The annual IISA convention and trade show wrapped up Friday in Gibsonton, Florida after a week of great weather and lots of talk about the year ahead.  Almost all vendors reported having a solid year for sales and many even said they had a record run.  The optimism ran through all segments of the industry from ride manufacturers to stock companies to food and equipment suppliers.   

 

Fredricksen Fun Slides

Jim Fredricksen of Fredricksen Industries was typical of manufacturers who were coming off a good 2022 and expecting a great 2023 as well.  The 2022 year, said Fredricksen, was “the best ever in my 35-year history”.  And 2023 was off to a good start.  He sold slides to Canada and one to the West Coast and on Tuesday of the Show he sold a slide to Sam's Amusements.

As Fredricksen says, it only takes one sale for him to have the show make financial sense and the 2023 delivered .

 

Lamberink Ferris Wheels

Sebastian Lamberink was in his 7th or 8th year at the IISA trade show and he was seeing a lot of interest in his popular RL 33 wheel, which stands well over 100' tall.  With improvements in design to help with set up and tear down, the wheel has become very popular for the mobile amusement industry.  “We had a lot of interest,” said Lamberink, “more than last year,” he added. 

Lamberink will be delivering one of their RL33 wheels to Dreamland Amusements later this year.

 

Wadkins Expo Wheel

“We are sold out until 2025”, said Paul Wadkins of the Wheel manufacturer.  The company sells a Giant Wheel for mostly small to medium sized shows and the company has been busy producing a steady stream of products for the last several years. 

For 2023 they will be delivering to Tim Kris, Baja Amusements and Randy Kissel.  2024 deliveries include Classic Amusements on the West Coast,  McDaniel Brothers Shows of New Jersey and Durant Amusements who snagged the last production spot for next year on the final day of the show.

“We had a good show with lots of good feedback and compliments,” shared Wadkins.

 

Galaxy Amusement Sales

“The show was dynamite”, said Scott Kunz of the industry electrical and amenity supplier.  “We sold a bunch of front gates and every video screen we had,” added Kunz.  The screens will adorn food trailers, Giant Wheels and truss systems, adding an exciting element to those presentations. 

The company also debuted their digital full sign menu boards at the show which will also add flair and flexibility to food operations throughout the country.

The product Kunz was most enthused about however was his Disco Smash Sound Systems from Belgium.  “They are the finest sound system in the amusement industry,” claimed Kunz.  “If you go to Oktoberfest (in Germany) all the major players are using their system,” he added.  Kunz touted the craftsmanship and sound quality of the units.  He said they have AI features to protect itself from overpowering, protecting the product from damage. The system also has a control panel so you can play multiples samples and messages or tie them together for a more elaborate broadcast.

Kunz said the rollout was very popular and he had sold 10 of the state-of-the-art systems by show's end.

 

Fabbri Group

The Italian Manufacturer also had a good run at the show, making lots of contacts and discussing his products. 

The company will be delivering a new Booster 40 ride to Talley Amusements at the end of 2023.



Also on tap is a TeleCombat to be delivered to CotaLand in April of this year.  CotaLand is a new project for the Austin, TX area and will feature new coasters and thrill rides.

Fabbri will be delivering 6 new rides to Quatar for a new amusement park project called Doha Winter Wonderland.  The rides will include a 50m Ferris wheel, a Magic Dance, a 50m Drop Tower, a Spider, a Pirate Ship “Corsair” and a 50m Giant Booster.

Back in the US, Jolly Shows of Maryland will also be taking delivery of a Corsair ride (Pirate), which is expected to be delivered to the show in Gibsonton in 2024.



Other European deliveries include two 50m Booster Max rides to Germany, being delivered to the Boos Brothers and Denies. The Boos Bros. will also be getting an exciting new version of the Wild Maus Coaster, version 2.0.  This is the first ride where lights follow the cars on the track as they make their way around the ride.  It should be a visually appealing journey!

Finally, the company also has plans to deliver a huge 85m Wheel to Mexico City by the end of 2023.  The ride will certainly be an iconic landmark for the city.

 

Rides 4-U

With one of the largest displays at the show, Rides 4 U was poised to have a great run at the convention. “We had activity almost every day,” said Len Soled of the American ride dealer, representing several major manufacturers.

On the show grounds, there was a Buggy ride for TK Amusements.  The ride, from SBF, had a trailer that was fabricated in the US by ARM.



The Doggie Mini Jet Ride was being delivered to Luehrs Ideal Rides.  The trailer was manufactured by Jay Clements of Triple Treat Shows.  Other purchasers of the ride included Amusements of America's Morris Vivona, Jr. and Blue Sky Amusements.



Blue Sky also purchased a new design Taxi Cab/Mini Break Dance ride with a custom theme.



Paul Maurer bought a Groovy Bus ride from Soled and Tommy Murray will be taking delivery of the first portable 32' Pirate Ship ride from Rides 4 U. 

Soled said there were also some used ride transactions taking place but the market has thinned out due to manufacturers having long lead times on new deliveries.  Soled said however Rides 4 U still had availability for new ride orders and they were expanding capacity so they could meet demand in a timely manner.



Stay tuned for Part II of the 2023 IISA Wrap Up coming Wednesday.