In the Pink at Flamingo Land

Press release date: 25 November 2008

Mention the word hydraulics and most people will immediately conjure a mental image of industry, some may think of construction, others a factory, but very few would think of a theme park. Yet at Flamingo Land in Malton, North Yorkshire, they are so reliant upon hydraulics in their various rides that they have been a loyal Pirtek Scarborough customer for more than six years.

The original park was founded in the 1961 by a local business man Pentland Hick. But in 1977, the zoo and holiday village was purchased by Robert Gibb, who converted it once more, this time into the theme park it is today. Comprising well over 100 attractions including some 50+ rides, Flamingo Land is the largest privately owned theme park in the country, with more than a million people passing through its turnstiles each year.

Clearly, with such a large number of customers, safety on the rides is paramount and it is a testament to the faith Flamingo Land has in Pirtek Scarborough that a good deal of the important safety checks have been entrusted to its team of Mobile Sales and Service Technicians. “We have used Pirtek Scarborough for over six years now. Obviously, we have our own engineering crew for the day to day maintenance work, but we have involved Pirtek more and more because of the services they can offer,” explains the parks engineering manager Matt Gilbert. “We rely on them for the safety checks and initial installation work. They also do a lot of preventative maintenance work that ensures the rides are working throughout the year which in turn means we have plenty of happy customers.”

Matt is keen to point out that Pirtek’s involvement extends well beyond replacing the occasional leaky hose. “Pirtek Scarborough does all the end of season checks. We use them not only for the hydraulic work, but to maintain the pneumatic systems as well,” he continues. “We also use Pirtek to service and maintain the hydraulic motors and to source parts which we simply can’t get hold of. Pirtek Scarborough does a superb all-round job. The best part is if we have a problem with a ride, we know they will drop everything and put it right as soon as humanly possible.”

Alistair Wiggins, Business Development Director, 020 8749 8444
Pirtek UK Ltd, 35 Acton Park Estate, The Vale, Acton, London, W3 7QE
E-mail: alistair.wiggins@pirtek.co.uk
Web: www.pirtek.co.uk