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JIM FUTRELL ARCHIVES
B U S I N E S S R E S O U R C E S | S U P P L I E R S V S . O P E R AT O R S
While building attractions for other parks,
Fred Ingersoll also developed one of the
first amusement park chains: Ingersoll's
Luna Park.
Supplier and Operator
Aren’t Mutually
Exclusive
By Jim Futrell
Jim Futrell has
authored ten books
on the amusement
industry and dozens
of articles for industry
trade publications.
He began producing
IAAPA’s Oral History
Project in 2005 and
currently serves as
IAAPA’s Historian in
addition to being
Historian for the
National Amusement
Park Historical
Association (NAPHA).
Connect with him on
:
IN JANUARY, BROGENT TECHNOLOGIES INC., a provider of
flying theater ride systems and immersive attraction technology, announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire
Flyover Attractions, which operates four flying theaters in North
America and Iceland. At the time of the announcement, Brogent
said that it represented an important step in evolving the company into “a more integrated immersive solution provider.”
Traditionally, the distinction exists between the companies
that supply the attractions industry and those that operate the
attractions. Yet, in some instances, those suppliers find advantages in occupying both ends of the spectrum.
A Long History
The practice of suppliers operating their own products was initiated early when operators typically relied on concessionaires to
populate their facilities. At the turn of the 20th century, IAAPA
Hall of Fame member Fred Ingersoll built more than 250 roller
coasters along with owning and operating 44 amusement parks,
including the first chain: Ingersoll’s Luna Park. But as the industry
evolved following World War II, this became much less common.
Although it is not as prevalent today, a variety of suppliers see the
benefit in also operating their products.
An Intentional Decision
Among the most visible companies in the supplier/operations
space are two of the industry’s largest and most enduring familyowned manufacturers.
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Funworld | JULY/AUGUST 2026 | IAAPA.org/Funworld
Mack Rides, which traces its roots back
to 1780, entered both spaces in 1975 when
Franz and Roland Mack opened EuropaPark. According to Torsten Koebele, chief
officer of sales and marketing for Mack
Rides, the decision for the Macks to get
into the theme park business was two-fold.
First, they realized that there was a need
for a theme park in that part of Germany,
but they also saw an opportunity to create
a showcase for their ride business.
Over the next five decades, the relationship between the two companies allowed
each to grow into leaders in their respective sectors—the development of EuropaPark pushed Mack Rides to expand their
portfolio by creating new attractions for
the park. “It’s aided product development
since the park is only 15 minutes from the
factory,” said Dr. Volker Klaiber, operations and service director at Europa-Park.
Zamperla opened its first attraction
in 2003, when they were approached to
develop an amusement park at the Wollman
Rink in New York City’s Central Park. Seven
years later, they had an opportunity to redevelop a portion of the storied Coney Island
amusement area in nearby Brooklyn.
According to the late Alberto Zamperla
in his 2015 IAAPA Oral History Interview,
the opportunity to operate at Coney Island
came with benefits. “I have so many rides,
and when I display at IAAPA [Expo], I
bring you one ride. I cannot bring all my
productions, no? So my dream was always
to have a showcase to show my customers
all the different types of rides that we are
building,” Zamperla shared.
Sally Dark Rides, is an industry supplier that moved into operations on a more
opportunistic basis, partnering to operate
its rides four times in its nearly 50-year
history.
John Wood, Sally’s president and chairman says that he had long been intrigued
with the idea of gaining experience as an
operator. “Anytime you can know about
both sides of the turnstile, you’re better
off," Wood says.
His first opportunity came in 1999,
