Zamperla

Antonio Zamperla S.p.A.

Type	Private
Industry	Manufacturing
Founded	1966
Headquarters	Vicenza, Italy
Key people	Antonio Zamperla (founder) Alberto Zamperla (president) Antonio JR Zamperla (CEO)
Products	Amusement park rides
Revenue	70 Mio. EUR[1] (2014)
Number of employees	450[2] (2012)
Subsidiaries	Zamperla Asia Pacific Inc Zamperla Middle East Zamperla Slovakia Sro Ao Antonio Zamperla Spa Rides Factory Shanghai Bellaridez Srl
Website	Official website

SpinSpider (operated since 2009) one giant frisbee from Zamperla (Giant Discovery) at TusenFryd, Norway.

Video of Lilla Lots at Liseberg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Lilla Lots is a version of Rockin' Tug.

Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls.

History

The history of Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is related to a century-long family tradition, which started with an equestrian circus at the beginning of the 20th century and arrived, through the establishment and management of one of the first street-cinemas in Italy, at the craftsmanship and production of amusement rides in the Sixties. Zamperla’s entrepreneurial adventure began in those years, when Mr. Antonio Zamperla, founder of Antonio Zamperla SpA, realized that popular adult attractions could be successfully reproduced for children, as is the case with the bumper cars for kids – since then renamed mini scooters and at the time an real novelty in the entertainment sector the first travelling go karts, the pungiballs, the miniavios, the convoys, the balloon races and other rides which are now real classics in the entertainment field.^[3]

In 1976 Zamperla landed in the New World and settled down in Montreal before moving to New Jersey, where Alberto Zamperla, Antonio’s son and current President of the company, opened a sales office and spare parts warehouse that, with its approximately 20 employees, still represented a valuable trait- d’union between the design and production facility in Vicenza and the demanding American market.

In 1979 Zamperla evolved into a limited company and started, thanks to a 2,000 sq.m production unit and 50 employees, the quality and production research that has brought it to its current 9,600 sq.m, 150 direct employees and activities equal to an additional workforce of approx. 200 people. The growth of the company has continued ever since: it was incorporated into a joint stock company in 1988 and it was in those years that it took up the technical and production challenge launched by Walt Disney for their Paris amusement park, where Zamperla supplied seven attractions out of the initial twelve.^[4]

Zamperla also builds roller coasters, like the powered Dragon Coaster, Mini Mouse, Zig Zag, and Volare. In 2006, Zamperla announced Motocoaster, a motorcycle-themed roller coaster. Rights to some of S.D.C.'s rides were handed to Zamperla (along with S&C and S&MC) after the company went bankrupt in 1993.^[5]

The acquisition of the Euro Disney contract is still remembered with emotion and pride. It represents a milestone in the development of the Vicenza-based company which with a turnover today of approx. €50 million and an export quota of 95% stands out as a reference company in the amusement world. Additionally, it boasts a customer list featuring the most famous “names” of the amusement industry, from Disney and MCA Universal Studios to Warner Bros., Six Flags, Paramount and more.^[4]

In 2005 the founder of the company, Mr. Antonio Zamperla, became the first Italian to be inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame by virtue his significant contribution to the entire industry, joining other pioneers such as Walt Disney, George Ferris and Walter Knott.^[6]

Unlike companies such as Intamin, Vekoma, or Bolliger & Mabillard that concentrate on larger and faster roller coasters, Zamperla focuses on more family-friendly roller coasters that can be easily mass-produced, taken down, and transported to different locations. They are also a major manufacturer of flat rides with such names as: Balloon Race, Bumper cars, Disk'O, Ferris wheel, Water Flume Ride, Galleon/Swinging Ship, Sky Drop, Discovery, Windshear, Tornado, Energy Storm, Z-Force, Mixer, Rotoshake, Turbo Force, Power Surge, and Mini Jet.

Company Structure

The company is organized in different departments, the Art Department^[7] that works on the study and creation of different themings of the rides, the Technical Department^[8] that designs the engineering of the attractions, the Production Department that handles their realization, the Sales Department,^[9][10] the Customer Care and the Park Development Department that works on the design and creation of an amusement park. Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. recognize itself as "One Stop One Shop": it can offer its customers a complete set of attractions, from small children’s rides to the most extreme roller coasters.

Projects

Coney Island

In 2010 Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. was selected by CAI (Central Amusement International) to restore and renovate the Coney Island area, the company managed the amusement park in New York installing only Zamperla rides, representing a perfect test bed for new attractions before to launch them.^[11]

Victorian Gardens

In 2003 Zamperla made true the idea of the Trump Organization, turning seasonally a define area of Central Park in a traditional-style amusement park with rides like the "Family Swinger", "Samba Balloon", "Aeromax", "Convoy", "Rocking Tug", "Kite Flyer".^[12]

Wunderland Kalkar

Another famous Zamperla project is Kernwasser, north of Düsseldorf, an ex nuclear power station turned into an amusement park.^[13]

Tornado at Dunia Fantasi Jakarta (Zamperla Backflash - Suspended Windshear)

Gallery

• 
  Disk-O at Dollywood Theme Park
• 
  Ruota dei Pionieri, Minitalia Leolandia Park, Province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy
• 
  Frankie's Mine Train, a kiddie coaster at The Great Escape
• 
  The Extreme Supernova is a relocated Zamperla Midi Discovery that was installed at The Great Escape

Ride locations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zamperla.

• Official website