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trailer world Issue One 2014

    Ausgabe Eins 2014  11 Titel cost a lot of money,” he says, “if you drive 1,000 kilometres to London and another 1,000 kilometres back again.” Everything costs money: transporting the rollercoaster, setting it up, dismantling it and bringing it back again. “It’s certainly an entrepreneurial risk,” he admits. “You’ve got to choose your events carefully. Otherwise, things can easily back- fire on you,” says the entrepreneur, with experience based on running an operation employing 50 people. Max Eberhard uses twelve of his own towing vehicles in the funfair area, most of which pull semitrailers. They have the particular attrac- tion of not requiring any special licenses. “That’s why we have a few moreofthemthanwereallyneed,”hediscloses.Why?“Itmeanswecan load the semitrailers without them getting too wide or too tall.” After all, Eberhard’s trailers are on the move six days a week, 24 hours a day. It is important to avoid having restricted driving times and the need for accompanying vehicles. However, it does take five special transports to move the rollercoaster from one fairground site to the next. “A big installation like the Wild Mouse XXL costs a lot of money to move. You could buy yourself something really nice for that amount,” says the man from Hamburg. For example, it took a six-figure sum to pay for the transport to London. The “dinosaurs” are dying out Even though he realises that he is swimming against the tide in this business – Max Eberhard does not want to sell up. He has ob- served that the principle of “small, fun, compact” is increasingly replacing the mantra of “faster, higher, farther” from the past. In this regard, he remembers the Eurostar, an enormous rollercoaster that took 100 trucks to transport it. “That’s unaffordable nowadays. That’s why these dinosaurs are gradually dying out,” he thinks. Max Eberhard is deliberately swimming against the tide with his Wild Mouse XXL: “We persuaded ourselves to invest once again and we are operating this installation with 20 trucks.” Hans Roschmann also confirms the trend towards compact attractions. “The big com- panies are living from hand to mouth,” he says from inside his heat- ed ticket booth for the “Kiddie Coaster” ride. His low loader and semitrailer “don’t have any extras”. Roschmann’s fleet comprises two dodgem rides, the “Kiddie Coaster” and the “Baby Flyer” children’s merry-go-round as well as a stand selling almonds and fruits dipped in chocolate. “The al- mond stand costs €4000,” he says. “One car for the dodgems alone costs €4,500, and you need 24 of them. That adds up to the best part of €100,000, and you’ve still got to pay for the ticket office trailer and your personnel,” he grumbles, doing the arithmetic quickly. His father always said it was a money pit. On the other hand, the al- mond roasters are the ones with the nice holiday homes and money in their pocket. “That’s a fact,” emphasises Roschmann. He thinks it combines low start-up costs with predictable staff expenses. “But we’re not doing too badly. The main thing is to keep healthy,” he says pressing the red button to restart the kiddie rollercoaster. “I know a rollercoaster owner who even had a stand at a Christmas The entrepreneur Max Eberhard uses steel boxes that he has developed himself for transporting his Wild Mouse XXL from A to B.     Issue One 2014  11

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