The Insights from IAAPA specials continue with reaction and exclusive interviews from the latest IAAPA Expo Europe held in Barcelona. We chatted with Michele Bertazzon, CEO of Bertazzon, to discuss the company he presides over and discuss all matters IAAPA.
Current summary of Bertazzon
“We are quite busy. The market is going well. Of course, like everybody, we are not struggling finding good work though finding skilled workers remains a challenge. But anyway, we are in a good situation. And business-wise, we are doing well.
IAAPA Trade Show reaction
“There was a lot of people around and we were happy with the mix of business and visitors to our booth. It was a good occasion to meet clients. Here, Spain for us is a nice market, especially for small products. So, we are hoping this new model will also open a little bit more market for us. But we are fortunate that we are already pretty full, fully booked for a while with business projects. Overall, it was a good show.”
Tell us about your new product
“This year we are introducing a new model of bumper car at IAAPA. So, everybody has been waiting to see the car. The car you see is actually our standard bumper car. We just introduced a new body, a new aesthetic in the J parts so just a new design. The mechanic is still the same, so the car is still the same. But this is a new design. We are used to produce a new model every five, six years. Because of COVID, we extended to seven years, so this car name is Milano.
“We used to give the name of a city for our car. That car was New York, and now we come back to Italy, Milano. Italian heritage. So, this is the first time we show our new car.”
Industry Analysis
“I see that most of the manufacturers in Italy are quite busy. I don’t know about business like the park and the show representatives, what they’ve done, because I told some show representatives in different parts of Europe that we are experiencing a 15-20% downturn. But not because of the weather, because they are affected by the weather. This is because they see the people are spending less money, so I don’t know how this will be next year. We did build this on the market, but from our side, our buyers are still in line to wait to deliver our lines. They are not considering stepping out so I think the market remains strong.
“We are more exposing the travelling industry than the fixed line. And actually, we have clients that are waiting for delivery in five years’ time. We have a queue line for some types of rides, and this is amazing because I see people that have a single ride, single business, they are willing to wait five years to receive the new one. It’s a bit scary but we have to put it as a little bit of pressure because, you know, we have reliability. I believe for the delivery of this ride is such a long time. It’s better this scenario than you have to rush around and find a new a new buyer, its better having more demand of course.”
How do you see the future of the bumper cars and carousels market?
“Those are still traditional attractions in my opinion. They still will still be in the market. I don’t know if they may be downsides a little bit, because once again, for the travel insurance, it’s getting harder to move because of the labour. So, I don’t know if this industry will find a new dimension, a new proposal. But I’m quite optimistic that for the next five, 10 years at least, those products should be still around.”
The Middle East: The emerging market
“Honestly, right now, Saudi Arabia is a promising market based on their initial announcement. Because so far, whatever they announced two years ago, that we expected it to be ready in a couple of years, but it is still far away to happen. So, I think they need to grow as a population, as a morality for us. Big projects will come out because they have money they will push, but they remind me of Dubai. Dubai 10-15 years ago grew up very fast, but now you see it’s not sustainable. Everything slowed down and currently, some parks are struggling, some businesses are struggling, so I’m scared this will happen.
“Of course, for a manufacturer to deliver new rides, maybe it will be a booming market, because, you know, there will be new projects for big rides. But if you look in the long term, they will need a long time to grow up and to become more stable. It’s a step-by-step approach, little by little, to grow gradually. They may create big projects, a big one but then to keep them, you need to become sustainable and keep that momentum going. To secure get the income they need to operate sustainably and that takes time. They cannot just consider attracting tourists from across the globe to go there. People will visit Saudi, because they want to visit Saudi, not to go to the amusement park, maybe the surrounding country, yes. But other countries around there, of course, all the north and parts of Africa, they will come. Their market needs some time in my opinion as it takes time to grow.”
Image: Bertazzon
