Dutch manufacturer ETF Ride Systems has been sold. The company that was founded and led by CEO Ruud Koppens for the past 26 years is now in the hands of a company from Liechtenstein. With the sale of the company complete, 67-year old Koppens went into retirement on 1 July.
ETF Ride Systems was founded in 1998 as part of ETF Machinefabriek, that manufactures machinery for the carpet-industry, with ETF Ride Systems only being a trade name. In 26 years and under leadership of Koppens, the rides division manufactured over 70 ride systems for dark rides worldwide. Several of them have won awards, such as the TEA Awards and Brass Ring Awards.
The company has a portfolio of several car rides, both tracked and trackless. Their most famous products are the Mystic Mover and Multi Mover, both trackless systems. Notable examples are Symbolica: Paleis der Fantasie (Efteling, Netherlands), Bazyliszek (Legendia, Poland) and Popcorn Revenge (Walibi Belgium, Belgium). All three of them were rewarded with a TEA Award.
In recent years, the company manufactured several motion-based ride systems for dark rides: the Xperience Mover. This ride system was used in the Lego Factory Adventure Ride (Legoland New York, U.S.A.) and Volkanu: Quest for the Golden Idol (Lost Island Themepark, U.S.A.). Examples of tracked ride systems are Maus au Chocolat (Phantasialand, Germany) and Thor’s Hammer (Tusenfryd, Norway). Koppens’ last project is the development of a new ride system that will be presented on the IAAPA Euro Expo in September of this year in Amsterdam.
A press-release of ETF Ride Systems does not mention the new owner. According to Ruud Koppens, this was done because ETF will remain an independent company with its own team. Information in the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK) shows that the company was bought by Vanest Aktiengesellschaft, which is owned by the Spieldiener-family. They are a known name in the amusement industry as they also own Intamin Amusement Rides and ABC Rides. Both ETF and Vanest want to emphasise that ETF Ride Systems will not become part of either of those companies but remain a separate entity.
