Located in the Treviso area of northern Italy, Bertazzon 3B can trace its roots back to 1951 when the three Bertazzon brothers (hence the ‘3B’ in the company name) began repairing and upgrading existing fairground equipment. The production of bumper car buildings and go-karts followed a little later, but it was not until 1963 that Bertazzon 3B was formally established.
 
Today, the company continues to be run by younger generations of the family, including Michele, Alex and Patrizia, with a staff of around 60 people, and continues to produce the rides and attractions it has become well-known for around the world. Among these are, of course, a wide range of bumper cars for both adults and children, an equally varied range of Venetian carousels, including both single and double decker models, major rides such as the Matterhorn and Music Express, the Swing Carousel (Waveswinger), the Rodeo track ride, dark rides and petrol and electric powered go-karts. The most recent product to be added to the range is the Swing Carousel, with the latest bumper car model being the Oslo. A new bumper car model is introduced every three or four years.
 
The company’s products are available for both static site and travelling operation and can be themed and customised as required. All areas of production are carried out “in house,” including the machining of parts, woodwork, painting and fibreglass, with outside contractors being used only occasionally for specific areas such as hot-dip galvanising. Experienced artists and expert craftsmen carry out painting, decoration and finishes which are all completed by hand.
 
Alongside the production areas, Bertazzon also has a significant spare parts department which carries hundreds of components for its product range, including parts for bumper cars made as far back as the 1960s!
 
All the company’s production is exported, and talking to Alex and Patrizia Bertazzon, the current economic climate has slowed business down a little, although the company is still busy in different parts of the world.
 
“We are still very active in many markets,” noted Patrizia. “The US continues to be strong for us and Europe, South America and Asia are also good. We are working in some countries where we haven’t worked before and South America has become more important in the last two years because of a slightly quieter market in North America.”
 
Among the more recent projects completed by Bertazzon are a Music Express for a travelling operator in Venezuela and a Matterhorn for a park in the US, while a Double Deck carousel and a set of bumper cars have also been delivered to Venezuela. At the time of InterPark’s visit to the factory, a Music Express was in production for a customer in Australia, in addition to a Swing Carousel, again for Venezuela, and a 16 arm Matterhorn for Rochester Amusements in New York, US.
 
Bertazzon is a very traditional company with a very specific range of rides and although it introduces new attractions occasionally, has become renowned for the high quality of what is, compared to many other Italian manufacturers, a relatively small product range. But it is one that is extremely popular and successful and highly respected within the worldwide industry, as can be gleaned from the company’s impressive client list which boasts names such as Gardaland, the Vienna Prater, Alton Towers, Port Aventura, Phantasialand, Kuwait Entertainment City, Disney Downtown, Six Flags and Mundo Divertido, to name but a few.