RIP Clermont Steel?

All I can add to this conversation is that I rode the new jungle themed wing coaster at Kings Dominion last year, whatever they named it, and it was a one and done for me because it was so extremely bouncy and rough. I did not expect that at all.

I have also heard these rumors about why the plant was closing from Facebook people.

And about things Coaster enthusiasts say that irk me, it's "Here we go." Yes, we are about to go. Thanks for reminding me. So annoying.

There was a random FB post this morning in a SFGAm group where someone was stating that the Demon was now smoother than Wrath of whatever.

I was at SF Great America 2 weeks ago, and I'll back that up. Not because Wrath is crazy rough or anything, but damn how is Demon that good after this many years? I generally skip these type of rides because I'm not a CreHo, and I only rode it because I rode the Cali one when I was 8 and I loved it. I regretted it as soon as I got on but was very pleasantly surprised.

LostKause

All I can add to this conversation is that I rode the new jungle themed wing coaster at Kings Dominion last year, whatever they named it, and it was a one and done for me because it was so extremely bouncy and rough. I did not expect that at all.

My wife and I rode this last year as well. She looked at me and said "That's brand new???" and wouldn't get back on. She enjoys roller coasters, but like a normal person, and clearly felt something was off.

Jeff:

Hydra at Dorney felt like ass.

Hydra has not aged well at all, yet Talon rides great and is 4 years older.

Hydra has always had a bit of a rattle. If you go back and read reports from opening year (example 1, 2, 3), a lot of them mention some roughness.

Perhaps Hydra was built cheaply? I say this because Dorney is a smaller park that gets new attractions seemingly on the cheaper side. That could help the argument rather than hurt it.

But what does that even mean? Someone explain it.

Kumba was pretty rattling when I rode it a few years ago. What gives?

Manufacturing tolerance definitely affects cost. Tighter tolerances take more time, better equipment, and more skill. I agree that the notion B&M would just loosen their standards seems silly, plus Clermont would already have what they need to do the job right, but something seems to be up.

Maybe it came to a breaking point where Clermont said they can't deliver a quality product for the price point and B&M walked.

B&M is an international company with the majority of their business from outside the United States. Not a surprise that they might have switched to a non-us Steel fabricator. Even more so, if, and I say if as I know nothing on this topic, if recent U.S. Steel Tariffs were in play.

As for the rattle on the newer rides. This group is about the greatest collection of crowd sourced, reliable, educated, reporting, so something is up. What it is, we may not ever know.

It's a pretty safe bet that tariffs played a role, considering (last I checked) they're hitting steel with 25% coming into the US. And then there are retaliatory tariffs many places on anything going out of the US.

I work at a small manufacturer in Michigan employing ~100 people, with ~$30 million annual revenue, and we import a lot of aluminum and copper, the two primary ingredients in our product, as well as sub-components from our parent company in Europe. Last year we got hit for ~$3 million in additional tariffs, costing our employees roughly half of their annual profit sharing. And, of course, we passed as much of that additional cost as we could to our customers (Ford, GM, other tier 1 & 2 suppliers, etc.), who will pass it right on to all of you. Even worse than the imbecilic, illegal tariffs themselves is the unpredictability of it all, which makes it nearly impossible to plan around, since they change every few weeks or months.

So it would not be at all surprising if Clermont went out of business considering the circumstances. Small price to pay for making America great again, I guess.

But the president says foreign companies pay tariffs! 🙄