Entertainment Management Group, the installation and retrofit division of the Ride Entertainment Group, has been busy installing projects this year around the globe.
“It has been a great year for us,” said Bill Wright, the company’s Technical Director. “In fact, it is probably the busiest since I joined the company.”
EMG finished out 2012 by selling a magnetic retrofit system from Velocity Magnetics, Inc., to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the park’s new “Iron Rattler” roller coaster. In addition, the company was contracted to install much of the new coaster’s mechanical componentry such as the drives, brakes, and sprockets.
“In January our crew went down to Mexico and installed the park’s ‘Joker’ ride, a Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster moved from California. The team at the park was great and we had the ride erected in a matter of weeks,” added Wright.
The largest project of the spring was the installation of the Funtime StarFlyer at Six Flags over Texas.
Wright said that the tower represented a unique set of challenges for the EMG team. “We had to assemble and torque all of the tower sections on the ground. But, they had to be built up at a distance where the crane had enough reach to grab the pieces and lift them skyward on the tower. In addition, we had to have enough open land to accommodate a 650-ton crane. While the tower itself is traditional steel erection, nothing is really ‘simple’ when you’re setting a 400-foot tower.”
This summer company staff will travel to Australia to help install the brand-new 250-foot Skycoaster® at Wet’n’Wild Australia. However, they anticipate additional fall projects before putting their tools away for the year.