Sunkid: Interview
kids from three to 12 years, low space requirement, safe and still fun. Therefore we developed special solutions for our rides that can cope with usual allowed slab loads, and limited noise and heat emissions.
What kind of attractions are you currently targeting? Currently, the interactive Loopster ride experiences a high demand in FECs. For FECs with medium capacity requirements, our new Sundancer will be a great novelty.
Which of your products are doing well in that sector? Of course our interactive Tower, where kids from three years on can experience how to climb up, is very attractive to FECs. A space requirement of six metres in diameter including safety envelope and a capacity of up to 320 people per hour – that’s unique for an interactive ride. And this Tower can be set individually, or in double or threefold installation still handled by just one operator. So it’s highly attractive for large parks with high capacity requirements too.
Tell us about your recent launches, in particular the Wood Ball Tracks and Towers? Are these smaller footprint attractions becoming more popular?
Sunkid has launched in the Sundancer successfully last year. This is an interactive amusement ride aimed to the small parks that – at least in most European countries – run their attractions without an operator. Wood Ball Tracks are aiming mostly for outdoor installations, where kids are animated to run along the tracks with a wooden ball. The ball itself usually can be purchased and taken home as a souvenir. The Ball Track Tower is a version that limits the space requirements. Still, following the ball and experiencing physical effects like gravity, acoustics or centrifugal forces keep the kids interested in this attraction for a long time.
How is new technology impacting on the rides you are creating? We still keep with the “real experiences”. Interactivity is a very important part of our new products. This subject was also very important in the Sundancer, which has been launched in last year: Not only the rotation of the cabin can be controlled by the passengers, but also the speed at which the cabin goes around the centre. The larger the circulation speed, the farther will the cabin swivel out. In general Sunkid is strived to create products which motivate people/children to be active.
Which territories are performing particularly well for you right now? And is that down to the strength of the market in that area or your own activity? Currently the UAE and Asia are performing well for us. Interactivity and low space requirements are important to FECs being built there right now. Another very special market are ski domes, where both our conveyors as well as our rides fit perfectly. Beside our marketing activities we believe word of mouth is a success factor – we proved
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that our products work for many years and can be fitted in nearly every environment.
How does Sunkid expand? Are you looking at new offices anywhere else perhaps? Or deals in other countries? Sunkid has sales partners in more than 60 countries worldwide. Due to this Sunkid has a contact for its clients on site. At the moment this structure works very well and we don’t think about creating new subsidiaries.
What does the future hold for the company? Those product lines that will have a larger portion of our turnover in the future: people conveying systems for outdoor applications in amusement parks and urban settings, components for amusement rides (e.g. we can retrofit existing rides and even replace complete trains; or delivering seat units including restraint systems to other manufacturers). And conveyors for waterparks, where we have leading knowhow in design and manufacturing, innovative solutions and a worldwide after-sales network.
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