Black Country firm leads the way in high-tech 4D and multi-media rides
Fancy taking a ride on a flying horse? Or perhaps blasting off into space on a rocket? Maybe even trying to chase down criminals in a high-speed police chase?
Wherever your imagination takes you, the team at Simworx in Kingswinford can probably make it happen.
The firm behind Thorpe Park’s popular Derren Brown’s Ghost Train never rest on their laurels and have just showcased the Pegasus Flying Theatre at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Orlando where it was nominated for a Brass Ring Award.
The adaptable theatre would see guests seated on Pegasus motion seats as they are immersed in big screen action that can be tailored to suit your wildest dreams.
It is the latest brainchild of the company that specialises in the production of rides with 3D headsets, motion capture and 4D effects, with Derren Brown’s Ghost Train and Dino Safari among their big hits.
Simworx, which operates from the Pensnett Estate, has worked with companies such as National Geographic, Ferrari and Dreamworks Animations and created rides and attractions for theme parks across the world, ranging from Thorpe Park and Alton Towers to attractions in Asia and North America.
CEO Terry Monkton co-founded Simworx with business partner Andy Roberts in 2005 after a buy-out of AI Group, where he was appointed finance director in 1997.
He said the move into new attractions for theme parks had come from looking at the market and seeing the technology of the time was close to going out of fashion.
He said: "We did the buyout in 2005 and realised very quickly that the capsule simulators we were designing and manufacturing were fairly old tech and we needed to embark on developing new tech that was deemed suitable for a bigger market, which was theme parks.
"The idea was to create rides that people hadn't seen before and one of the first products we developed in the early days was called the 4D effects cinema, where seats will have motion in them, special effects like water sprays and smoke, all combined with 3D projected media content.
"Seventeen years ago, that was considered ground-breaking, whereas you now get them in cinemas, and we were explaining to people what they were and we were one of the leading companies that was selling them around the world."
However, it has never forgotten its roots, and Mr Monkton said that while customers only usually associate the Black Country with Peaky Blinders, they also know that the company is in the middle of a vibrant industrial hub.
He said: "Clients do understand that we are located in what is the heart of the UK manufacturing centre, and surrounded by a fabulous supply chain which is integral to our manufacturing process.
"We have about 14 products that we offer clients ranging from a 4D cinema up to flying theatres or big dark rides and we have standard products, but we also know clients want to have their own mark on it and create something different.
"We have a creative department here that works to help a client create the ride they want, whether that's a dinosaur ride or something with a Dreamworks intellectual property, and create the story they want to tell."
The company has been creating new rides and new attractions over the last few years, including a unique police car chase adventure called AGV which sees the riders become either the police or the criminals in a wild chase around a course.
Simworx has more than 30 people working at the building in Kingswinford and has worked with more than 100 theme parks across the world in more than 40 countries since the main work began in 1997.
Mr Monkton said it had been a busy 25 years, but said he felt the company had become an integral part of the evolution of media rides.
He said: "I think we have been fairly integral in the evolution of media rides, going from fairly basic types of experiences which were quite rare for theme parks to developing a whole range of attractions and experiences.
"We've been able to introduce media attractions as mainstays at theme parks, which means that when a theme park is being designed, they will have a mixed proportion of media attractions and roller coasters.
"We'd like to be the go-to for attractions and while we do have competition from abroad, we're fortunate that we've done a lot of projects and that has given us a great credibility.
"I genuinely think the industry will evolve in the next 25 years and when I look back at the last 25 years, I can't believe what we have achieved, but we have a great team behind it."
To find out more about Simworx, go to simworx.co.uk.
To see some of the attractions created by Simworx, go to vimeo.com/simworx.
