Mack Rides Gmbh, A Manufacturer Profile
A German entry into our manufacturer series today. This company can trace their roots back to 25 year old Paul Mack who began building wagons and barrows in the German town of Waldkirch in 1780.
His son took over in 1787, and diversified into building stagecoaches, as well as building pipe systems and drilling wells.
Showmen’s Wagons
Mack continued to expand and build wagons, stagecoaches etc. By 1880 they began to receive commissions to build showmen’s living wagons, as well as parts for rides in the growing amusement ride arena and stalls for showmen.
Roller Coaster
In 1921 Mack built it’s first wooden roller coaster. Built for Siebold & Herhaus the ride first operated in Switzerland before touring Europe. It’s first car ride followed in 1936 and a bobsled ride in 1951. By this time the company had a steadily growing export business to the United States.
Classic Rides
The company created a number of well known classics, including the Music Express (a caterpillar type ride), Sea Storm and Wild Mouse coaster.
Their client list pretty much covers the globe, with Mack rides both old and new operating both on travelling funfairs and fixed parks.
From Builders To Operators
The Mack family visited the United States in the 70′, seeing the amusement parks over there were inspired to build their own. They purchased the park attached to the historical Balthasar castle in Rust. The resulting park named ‘Europa-Park‘ opened in 1975. Despite scepticism, it actually had some 250,000 visitors the first year. Rapidly climbing to over 1 million annually within 3 years. The park is now the largest in Germany, and the second most popular in Europe after Disneyland. It now averages 5.75 million visitors annually. The park has also regularly been voted the world’s best them park.
In its 240 year history, Mack Rides has built a huge number of both travelling funfair rides, and 146 roller coasters, the vast majority of which are still operating.
