Amusement ride manufacturer focuses on rich Cebu market
Ramon C. Santos, (right) president of Carron Group of Companies who joined the last week’s Cebu Construction Show 2017 held in a Cebu City mall, sees more opportunities for his amusement ride manufacturing business in Cebu.
Contributed photo
A Nueva Ecija-based manufacturer of amusement rides and builder of water parks is looking at expanding its client portfolio in Cebu with the province’s growing list of hotels, resorts and malls.
Ramon C. Santos, president of Carron Group of Companies, said the growth of the hospitality industry fueled this decision as resort developments are integrated with theme parks or water parks complementing the existing business.
“The amusement business in the Philippines has grown tremendously since the 1990s. It used to be just a seasonal business. Now, it is a subject of interest all year round,” he said.
Santos said company’s presence is more prominent in Luzon and some parts of Mindanao including Davao, Zamboanga and Dapitan.
But they only have three clients in Cebu since they started in 1996.
Santos said they set up the amusement rides at SM City Cebu and the two-way zipline and skybike at the Hidden Valley Mountain Resort in Pinamungajan, Cebu owned and managed by Lamac Multipurpose Cooperative.
The company is also building the park rides such as sky bike and zip coaster at the Cebu Safari Zoo in Carmen, Cebu owned by business tycoon Michel Lhuillier.
“The amusement business takes some time before the project can officially start. It involves a lot of negotiation. It takes patience and determination,” said Santos, citing a case of a resort development in Lapu-Lapu City with whom they are still in talks with after four years.
Santos said recent hospitality development model points to an integration of business and leisure, where groups and families can experience different activities under one property.
For example, resorts are now thinking of building water parks to complement their existing property.
The Carron Group of Companies consists of Westech WIPI Manufacturing Corp., Westech International Phils. Inc., Carron Amusement Rides Corp. and Westech WIPI Traijig Center.
Santos, a business administration graduate, learned the tricks of the trade when he worked for the Star City amusement park in Pasay City.
In his own company, Santos conducted research and development and learned the amusement business from technology in Europe, USA, Japan and Taiwan.
“There is a big potential in the Philippine market. I upgraded the peryahan, carnival concept and established a business that manufactures amusement rides and builds theme parks, fun entertainment centers, waterparks and children’s playground,” he told Cebu Daily News.
When the company started, Santos said rides are imported from abroad and they just send technicians to set them up in the Philippines.
But that arrangement is costly especially when there are technical issues.
Santos said it was a challenge to prove to clients that the rides they manufacture are solid and safe.
“We introduced local production at a time when people think that Philippine-made products are substandard. We manufacture in the Philippines. We build the ride from scratch,” he said.
Santos said they go through the entire project cycle: conceptualization and design, manufacture, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning and operations.
Materials are imported from Japan, Europe, Russia and China. But all rides are manufactured in their operations base in Nueva Ecija.
The company also has its own welding school which trains both current and potential employees.
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