficult to relocate used rides within Europe and, although still possible, some customers shy away. However, that still leaves the rest of the world for us. We now get weekly inquiries from all continents through our website.
Jaron Duivestein (top) and Tjebbe
Haringa from United International Leisure
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What are some of the most in-demand used rides today? Why do you think they are so popular? Popular rides include the Vekoma Boomerang, Huss Break
How did you get into the business of used rides? It was more by accident that intention. Myself and Tjebbe Haringa have been operating and supplying observation wheels since 2001and 1998 respectively. During this time, we both acquired many contacts that asked us to trade in certain rides when they purchased either a new observation wheel or other new or used attraction from us. In 2010 we decided to use our position, where many key industry people know us, and combine our forces and contacts to focus not just on trading of rides, but also own refurbishing of used rides too. This year, we decided to take things a step further and became partners with a large German steel construction company to refurbish used rides. Soon we will also develop and build our own new rides.
Do you expect to see less old rollercoasters come up for sale because of virtual reality (VR) conversions? Absolutely not, although we do think that some customers might decide on buying a used rollercoaster and “reviving” it by adding virtual reality. This would actually mean that for a good price a used coaster could be perceived as a complete novelty.
How can you help customers that need repair, refurbishment or retheming work done on the rides they buy? We have seen that there has been an increased demand for these services, and now with our own facilities in Germany under the newly formed company Rides & Constructions GmbH, we are putting our future focus on this side of the business. Now we can help with the acquisition of used rides and refurbish them all under one roof!
What would be your top tip for operators when selling used rides? The best tip would be for owners to keep close (written and imaged) records of all maintenance as well as repairs and have all original documents and drawings on record at the time of sale or offering, just as you would if you were selling a car.
Jaron Duivestein and Tjebbe Haringa will be visiting IAAPA Attractions Expo later this month in Orlando. They are always looking for more used rides to sell. View their current selection at
rides.us and see
rides-constructions.com for more information on refurbishment services.
Vekoma Boomerangs are also popular as used rides
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