Vekoma: Explained
Vekoma is a dutch based amusement ride manufacturer,
famous for its large range of rollercoaster models present throughout the world.
The company was founded in 1926,
by Hendrik op het Veld.
Over the course of its 91 year existence,
Vekoma has successfully installed over 300 roller coasters worldwide.
As a result, the manufacturer is well recognised within the roller coaster industry.
Vekoma began its life in the Netherlands,
as a manufacturer of heavy machinery
for mining and agriculture purposes.
The company originally traded under the name
of Veld Koning Machinefabriek.
It wasn't until 1954,
that Vekoma started to use its abbreviated, and well known name.
In 1967, the company entered the amusement business,
through the creation of portable ferris wheels.
To this day, the firm continues to produce a range of ferris wheels,
under the separate division of Dutch Wheels BV.
In the late 1970's,
Vekoma entered a partnership with the well established roller coaster manufacturer,
Arrow Dynamics.
Arrow licensed its track design to Vekoma,
allowing them to begin the production of rollercoasters for the European market.
However, Arrow Dynamics would create the trains that the rides would use.
Vekoma modified the arrow track design,
and began the manufacture of rollercoasters.
The first rollercoasters produced by the company,
came in the form of the corkscrew with bayerncurve model in 1979.
Originally, these rides were made with the purpose of being portable.
As a result, the coasters featured no permanent foundations,
but only a steel frame in which the attraction was mounted on
Vekoma went on to diversify its sit down coaster,
with additions such as python at the Efteling in 1981,
and Big Loop at Heide Park in 1983.
Known collectively as MK-1200's,
1200 being the distance in millimetres between the tracks cross-ties,
this model is no longer in production.
It was only 3 years after the production of their first roller coaster,
when Vekoma unveiled one of their most iconic roller coaster models.
Known worldwide, the Boomerang model was revealed in 1982,
and installed at four parks, two years later.
As of 2017, over 50 boomerang coasters operate around the globe,
and the model is still in production today.
Due to its huge success, the boomerang has spawned several variant designs.
These include the Invertigo, a version in which riders sit below the track;
The Giant Inverted Boomerang, what is essentially a slightly modified, and larger version of the Invertigo;
and the family boomerang, a smaller coaster featuring a compact layout, and no inversions.
Just less than a decade after joining the roller coaster business,
Vekoma became one of the first manufacturers to utilise AutoCAD,
computer aided design software.
This allowed the company to design and construct rollercoasters at an incredible pace.
Meaning they could offer some of the shortest deadlines in the industry, at the time.
Shortly after, Vekoma began the manufacture of their own trains,
making them independent of the financially unstable Arrow Company.
As a result, the dutch firm debuted their junior roller coaster model,
a ride specifically designed for children, a single year later.
Similar to the boomerang model,
Vekoma's junior coaster was a huge success, leading to over 70 installations worldwide.
Continuing their development of new rollercoaster models,
Vekoma debuted its well known and somewhat controversial Suspended Looping Coaster.
Commonly referred to as SLC's,
these coasters feature trains suspended below the track.
The first installation occurred at Walibi holland in 1994,
under the name of El Condor.
Due to their compact layouts, and cheaper cost compared to other manufactures
over 40 SLC's have been constructed globally.
However, Vekoma haven't always constructed only steel coasters.
At the turn of the millennium, the company debuted Robin Hood,
a large scale Wooden roller coaster.
Only 3 wooden coasters were ever produced by Vekoma,
all within a short time phrase.
At the same period, the Company debuted its flying Dutchman Model.
Unlike conventional seating, riders enter a flying prone position, before leaving the station.
As a result,
guests can experience the sensation of flight as they navigate the circuit.
Unfortunately, both models were relatively unsuccessful.
After 2001, neither model were constructed again.
However all 6 coasters remain in operation.
Vekoma continued to expand its already vast mixture of roller coasters, with another family addition.
The company introduced its suspended Family Coaster model,
with the first addition being Flying Ace Aerial Chase.
Unlike its predecessors, the model was a success, leading to roughly 20 installations worldwide.
The firm's innovation and commitment to new types of rollercoasters didn't stop there.
The iconic, and worlds first tilt coaster
Gravity Max, opened the following year.
While shortly after, Vekoma introduced the world's first motorbike roller coaster.
This model would later be adapted and used to construct Tron Lightcycle Power Run,
at Shanghai Disneyland.
Over the years, Vekoma has had a large number of projects
in conjunction with the various Walt Disney theme parks across the world.
The ride manufacturer is well known for being extremely flexible,
when it comes to meeting the requirements of the client.
Therefore, Walt Disney has chosen the company to manufacture and produce many of their roller coasters.
The first being Big Thunder Mountain, at Disney Land Paris, in 1992.
This marked the start of their long and developed relationship.
Vekoma then went on to produce its first LSM launch coaster,
for Disney's Hollywood Studios,
and later, Walt Disney Studios Park.
Another iconic ride produced by the company includes Expedition Everest,
The largest and most expensive attraction at Walt Disney World, at the time of its opening.
Expedition Everest is known worldwide due to its huge scale, interesting story line and complex track design.
Recently, the firm has begun work with another roller coaster manufacturer, Rocky Mountain Construction.
Vekoma worked with the Company to help construct Wildfire,
Europe's first RMC roller coaster.
As of now, the Dutch manufacturer has the ability to sell RMC products to the European and Asian markets.
Due to Vekoma's vast collection of roller coaster models.
it can be difficult to recognise their rides.
Over the course of their history,
the company has produced a variety of track designs for a large number of reasons.
However, arguably the most iconic and well known design,
Is the one featured on Vekoma looping coasters,
SLC's
and Boomerang's
The track features cross-ties connected to the outside of the rails.
The design is relatively uncommon when compared to other manufactures.
Vekoma's newer track design features flat triangular cross-ties that are almost flush with the rails.
Both styles, old and new, utalise a thick circular spine.
As stated earlier, Vekoma hasn't always been only roller coaster manufacturer.
The company currently produces a range of other interesting rides,
the Vekoma madhouse being by far the most iconic.
During this ride, the room surrounding the guests begins to rotate.
As this occurs, the seats of the attraction also tilt,
creating the illusion that riders are spinning around a static room.
Other Vekoma rides include the SkyShuttle,
the panoramic flight simulator,
and the D-Ride.
Compared to other sizeable manufacturers in the roller coaster industry,
Vekoma is often looked down upon by enthusiasts.
Due to their cloned nature of many of their rides,
the company has become notorious for offering mediocre and sometimes uncomfortable experiences.
These thoughts are particularly relevant towards both the boomerang,
and SLC models,
as many identify them to have bad and boring ride experiences.
However, with the recent introduction and construction of several new roller coaster models,
the general consensus is changing.
2016 saw the debut of Vekoma's next generation launch roller coaster,
Named the space Warp
While 2017 resulted in the introduction of the chain lift equivalent,
the Bermuda Blitz
Both models utilize the updated track design,
and, new generation trains
Initial reactions to these additions have been positive,
making further installations at other parks extremely likely.
Vekoma, a company somewhat plagued by their past endeavours,
is definitely one of the rollercoaster manufacturers to observe in the near future.
Thank you for watching, and I'll see you all next time.
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