ProSlide, a world-leading Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and technology, is a company that takes its sustainability responsibilities seriously.
A global leader in water ride innovation, the company has developed state-of-the-art projects in regions all over the world for clients of all sizes. This includes the Atlantis Aquaventure parks in Dubai and Sanya, Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, DreamWorks Water Park, Europa-Park’s Rulantica, Aquatopia Water Park in Vietnam, Beijing Happy Magic, and many more.
Steven Phillips is lead composites engineer at ProSlide. He has a vast knowledge and expertise of the fibreglass used by the company. Here, he speaks to blooloop about ProSlide’s vision for a sustainable water park industry. He also outlines the practical steps that make such a vision workable.
Continuous improvement
Introducing his role with ProSlide, Phillips says:
“My primary responsibility is the continuous improvement of our fibreglass technologies. This includes new gel coats and resins, as well as manufacturing processes and capabilities.”
“My job also includes new technologies that tie into our sustainability program. For instance, insulation and leak mitigation. I’m fortunate that I get to work alongside many of the other departments at ProSlide as well. It’s an aspect that makes my job very rewarding.”
ProSlide has committed to being conscious of its impact on society and the environment. One of its key goals is to operate its business responsibly. This is demonstrated through its products and processes. Plus, it can also be seen in the ethics that guide the day-to-day business operations with customers, suppliers, and employees. In practical terms, this means it is always setting the bar higher, and striving to become better.
Clients, communities, and stakeholders are becoming more and more motivated to engage with businesses that share their high standards for social and environmental responsibility. As such, ProSlide is keen to share its vision for a vibrant, sustainable, and prosperous water park industry. The company is confident in the skills, knowledge and expertise that put it in a position to offer the best high-performance water rides, designed and manufactured with sustainability in mind.
ProSlide’s sustainability vision
One key factor that differentiates ProSlide in the market is innovation. This is an intrinsic driver of the business. It is also why nearly all the water ride innovations across the industry for the past three decades have been pioneered by ProSlide.
However, being leaders in innovation carries with it the responsibility of designing products and running the business in an ethical fashion.
On ProSlide’s vision for a sustainable water park future, Phillips says:
“Water parks can lead the industry in being sustainable and socially responsible. They’ve gone through a rapid transformation over the past three decades. At ProSlide we’re excited to be leading the way by applying our innovative technology, thinking and resources to this challenge.”
This is important – the industry as a whole needs to be doing more.
In fact:
“All industries need to be doing more,” he adds. “Water parks are no exception. They have a direct usage of water. They also use building materials that have historically been derived from petrochemicals.
“ProSlide, and everyone that works there, is in this for the long term. It’s key that we think about future generations so that they can continue to enjoy water parks in a responsible and sustainable way.”
Two key areas
ProSlide’s vision is built upon two key pillars. These are sustainable manufacturing and efficient technology.
Commenting on the two areas of focus, Phillips offers an overview:
“ProSlide is focusing on all of these areas, both in terms of our fibreglass manufacturing, as well as the water usage of our products. When it comes to manufacturing, we’re proud to be 100% Canadian-made and have been since the beginning. This means we abide by some of the strictest emissions and chemical disposal laws in the world.
“Operating responsibly and sustainably, of course, adds cost to our products, but it’s a position that we stand behind.”
Sustainable manufacturing
To start with, sustainable manufacturing is key. As a global company, ProSlide knows how important it is to work together with suppliers, to establish the most responsible ways of doing business.
ProSlide sources its fibreglass only from long-term partners in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. These suppliers follow provincial and federal environmental and labour requirements that are among the strictest in the world. They also meet ProSlide’s exacting demands for quality, performance, durability, and sustainability.
The fibreglass fabricators are meticulous in following best practices for responsible manufacturing operations. This includes engaging third-party environmental engineering firms to ensure their styrene emissions are at, or below, provincial requirements. The practice of responsible recycling and chemical waste disposal is also strictly followed. In addition, they adhere to strict health and safety protocols in the workplace.
To reduce its carbon footprint in manufacturing, ProSlide also sources steel from vetted suppliers. It ensures these suppliers are as close to the installation site as possible. This significantly reduces the fuel and energy consumption required to ship such heavy construction materials.
Products with longevity
With the help of its suppliers, ProSlide builds its attractions to last. Its water rides in parks like Disney’s Blizzard Beach, and others around the world, have been in service since the early 1990s. And they are still operating successfully today.
Looking forward, the company continues to evolve and expand its global base of ProSlide-approved suppliers to better serve clients in every part of the world.
In addition, it continues to invest in technology that keeps its extremely durable water rides looking and functioning like new, and to further reduce its carbon footprint.
ProSlide’s innovations in sustainability
Another pillar of ProSlide’s sustainability vision is efficient tech.
“In the near future, we’re going to be introducing two new fibreglass technologies that we’re really excited about,” says Phillips. “They’re designed to reduce water and energy usage but will also save our clients money. The first is our insulated fibreglass. As the name implies, this will reduce energy usage for indoor/outdoor park operators.”
The insulated fibreglass is also compatible with ProSlide’s translucent and light effects fibreglass. This greatly simplifies the ride lighting requirements.
“The second technology is an improved joint design. This reduces the risk of water leakage by a large amount. The joints have ‘two lines of defence’ against water leakage. We use both sealant and a high-performance gasket. Conventional water slide joints use only a thin layer of sealant. This can be prone to leaking, especially in certain sections of the rides.”
A focus on water consumption
Water consumption is something about which ProSlide is keenly observant. It is the biggest resource that the rides use to deliver high-performance experiences. Accordingly, the company challenged its teams to leverage advanced technology to create more ecologically responsible ways to use water.
Phillips adds:
“Water, of course, is at the core of every water park and water ride. So, we must minimise its usage as much as possible. We’re adopting new technologies that turn the water up when guests are experiencing the ride, and off when they are not. We’re also constantly evaluating how much water our rides need so that we’re never using more than we need.”
“Aeration of water is also an important consideration. We’re applying fibreglass covers to contain water spray. Plus, we are developing new nozzles to limit the amount of aeration.”
As well as water consumption, the company also challenged itself to reduce the energy consumption of the rides. In doing so, the teams contrived to make significant reductions. Yet it still maintains the peak performance levels that clients have come to expect from a ProSlide ride.
Sustainability at ProSlide: seven key innovations
ProSlide reduces the water and energy requirements of rides with seven key innovations.
The first is its next-generation BLAST propulsion. This efficiently distributes water nozzles in an array from the bottom to the top of each booster zone. The new solution is unlike inefficient traditional systems, with a single point of water injection. The design was further updated and improved in 2018, by engineering patented new nozzle technology. This reduced both water and power requirements by 40%.
The next area is ProSlide’s HydroMAGNETIC technology, which powers the most advanced ProSlide Water Coasters in the world. It uses magnetic force and on-demand motors as a propulsion force. This dynamic use of energy means the HydroMAGNETIC Water Coasters are among the most efficient in the world.
The third area of innovation is ECO-MODE. This is available on all ProSlide Water Coasters. Eco-Mode lowers pump speed according to demand. The result is an energy saving of approximately 10% on busy days, and 20% on slower days. This technology also reduces the wear on the pumps, thus extending their service life.
Reducing water and energy requirements
Next, ProSlide’s Flow Rate Reduction Programme identifies water rides eligible for reduced flow rates. In total, the water requirements for much of the ride collection have been reduced by an average of 25%. The teams are continuing to work with clients worldwide to achieve the lowest requirements for their rides. All without sacrificing ride performance.
There is also the company’s aforementioned exclusive fibreglass technology, notably, its insulated fibreglass. This creates an energy savings of 50% when compared to traditional fibreglass. As such, it offers greater efficiency in both heated and cooled environments.
The sixth innovation is the ProSplash Gen 2. This dramatically reduces water, chemical and energy needs, by reducing water use, evaporation, and filtration requirements. It is an innovative runout that replaces a traditional landing pool. The company designed ProSplash Gen 2 specifically to create meaningful and impactful efficiencies.
Finally, all ProSlide water rides have splash guards. These are on the runout and other areas where there is a high chance of splashout. The splash guards reduce water loss across the entire ProSlide water ride collection.
ProSlide’s sustainability in action
Speaking about a project showing its sustainability commitments in action, Phillips says:
“We’re excited to be producing our first project that utilises the insulated fibreglass. The project also incorporates some other energy-saving technologies we’ve been developing. We’ll have more to report on that soon!”
He adds:
“One aspect that is rarely considered is the disposal of fibreglass parts and manufacturing waste at the end of their life. Fibreglass itself will last for decades if properly maintained. ProSlide has many rides that have been in service for over 30 years.
“Nevertheless, as the industry ages, we see older rides replaced with newer technologies. ProSlide is collaborating with a local university and together we’re investigating recycling methods for both end-of-life fibreglass and manufacturing waste. We’re really looking forward to sharing developments on this in the coming years.”
Sustainability is a priority at ProSlide
On the topic of how ProSlide monitors its sustainability progress, Phillips says:
“We use an iterative plan, do, check, act cycle for all our new developments, including sustainable technology, to ensure that we’re continually improving our products. The “check” phase allows us to measure key metrics related to sustainability (e.g., water reduction, energy saved, recycled material usage etc.). The “act” phase then allows us to improve our methods before repeating the entire cycle.”
Becoming more sustainable is, he says, simply the right thing to do: “Our vision is long-term. We know that the future of water parks must be more sustainable and socially responsible.”
