WhiteWater, a leading waterpark manufacturer, exhibited at IAAPA Expo Europe in Vienna, Austria, this week, where the team held a press conference to announce company updates and share some highlights from 2023.
The firm celebrated the opening of almost 60 projects so far this year. As WhiteWater’s regional offices continue to grow, it also achieved noteworthy milestones in terms of groundbreaking and completion for projects involving a variety of venue categories, such as hotels, community centres, cruise ships, and standalone water parks.
New hires
By adding experts in slide path, architecture, and performance services to be situated in the EMEA area, WhiteWater has greatly bolstered its local staff. This tactical choice demonstrates the organisation’s unwavering commitment to offering customised service in the local language and time zone.
Jamie Charlesworth, who got a “welcome home” from the team in Dubai upon his return as managing director for the Middle East and India, was one of the noteworthy additions to WhiteWater’s staff. Charlesworth has a 20-year track record in the leisure and entertainment industry. He has worked with major Middle Eastern corporations like Emaar, Majid Al Futaim, and SEVEN, one of Saudi Arabia’s top amusement producers.
Taking note of the entertainment sector’s rapid expansion in Saudi Arabia, WhiteWater has also named Hussam Nabil as a senior project manager for this market. Respected for his engineering prowess, Nabil helped develop major projects like the King Abdullah Financial District and the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA).
In the meantime, WhiteWater brought in fresh talent at the European regional base in Munich when it hired Diego Reckmann as regional director of operations. Reckmann has a lot of project management expertise and draws on his extensive knowledge of EN standards from his work at TÜV Nord. His ten years of experience in the water park manufacturing industry have been crucial in fostering innovation, particularly in the development of ground-breaking attractions like the SlideWheel.
“We have been growing our regional teams over the course of three years, and the addition of top-notch talent like Jamie Charlesworth, Hussam Nabil, and Diego Reckmann reflects our unwavering commitment to deliver excellence in the entertainment industry,” said Geoff Chutter, CEO of WhiteWater. “Their expertise and dedication will undoubtedly propel us to new heights in the EMEA region and beyond.
“With their leadership, we are well-positioned to continue setting industry standards and providing unmatched experiences for our clients.”
The indoor water park trend continues
Indoor water parks, which are typically difficult areas with limited space, provide a special set of challenges that WhiteWater has shown to be well-suited to handle. WhiteWater’s meticulous planning guarantees that guests can take advantage of a wide variety of little rides all year long and had multiple significant indoor installations opening throughout 2023.
The team, which won a 2023 European Star Award for its Master Blaster + Constrictor Fusion, was pleased to develop an AquaForms 300, AquaSplash toys, and Life Floor in Czechia as part of a project to extend Aqualand Moravia’s offerings for young children.
By minimising its footprint and offering greater play space, the play structure balances style and substance. The park’s AquaForms 300, built with corrosive-resistant materials to lead the industry in longevity, includes nine foot and hand activators to create a more engaging play experience with real cause-and-effect interactions. Additionally, because the features are not always in use, the park uses less water.
With its 100,000 square feet of indoor space, Island Waterpark at Showboat [pictured, top] broke records over in the United States. The $100 million project created the largest indoor beachside water park in the world as well as the largest indoor water park under an OpenAire retractable roof in North America. Its attractions include a FlowRider Double, two AquaForms aquatic play structures, and eleven water slides.
This year, Studio City, a well-known resort, casino, and entertainment complex, also opened its indoor expansion, with WhiteWater supplying all of its water slides and water play structures.
In close collaboration with Melco Resorts & Entertainment, the WhiteWater team created the attractions to effortlessly blend in with the interior of the building. They achieved this by utilising bold metallic colours that complemented the Art Deco style of the architecture and themes. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, this place offers a fantastic combination of thrilling rides and family-friendly experiences that transport customers to the world of space travel.
“We take pride in our ability to transform challenging indoor spaces into aquatic wonders that captivate the imagination and provide lasting memories for families. From Czechia to the United States and beyond, our designs redefine what’s possible in indoor water park design enabling operators make the most of their space,” said Onno Meeter, president of water parks at WhiteWater.
Growth in the resort & cruise sectors
In addition, WhiteWater has been actively engaged in assisting hotels and resorts in increasing their income per available room as well as the average daily rate by incorporating aquatic amenities. The launch of several properties in the EMEA region in November and December 2022, such as the opulent Cheval Blanc Randheli in the Maldives, the Waldorf Astoria Lusail, Doha in Qatar, and the JA Beach Resort in the United Arab Emirates, serve as prime examples of this trend.
WhiteWater and MSC Cruises’ cooperation will continue to grow in 2023, demonstrating the cruise line’s dedication to providing aquatic experiences for its guests.
The recent christening of MSC Euriba in June 2023 and the inaugural voyage of MSC Seascape in December 2022 are noteworthy events. These ships highlight WhiteWater’s expertise in custom theming, wherein the company’s highly skilled manufacturing team creates hand-carved sculptures to transform aquatic play structures into captivating artworks, evoking vibrant coral reefs and pirate ships.
Latest innovations
In an effort to continuously innovate, WhiteWater investigated ways to incorporate theme park rollercoaster experiences into water parks. As a result, the Infinity Master Blaster was created, which raises riders to greater heights more energy-efficiently by using a vehicle conveyor. This draws inspiration from dry amusement attractions since it employs a closed-circuit slide path that loads and unloads at the same location, allowing water parks to provide the attraction at a lower tower height.
The team continued to work on growing the Master Blasters family, considering ways to reach younger audiences with the popular upward blasts. The new Mini Master Blaster water slide was created as a result of this. The Mini Master Blaster introduces children to zero-gravity sensations with a small footprint and no tower needed, using the same uphill blasts as its larger counterpart.
As part of the research into expanding the line of water coasters, WhiteWater observed a growing emphasis on kids’ areas in aquatic design. The success of Island Waterpark at Showboat, where the addition of Elevated AquaForms has created a dual-level play experience, is a perfect illustration of this strategy. With its innovative design, guests can choose to play on the upper deck of the structure or on the splash pad below, creating a family-friendly atmosphere where everyone can have fun in the water in a single designated area.
Meanwhile, FlowRider, Inc. announced an exclusive partnership with Hydrostadium, a fluid dynamics expert, extending its deep flow surf range to encompass lake and river surf waves. FlowSurf can now claim the lowest power consumption and water volume available on the market thanks to the combination of the two companies’ collective expertise.
“Together, we are revolutionizing deep flow waves with next generation wave technology bringing true surfing, with already announced projects to KSA and the Mediterranean starting in 2024,” said FlowRider president, Marshall Myrman.
Looking to the future
Although 2023 saw a number of noteworthy openings, the team is also anticipating two of WhiteWater’s biggest European openings in the previous ten years in 2024. There is yet more to come for WhiteWater in the area, with the first Endless Surf pool in the world set to open in the summer of 2024 and Oceana at Liseberg hosting the first six-person aquarides in Europe.
“These milestones showcase WhiteWater’s innovation power and is a testament to our commitment to redefine aquatic experiences in Europe and beyond,” said Rainer Maelzer, president, WhiteWater ERA GmbH. “I am thrilled about the positive impact these attractions are anticipated to have on the industry.”
Last year, WhiteWater celebrated winning three Brass Ring Awards at IAAPA Expo 2022 in Orlando.
