Simon Fowles takes a look at how MP Group has grown into an international player
The MP Group was founded in 1987 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, under the original name of Memopark. It is in the heart of the hard-working, creative Emilia region where the production and sale of amusement and parks and rides started.
The company has grown, it says, thanks to its dedication, “earning the respect of sector professionals, clients and public alike.” Over time a small, local business has developed into a large international company. Its three-member staff has increased to 50 and its premises have moved from a small, artisan’s shed to a large industrial complex.
Following a recent agreement, the MP Group is now controlled by Gruppo Ariel Tecnica which, together with its other company, Dedem Automatica, represents a single entity in the management and maintenance of vending machines. This strategic partnership optimises resources and energy for an increasingly effective and incisive market presence, it says.
Today, the MP Group’s products and services include everything from the classic kiddie ride range, re-developed with the skill of those who have an in-depth knowledge of the market to meet the needs of sector operators, to turnkey solutions, where the MP Group becomes a true client advisor, suggesting and providing the best possible solutions for customers’ needs.
Projects are centred on the end user and this is why the company designs products that are, it says, “safe, interactive and attractive and that guarantee MP Group’s products the longest possible durability.”
MP Group has installations worldwide. These include units at CEC Entertainment (US); Liberty Park, Adrenalina Land, Globo and Girabilandia (all Italy); Ocean Park (Hong Kong), Prater (Austria); Concord Card Casino (US); Circus Maximum (Sweden); Flying Carousel (US); Aventura Park (Ecuador); Santa Claus Production (Ireland); Play Station Arcade (Honduras); Inversiones Creativas (Chile); Kiddie Land (Bahrain); Neverland Park (Argentina); Wonderland (Nigeria); Shopping Centre Durazzo (Albania); Bako (Azerbaijan); Ito Italia (Russia), Marina d’Or (Spain), and many more.
Together with the classic kiddie rides, the company offers revolutionary aerial machines, adrenaline-producing structures that are also chosen by institutes for specific training, as well as inflatables, automatic machines for photographing children on kiddie rides and interactive kiddie rides suitable for the disabled.
The latest ride in the range is the Marathon Runner, which combines fun with the fight against child obesity. It has been shown that around 70 per cent of the population of western countries are not physically active enough to maintain their health and most favourable weight (source: EUFIC - European Food Information Council). With this in mind, MP Group designed the Marathon Runner, a game that can help turn playtime into a socially useful activity.
Marathon Runner is a way to have fun that is also an opportunity for achieving wellness and for both cultural and physical growth. The rider works to attain the highest score through co-ordinated, continuous movements of the legs and arms, thus increasing physical activity and lowering the risk of certain diseases and conditions such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
The ride has been nominated for a Best Product award at the November trade show in Florida, US, IAAPA.
Also on display at IAAPA will be the 7m high Galaxy Explorer, an interactive, two-seat panoramic tower that works automatically with a coin, without requiring an operator. The Galaxy Explorer works both in an automatic and an interactive way: by means of controls on board the passenger can operate both height and direction of the shuttle. This will be complemented with the Father Christmas-themed St Claus interactive ride, ideal in the festive run-up, and the Yellow Submarine, described by the company as ‘the first interactive kiddie ride in the world which can host both children with a wheelchair and able-bodied children.”
Yellow Submarine is equipped with high level safety systems, designed for both children on board and for onlookers outside close to the ride. By means of a joystick and a few buttons it is easily enjoyable, even by physically impaired children. Every child can interactively control the game speed and the movement of a camera installed inside a periscope, which catches images and transmits them to a screen placed on the control panel.
Creativity, a great deal of artisan experience, maximum attention to safety, top quality raw materials and advanced manufacturing systems: these are the main features of the MP Group, for which fun is a serious business.
