Versatile Vekoma—by Duane Mardenn The original idea for Vekoma’s new Motorbike Coaster came right out of the blue during one of its regular brainstorming sessions. “It was actually our senior designer, Peter Clerx,” says Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Peter van Bilsen. “He said, ‘why don’t we make a motorbike coaster,’ and he got very excited and started making sketches on a piece of paper.” The Motorbike takes passengers on a thrilling coaster ride that consists of a train with 16 connected motorbikes, giving passengers a sense of freedom and detachment they wouldn’t get in a regular coaster car. “You’re not surrounded by a bunch of steel,” he adds. The idea was so well received that the company took the project through the process of getting it greenlighted and a prototype produced. After finalizing the general design of the Motorbike, the Netherlands-based company ran the idea by some staff members who actually ride motorcycles. “They like the fast acceleration at the beginning, and the left and right banking,” van Bilsen says. “And they like the freedom of feeling the air and nothing else around you.” Vekoma used those characteristics to guide them through the design and construction of the new coaster, which will debut this month at Toverland in Sevenum, Netherlands. But the Motorbike is more than just a new, exciting ride. It’s is the quintessence of what Vekoma is all about: making excellent thrill rides and family rides. The Motorbike Coaster is both. Customers can order the family-friendly version where the motorcycles come with sidecars so smaller children can ride together with their parents. Or customers can choose the “thrill” version, which can be launched at high speeds, making the ride more exciting for teens and adults. The ride has been a big hit with buyers. “Our models are always designed to attract a broad range of guests,” says van Bilsen. In fact, more often than not, Vekoma looks to prospective customers for feedback when fine-tuning a ride idea. “If we think [an idea] is good, like the Motorbike, we will just build it, or we will take the concept to a select group of customers and see what they think about it. And sometimes the customers come up with great additional suggestions.” Then comes the manufacturing of the prototype, all of which is done in-house, followed by extensive testing. “We do a lot of preparation and work in close cooperation with universities,” van Bilsen says. “We invest so much into the engineering so once a ride is on the market, we know it will be successful.” And so far it has been. The Motorbike Coaster was introduced at IAAPA Orlando 2003 and received a “Best Idea” award at the Euro Amusement Show in Paris earlier this year. Back in the Day But it hasn’t all been roller coasters and cotton candy for Vekoma, which has been in the ride-making industry for 25 years and boasts 350 ride models worldwide. It all started when a company called Veldkoning (meaning “king of the fields”), which was run by Hendrik Op het Veld, a farmer’s son, began producing harrows, plows, and sowing machinery for farms in Vlodrop, the Netherlands (about 185 miles from Amsterdam and the current location of Vekoma’s headquarters). During this time, Op het Veld had mastered working with small steel structures, while adapting to modern techniques in material selection and processing. During the 1950s, the company changed its focus when agriculture was taking a hit. Op het Veld’s successor, his son Gerard, took over and began manufacturing larger steel structures for the mining industry and changed the name to Machinefabriek Vekoma. A decade later the company again saw itself adapting to the economic climate and shifted to petrochemical equipment manufacturing, which involved making industrial heaters, furnaces, and piping systems. Vekoma also began exporting to Europe and the United States. The company diversified in 1967 and produced its first Giant Wheel. Vekoma’s experience in manufacturing steel structures proved invaluable, and by 1983 the company’s core business had completely shifted to amusement rides. Since then, Vekoma has excelled in the ride manufacturing trade. Vekoma’s product line includes roller coasters, family rides, water rides, and people mover systems. Vekoma now has about 100 employees in the Netherlands, and production facilities in the Netherlands as well as one in the Czech Republic that is owned by Vekoma’s majority shareholder Huisman-Itrec. Next stop: China. New Frontier This month, Vekoma will debut its new factory in China in an effort to adapt—once again—to industry demands. With the lenient business climate in China and a booming industry in Asia as a whole, it just makes sense for one of the biggest ride manufacturers to set up shop in the East. Van Bilsen agrees. “It’s a good starting point to increase our business in Asia. Our customers are very excited about that. “We already have a lot of business in China, and we’ve already supplied 25 rides [to Chinese customers] in the past four years. It was already a market for us, and now there’s enough of a platform where we can start a factory there.” In addition to making shipments and prices more agreeable to Chinese customers, the move makes this new entity, Vekoma Rides Asia Ltd., able to tailor its offerings to a brand-new market. And Vekoma is ready to meet the demands of a huge market. “They want everything. The theme parks spend a lot of money on new rides and innovative rides. They want the best in the world,” he says. “The smaller parks want the family rides.” Vekoma shouldn’t be worried; family rides and innovative rides are the company’s core business. Vekoma has spent time in China working with the government and other officials to set up the new factory, and, according to van Bilsen, being well prepared paid off. “We finished all the paperwork in two weeks.” The new factory will hire Chinese employees, and the management and engineering staff will relocate from Holland. For now, Vekoma is happy about embarking on a new business venture, but don’t expect the company to stop there. The company clearly has its sights set on India. “I’m not saying we’re going to open a factory there tomorrow, but we are studying it, and we know the market is developing [in India],” van Bilsen says. Restructuring Like many companies, Vekoma’s business fell on hard times in 2001 with the economic downturn. According to van Bilsen, the amusement industry wasn’t growing and customers were postponing their purchasing decisions. Meanwhile, the company’s costs were rising and, as van Bilsen puts it, “everything collapsed.” The company filed for bankruptcy that year but found solace in Huisman-Itrec’s interest in purchasing it. Vekoma and Huisman-Itrec had worked together several years earlier on an attraction called the “flying island” or “Sky Shuttle.” As van Bilsen puts it, “we owed them some money, and when they enquired about it they found out we were in financial trouble. They came to visit us and decided there and then to purchase the company.” After which Huisman-Itrec owned 100 percent of the company. Since the purchase, Vekoma has been thriving. The company sold eight coasters the year following the buyout. And overall, van Bilsen says, the management is more focused and the company overall is experiencing a nice, steady growth. “Everything is in balance,” he says. Quality and Safety A family can hardly visit its favorite amusement park without seeing a Vekoma creation. The company’s ride models and many of its individual rides have prevailed over the years, some still in operation after 20 years. And while the company prides itself on the longevity of its rides, it also boasts an amazing variety of safe rides. Customers can choose from a range of models, but they can also work with Vekoma on creating a custom-designed ride, manufactured and built exactly to a park’s specific needs. “Additionally, a customer can approach Vekoma with specific things, and our engineering department will work out a totally new design, unique in the industry,” says Charlotte van Etten, the company’s account manager. Vekoma is able to cater specifically to its clientele because the company has control over every stage of the manufacturing process. “The in-house process gives Vekoma the opportunity to stay on top of the market and develop new and innovative products in a reasonably short time,” she says. Plus, van Bilsen makes it clear that Vekoma holds the top-notch designers and engineers—the backbone of the company—in very high regard. A special point of focus is safety. “We have a lot of very experienced engineers who normally work with proven systems for restraints and cars and special devices. We know [the restraint systems] are working.” As an added layer of security, Vekoma engineers perform in-house FMEA calculations throughout the design process. These tests gauge the effectiveness of a product. The company also adheres to the standards of external entities, for example, TUV Süddeutschland/Munich, the German code office. TUV can then make suggestions for improvement, providing an extra layer of safety checks. The Boomerang and the Wildmouse: Vekoma Favorites The Boomerang, Vekoma’s most popular and most celebrated brand ride, has been wowing parks and thrill seekers for more than two decades. Parks love it because they’re getting, for all intents and purposes, two “rides” for the price of one. “The Boomerang is a unique concept on a relatively small footprint. It makes two cycles, one forward, one backward—a run of 600 meters (about 2,000 feet) in total,” says van Bilsen. “The price versus excitement ratio is one of the best in the world.” The shuttle roller coaster concept was nothing new, but the Boomerang is the only shuttle roller coaster with three complete inversions. In addition to breaking the single loop mold, the Boomerang introduced a new inverting element, which was appropriately dubbed the “boomerang.” This element inverts riders twice by joining two partial vertical loops set parallel to each other. When combined with the ride’s vertical loop, riders are flipped upside down six times per ride—another first in ride design. The Boomerang’s small footprint, just under 300 feet by 100 feet, and low cost—2.3 million euros (about $2.8 million)—have made it a popular ride worldwide. The first Boomerang was unveiled in 1982 at Reino Aventura Park (now Six Flags Mexico). The latest Boomerang will soon open at Metropolitan Park, a new park being built outside Beirut, Lebanon. In 1985 the Speedy Gonzales opened at Wiener Prater in Vienna, Austria, showcasing the first of yet another Vekoma winner: The Wild Mouse roller coaster. Though it was the first of its kind, more significantly it was the first Vekoma roller coaster to use its own track system and cars. The ride ran later for four seasons at Alton Towers in Alton, England, and has continued its legacy at Idlewild Park in Ligonier, Pa. The original Wild Mouse system track has been made smaller over the years. These narrower track systems are able to negotiate tight turns, making them ideal for enclosed roller coasters. The current track system of the Vekoma Wild Mouse, the MK-700, has the riders arranged in buddy-seat formation, back and front rather than side by side. Boomerang installations worldwide 1982 Boomerang Six Flags Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico) 1984 Boomerang Bellewaerde Park (Leper, Belgium) 1984 Sea Serpent Morey's Piers (Wildwood, New Jersey, USA) 1984 Boomerang La Ronde (Montréal, Québec, Canada) 1985 Boomerang Nanhu (Guangzhou, China) 1990 Vampire Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (Louisville, Kentucky, USA) 2000 Flashback Six Flags New England (Agawam, Massachusetts USA) 1985 Boomerang Tivoliland (Aalborg, Denmark) 1985 Cobra West Midlands Safari Park (Bewdley, England) 1995 Space Shuttle Enchanted Kingdom (Makati, Philippines) 1986 Tidal Wave Trimper's Rides (Ocean City, Maryland, USA) 1987 Bat Paramount Canada's Wonderland (Vaughan, Ontario, Canada) 1987 Boomerang Hafan y Môr Holiday Park (Pwllheli, Wales) 2001 Ragin’ Cajun Dixie Landin’ (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA) 1988 Titan World Expo Park (Brisbane, Australia) 1992 Demon Wonderland Sydney (Eastern Creek, Australia) 1989 Flashback Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas, USA) 1989 Boomerang Walibi Rhône-Alpes (Les Avenières, France) 1989 Missile American Adventure (Ilkeston, England) 1990 Boomerang Parc de Montjuic (Barcelona, Spain) 2000 Zydeco Scream Six Flags New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) 1990 Boomerang Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, California, USA) 1991 Boomerang Zygo Park (Nice, France) 1992 Boomerang Walibi Aquitaine (Roquefort, France) 1991 Sidewinder Hersheypark (Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA) 1992 Boomerang Wiener Prater (Vienna, Austria) 1993 Boomerang Pleasure Island Family Theme Park (Cleethorpes, England) 1994 Thunderbolt Aladdin's Kingdom (Doha, Qatar) 1995 Boomerang Tashkent Park (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) 1995 Boomerang Woobang Towerland (Taegu, South Korea) 1996 Head Spin Geauga Lake (Aurora, Ohio, USA) 1996 Boomerang Fantasilandia (Santiago, Chile) 1996 Boomerang Jerudong Park (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei) 1997 Boomerang Playcenter São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) 1997 Boomerang Geroland (Cairo, Egypt) 1997 Boomerang Coast-to-Coaster Great Escape (Lake George, New York, USA) 1997 Zoomerang Lake Compounce (Bristol, Connecticut, USA) 1998 Boomerang Wild Adventures (Valdosta, Georgia, USA) 1998 Boomerang Parque de la Costa (Tigre, Argentina) 1998 Boomerang Grandlink World (Qingdao, China) 1998 Boomerang Six Flags Marine World (Vallejo, California, USA) 1998 Boomerang Coast to Coaster Six Flags Darien Lake (Darien Center, New York, USA) 1999 Boomerang Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, Texas, USA) 1999 Boomerang Six Flags Elitch Gardens (Denver, Colorado, USA) 2000 Boomerang Freizeit-Land Geiselwind (Geiselwind, Germany) 2000 Anaconda Luna Park (Tel Aviv, Israel) 2000 Boomerang Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, Missouri, USA) 2000 La Via Volta Six Flags Holland (Biddinghuizen, Netherlands) 2001 Cobra Six Flags Belgium (Wavre, Belgium) 2004 Boomerang Al-Shallal Theme Park (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) 2004 Boomerang Metropolitan Park (Beirut, Lebanon)