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Making people smile
Park World
out more about German amusement ride design and construction specialist Mack Rides
T
o say that Mack Rides has a history is putting it lightly; the company was founded in 1780 and has now been in the Mack family for no less than eight generations. The business began with Paul Mack, building
wagons and barrows in the town of Waldkirch in Germany. His son, Johann Mack, took the business in a new direction in 1787, making carriages and stagecoaches, and as these gained more and more significance as a means of transport by the mid-1800s, the Mack business grew. From Waldkirch, a stagecoach route was set up between Freiburg and the
Black Forest - and the road was mapped for Mack Rides to grow into the global player it is today. Mack Rides still makes cars and trains - just a little faster than those early models! - and its roller coasters, water rides, spin rides and dark rides of today are renowned the world over. The business remains in Waldkirch, building each and every ride there before shipping to Asia, Australia, the USA and across Europe. This is a family business that is nothing if not enterprising, and Mack
Rides has moved beyond manufacturing; Franz and Roland Mack opened Germany’s hugely successful Europa-Park theme park in 1975. Today, it’s the country’s largest theme park, welcoming over five million guests per year - and more than 90% of its attractions are by Mack Rides. It’s a truly unique set-up - and it gives the business an unrivalled opportunity to learn from the daily operation and maintenance of its rides, allowing for continual innovation and improvement. The Mack Rides team of today is led by CEO Christian von Elverfeldt, CTO
Günter Burger and, of course, Thorsten Koebele as chief officer for sales and marketing. The business is owned by Dr. Roland Mack, Jürgen Mack and Michael Mack - with Michael also leading Europa-Park as its CEO.
Q&A
Charlotte Westwood: Tell us a bit about Mack Rides, its history and how it’s evolved over the years Thorsten Koebele: Founded in 1780 as a family business, Mack Rides is proud to look back on a more than 240-year-long history and is today one of the market leaders in the development, design, and manufacturing of amusement park attractions. It all started with wooden carriages. The very first Mack roller coaster was built in 1921 in Switzerland and set the ground for a century of smiles and happy faces among millions of visitors. Only thanks to our constant drive to research and develop was our company able to grow and innovate. Mack Rides has always influenced the world of theme park rides like no other organisation. The unique constellation of being a ride manufacturer and park operator allows the Mack family to develop – from practical experience and for practical use – optimal solutions for our customers.
CW: Tell us about the product range at Mack Rides – any star products? Where do you see the most demand? TK: Mack Rides offers the complete range of amusement rides – roller coasters, water rides, spin rides and dark rides. The newest addition is our brand ‘Tacumeon Rodes’, media-based attractions which benefit from our synergies with other entities within the Mack group, such as media production, content, AV system, creative design and storytelling. The steadily growing demand of our customers requires constant new innovations to address our customer needs – and it’s across all areas. Years ago, a ride in itself was the experience, but nowadays our customers request to include the ride in an entire story.
36 AUGUST 2023
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