Can we help VEKOMA?

It's hard for me to believe VEKOMA is now bankrupt...

This organization has given us so many wonderful and innovative creations that we get so much pleasure from!

I wonder, is there anything we can do to help them out? Like when the viewers brought STAR TREK back from the dead when it got cancelled? I know that sounds naive, but stranger things HAVE happened.

Also: Has anyone besides VEKOMA made a "flying" coaster? I hear there are three of them...all Vekoma?

Color me sad....

~Tocci

B&M is making Air. When it is complete in early march there will be 4. 3 Vekoma, and 1 B&M.
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I thought i heard about vekoma going bankrupt a long time ago. Their rides are pretty sweet. :(  
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"Welcome To The Dam Tour,I am your dam tour guide, take as many dam pictures as you want"
" Where the hell is the damn dam tour?" :)

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. said:
B&M is making Air. When it is complete in early march there will be 4. 3 Vekoma, and 1 B&M.

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Plus the old Skytrack flying coaster in Europe (is it SBNO?), the new Zamperla Flying coasters, and Hoei Sangyu's flyer(s).

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Tocci55 said:
It's hard for me to believe VEKOMA is now bankrupt...

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They're not.  They only filed for bankruptcy protection.
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- Peabody

*** This post was edited by Peabody on 11/13/2001. ***

They're not.  They only filed for bankruptcy protection.
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- Peabody

Thanks Peabody!

That's really good to hear.

Does anyone have any good URL's to get information on those other flyers?

~Tocci

Tocci:

The world's first flying coaster.  It came well before Stealth was built! (1997/1998)http://www.coasterclub.org/en/fd/41/gs-skytrak.shtml

Zamperla's new flyer.  (It has a spiral lift hill like the old Schwarzkopf coasters, like Whizzer for example.) http://www.coasterclub.org/en/photos/PinfariZamperla-May2001/img_9.shtml

Hoei Sangyu's flyer: http://www.coastergallery.com/japan/FH01.html

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- Peabody

Cool!

That's some pretty experimental looking stuff!

Too bad about BirdMen.

Thanks!

~Tocci

Every concept has to start somewhere.  Look at what happened to the sitdown looper after corkscrew/revolution.  I can't wait to see the flying coaster in a few years (especially after B&M has a go at it!).
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- Peabody

THANK YOU!!!!

That's exactly what I would say to someone who thinks they are dull and on their way out!

I think they will firmly establish themselves as a category of their own.

> Wooden

> Steel

> Suspended

> Inverted

> Flying (or Prone as the British say)

~Tocci

ANYWAY....... Vekoma are fine.

Another company took over their debt, and Vekoma are back in business.

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john peck said:
ANYWAY....... Vekoma are fine.
Another company took over their debt, and Vekoma are back in business.

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Good news ends the day for once.
Thanks. I feel better now.
~Tocci

B&M is making Air

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Where and when??/

 

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"We're not done yet, don't take it to seriously, its just life will win in the end" -superchick[k]

*** This post was edited by villege12 on 11/14/2001. ***

They are back in business, but I wouldn't categorize the company as "fine".  They cut at least 60 people from their workforce (down from over 200 to 140) and have scrapped all R&D projects, other than tweaking existing products.  It looks like they will continue to sell what they already have (SLCs, Invertigos, etc.), but with the maintainence problems with the Flying Dutchman and Super Invertigos, I think they will have real problems selling much of anything in the US for a few years. 

If they are successful selling and maintaining some products in Europe, like the Hammerhead stall, and build up their reputation for a few years, I think the US companies would come back to them eventually.

Of course, there has been a rumor floating around that Six Flags is suing Vekoma, which may be why they had to file for bankruptcy in the first place.  I'm sure Six Flags didn't pay them for the Deja Vu coasters since they didn't open when promised, which destroyed Vekoma's cash flow.