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During our coverage of the Euro Attractions Show 2011 in London last week, we met Peter Theunisz, International Sales Manager of KMG, a Dutch company specialized in fairground rides and amusement games.
Since 1991, KMG has manufactured around 150 rides that are now operationnal worldwide. With a focus on building rides that are easy to set-up and to take-down, that are as light as possible and that have been build according to the latest security demandes, KMG has introduced models such as the Afterburner, the Tango, the Freak Out, the XXL or the Move-It.
In addition to the manufacturing, KMG also owns and operates several rides in the Netherlands, realizes maintenance and repairs of fairground attractions and organizes fun fairs for public and private events.
This year, KMG has been very busy with the introduction of a new ride called Mission Space as well as with the development of two new rides concept: XLR8 (pronounce “Xccelerate”) and Sicko.
NewsParcs : One of your highlight of this year is the development of a new ride concept called “Mission Space”. What are the first feedbacks ?
Peter Theunisz : Mission Space was received very well. We had some problems at the first fair in Rotterdam, so we had to bring the ride back to the factory to make some adjustements and modifications. The ride is now running perfectly and people like it ! The only thing is that it's difficult for us, the owner of the ride, to go constantly from fair to fair only in The Netherlands even if the set-up only needs 6 persons. We want to go to bigger shows in foreign countries to keep it going. For example, we would like to go in Dusseldorf in Germany, Paris in France or Antwerpen in Belgium. We will be in Northen Ireland for the all winter for a Christmas fair.
NP: Do you have some of your customers interested in this ride ?
PT : Yes, they are some amusement parks that are interested. They would like to have a fixed version with 4 arms, so a bigger capacity per hour. And we can make this configuration !
NP : Besides Mission Space, you also promote your new XLR8 ride on the booth. How’s the project going ?
PT : XLR8 is now in production, and I tested it last week ! It’s not sold yet but we have a list of potential customers interested in., it will be ready for November-December. It’s a good ride ! One semi-trailer, 8 arms, each arm with a seat of 2 passengers and a motor in the center. It goes so fast it’s only take half a rotation to go at the maximum speed of 65 km/h, and it’s take half a rotation to stop ! The ride will take about 2 minutes and you will experience 5 or 6 times the maximum speed. You are really pushed into your seat, like a launch coaster… it’s like a centrifuge to train astronauts ! The arms won’t come up and down, they will remain flat, each seat will move to an horizontal position following the G forces. XLR8 is the experience of the speed and the G forces. It will go so fast that 5-6 times maximum speed will be enough, otherwize you’ll be sick ! That will be the KMG fastest ride !
NP : And what about the new “Sicko” concept ?
PT : Sicko will be officially presented at IAAPA Trade Show in Orlando. This is a new ride concept with a very easy set-up and no crane needed. We think it’s a good ride for the US market, and for the biggest fun fairs worldwide. One has been already sold but I can’t tell you more at the moment!
NP : This year, you also had this project with Morey’s Piers in the USA, a Fireball with a new restraint systems.
PT : The “it” project was very interesting, everything goes very well and the new lap bars works perfectly! The owner of the park, M. Will Morey, was here in London for the first day of EAS, and he told us they were very thrilled to have the ride and very satisfied of our help, because we helped for the training of the employees for example. They are very grateful to us for that. And actually, they promoted the ride to others US amusement parks that have shown the interest to have the same ride with the same lap bars system.
NP : So, do you extend your business to new countries ?
PT : Yes, we are extending to new countries and we try to penetrate the market of amusement parks. We are already working with Morey’s and we will work with others US parks in the future. I was there this summer for two weeks, I've visited several locations and it resulted by two sales. So, it’s really interesting that we know we can expand our market and I am sure we will succeed !
NP: How was the Euro Attractions Show 2011 for KMG ?
PT : EAS was very good for us! We saw a lot of our current customers and we even sold a new ride during the trade show.
NP : What’s the KMG’s difference ?
PT : The KMG difference, it’s the quality that you get, and the aftersales because we are available 7 days a week if the customer needs a technical assistance. When you invest in a new KMG ride, and that you sell your old one, you will get a good price. There are actually KMG owners that sell their KMG rides for a better price that the one they paid for ! I think it’s the result of the good products that KMG build. There are also so many extra things we do for the customer, including the first set-up and one year service so that they can handle the ride much better and need less support after. KMG is an all concept, not only the ride !
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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.
