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Sometimes you’ll put
something on the back burner to simmer, then, before you know it,
it’ll be boiling over.
KMG have been
bubbling away since 1989, but in earnest, it wasn’t until about ten
years later when they boiled over with the success of the Afterburner.
You’ll soon
learn how their expertise pre-dates the Afterburner, but ever since, the
Dutch manufacturer has quickly become synonymous with manufacturing
easy-to-build, well presented, good value, showmen-friendly rides.
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| KMG:
Best known for their popular Afterburner ride. Image: KMG |
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Despite being
a small company, KMG manage to fabricate 15 rides every year, and are a
one of a kind in that they build rides that appeal not only to the
ever-particular German showman, but to British showmen, European
showmen, American showmen and even theme parks.
Honestly,
that is a claim precious few manufacturers have bragging rights to.
Their
best-known rides include the Afterburner, which is now available in five
different versions, the Tango, which is a spectacular alternative to
Mondial’s Top Scan, the Move It (available in three different sizes)
as well as their popular line in Miamis, Discovery (similar to a Top
Spin) and Speed, their take on Fabbri’s Booster ride.
Despite
offering a diverse range of rides, all share at least one similarity;
they are designed by showmen for showmen. With KMG’s heritage being
built around the Kroon family, who themselves tour rides, every element
that is important to the showman touring the ride has been encompassed
into the design of the ride.
Having just
launched the XXL, one of the largest swing rides in the world, curiosity
got the better of us, so we spoke to Bas Derkink from the company.
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| One
of Bas' first jobs was calculating kinetics for this ride, Tango. |
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Bas joined
KMG in 1999, full time from 2000, his expertise spanning from a
mechanical engineering degree to work experience at KMG where he worked
on calculating kinetics for their new-at-the-time ride, Tango.
Since then,
Bas’ role has grown to include responsibility for electrical design,
programming controllers for their rides, dealing with service enquiries
from customers as well as bridging the gap between R&D and
fabrication.
It’s a
varied role with Bas found somewhere between the office desk and the
factory floor, but somehow, he spared the time to answer some questions. Continues...
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