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Euro Attractions Show 2013 Wrap-Up: Exhibitor's
Quotes and Impressions
Update : 02/10/13 - 10h03Published by François Mayné the 29 September 2013, Feature.
The Euro Attractions Show 2013 ended on a very positive note last week after three intensive days of business meetings and networking events in Paris. From our tour of the show floor, we got the opportunity to meet a lot of suppliers which all have the same words to describe this tenth edition of the largest conference and trade show for the attractions industry in Europe. Let's look back with some exhibitors' quotes and impressions.
First observation, the record attendance (over 8,500 registrants according to preliminary statistics disclosed by IAAPA) had a positive impact on many exhibitors who do not hesitate to praise the choice of Paris for the organization of the show. “Paris is certainly a major European city that everyone loves, it's a big plus because there are a lot of people here who traveled from very far away,” said Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides. “We’re satisfied with Paris: it is a good location, the exhibition hall is marvelous and IAAPA offered great networking events," said Ruud Koppens, President of ETF Ride Systems.
Eric Dillens, CEO of nWave Pictures, couldn't be more satisfied: "For us, this is the best show in years. We met quality leads and got a lot of interests for our new titles." Sohret Pakis, Marketing Manager of Polin, shared the same opinion: “This is the best EAS that we have ever been to, and one of the reasons for this successful edition is the perfect location of the exhibition, right in the center of Europe". Olaf Mordelt, Managing Director of One World Studio, added: “The overall organization of the show was absolutely fantastic., the location, the standards of the hall, the services provided. I also think that the efforts all the exhibitors have made is incomparable so far.” According to Christian Angenvoort, Marketing and Sales Manager for TAA Industries: “The show has been excellent to us, we had very detailed and constructive talks with current and potential customers, key projects in key parks.”
Same story on with Zamperla, The Gravity Group, Lo-Q, MACK Rides, Triotech, Jora Vision, S&S Sansei Technologies, Neverland ThemePark Projects or Preston & Barbieri among many other companies exhibiting: this year's edition was one of the busiest and qualitative of all time.
A show international in scope
The second significant fact is that though some exhibitors noticed fewer visitors coming from European key markets such as Germany and the United Kingdom, all agreed on the fact that they met many more foreigners on the show floor than in the past editions. "The show was very strong, there was a lot of traffic from a lot of different parts of Europe and beyond. It seems that a lot of projects are beginning to move forward so we're very happy with it,” said Shawn McRoy, Vice-President of Marketing and Business Development for Jack Rouse Associates. Jim Seay of Premier Rides also commented: “I'm surprised by the international nature of all the attendees, which has been great for Premier because we're meeting with people from Europe, from all over Asia and from the Americas as well. It's a great benefit that EAS is transitioning from a regional show to one that it's very similar like the IAAPA Expo in the United States.”
And indeed, Euro Attractions Show is becoming increasingly important, getting more international visibility and attracting more interest year after year. A finding that a lot of suppliers didn't hesitate to point out. “I think the show is demonstrating a lot of new maturity, the market is grown, the buyers have come to this show, but more than anything else, the quality of the presentation in the show suppliers and IAAPA putting together a real professional experience from beginning to the end. It's gonna pay off,” said John Wood, CEO of Sally Corporation.
“The EAS show is becoming one of the premiere shows in this part of the world. TEA has almost 200 members in Europe and in the Middle East. As a result, this European show which has grown and better every year, is a very important event for us to attend,” said Gene Jeffers, Executive Director of the Themed Entertainment Association. “I have seen a big change this year compared to those in the past in terms of the quality of the attendees, exhibitors and booths. This really feels like a mini version of the big IAAPA show we do in the United States,” added Jeff Janovich, Vice-President Sales & Marketing for ProSlide Technology.
“We think that EAS is gaining better quality, it looks very sophisticated. IAAPA has done a great job in expanding this show over the last couple of years,” said Charlotte van Etten, Account Manager Sales & Marketing for Vekoma Rides Manufacturing. “It's been awhile since we exhibited in the European show. Since then we have completed a number of roller coaster installations in Europe recently, we seemed justified to be present in Paris,” said Walter Bolliger, Director of Bolliger & Mabillard.
A successful trade show is also synonymous with a healthy market. If the economic downturn is still far from an old memory in Europe, the attractions industry has resisted well globally and still has a lot of ambition for the future. Most of the companies we interviewed have reached similar conclusions: there is still room for growth in Europe.
According to Clair Hain Jr., President of Great Coasters International: "The EAS 2013 show was good, we can't complain! We met a few clients each days as well as new faces, I think it was better than last year and elsewhere in the past for us in Europe. I'm pretty pleased, the European market is starting to boom. As for my products, I don't see much interest for a next year opening but for the following years, I see a lot of very hot prospects out there.”
“It feels like the industry in Europe is maturing and is getting stronger for water parks. European operators are now going for bigger icon rides that have been very popular in North America, the market is starting to grow and our projects have been successful so far. We're excited about the future of this industry in Europe!” said Jeff Janovich of ProSlide. “The market is booming, we have been meeting with a lot of the park groups and they are sharing with us their 5-years plans that have ambitious growth. It's interesting to listen them because thy all are very ambitious, that's exciting,” said Jim Seay of Premier Rides.
"Our production planning is fully booked till Spring 2015," explained Peter Theunisz, Sales Manager of KMG. "We met a few new potential customers in Paris but they aren't always willing to wait that long to get a new ride, so we give some room to some of our competitors!" Sohret Pakis of Polin added “I'm glad to see that the European market is doing better and better.” “Europe is a stable market, most of the parks have existed for a long time and their owners are always looking for new products to expand their business,” added Marco Mazzuchi, Marketing Manager of Zamperla. “We met people with ideas down to earth and concrete plans, I don't feel any crisis anymore,” said Kurt Heerman, CEO of Neverland Themepark Projects.
EAS Newcomers
This stopover in Paris was also the opportunity for some companies already seen at other IAAPA trade shows to exhibit for the first time at the Euro Attractions Show.
“We got a new focus to develop our business in the international market,” explained Blaire Lipert, Director of Parks and Services for Dippin's Dots International. “We also participated for the first time in the Asian Attractions Expo in Singapore earlier this year. We are looking for more merchant licensees to spread our business to Europe, so we are hoping to use this show to gain more interest and more exposure and hopefully find more places to sell our products in this region. EAS has been extremely busy for Dippin's Dots, we are quite pleased with the results so far!”
“We decided to join this show as the economy in Europe is starting up again slowly,” said Dan Thomas, President and CEO of IDEATTACK. “We wanted to come here and see what's happening. I think we expected a better response, we didn't have so many inquiries. But it's important for us to be here, we met some colleagues, we also discussed of some projects to keep in touch.”
What's next?
EAS 2013 was also the opportunity for a lot of companies to introduce new products or to highlight their patented technologies. Interactivity was the main keyword for some of them. “We presented 'GameRide', a new interactive turnkey dark ride concept for small regional parks and FECs,” said Benoit Cornet, CEO of Alterface. “It worked well for us, we had a lot of interest and many people came to our booth to test our interactive theming technology. Overall, we are happy because it was a product launch, meaning a moment that combines both enthusiasm and caution.”
Among the most advanced immersive technologies presented this year on the show floor were also the 'MotionDome' launched by Holovis and projectiondesign – an experience combining projection on a dome, an interactive game and a motion simulator – and the 'PLAYOKE Dance' developed by Attraktion!, a dance game using live motion tracking.
Suppliers are now preparing the annual gathering of the IAAPA Attractions Expo, the global premier trade show for the attractions industry. More than 1,100 companies will be exhibiting from November 18 to 22 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, USA.
NewsParcs will be present throughout the event to have a look at all the latest industry trends and recent developments. Companies willing to meet us are invited to contact our editor François Mayné (contact@newsparcs.com) to schedule a meeting.
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NewsParcs will do a full coverage of the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2013 in Orlando to have a look at the latest trends and developments of the global theme park industry.
