By Georgi Bohrod/Special to HCN
When Extreme Engineering — the world’s largest supplier of patented zip lines, climbing walls and adventure products for the amusement and resort industries — opened the doors to its factory in Athens they had won plenty of awards. Yet, prior to February 2015, the rapidly growing company had not yet won an “ARDY,” the coveted award presented by the American Resort Development Association (ARDA). But now it has.
Sharing the award for Buccaneer Bay at Summer Bay in Orlando with Exploria Resorts (developer of Summer Bay), the nationally known company was selected from scores of entries from around the world. The award for Best Family Entertainment Award in Resort Amenities was presented at ARDA World 2015, the premier gathering for resort development professionals around the world at the Orlando World Center Marriott.
The exciting attraction, which brings to life Swashbuckling Pirate adventures complete with a floating dock, bumper boats, rock climbing wall, zip line, bungee jumping and “wipe-out” style inflatable zone. For the less adventurous and those who get tuckered out from all the fun, the area also has shaded picnic areas and a food and beverage outlet.
“Exploria brought us in to provide a much needed ‘home-based’ fun environment, especially targeting kids and teens,” said Phil Wilson, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Extreme Engineering. “Two to three days going to various Orlando based theme parks can be a drain on the finances and plenty exhausting. Exploria wanted to add a different dimension to Summer Bay where there was already a spring-fed lake with water toys like wave runners, canoes and paddleboats. It just made sense to expand to one of our High-Action AdventuresTM.”
“We change lives,” said Jeff Wilson, Extreme Engineering’s President and CEO. “We focus on what the industry calls “emersion,” or theming, to heighten the guest experience. Our goal is to create memories that last a lifetime. With Summer Bay we wanted to highlight that timeshare resorts can grow “young” and appeal to the next generation as much as their parents and their grandparents.
Adding some spice and gusto amps up the energy and creates memories through excitement.”
Not only has Extreme Engineering changed the lives of visitors to resorts and amusement parks, but it also changes the lives of employees and team members.
Wilson spent immeasurable hours driving across the U.S. and zeroed in on East Texas as the primo place to put down roots to build the company’s adventure products. “We discovered an excellent base of higher learning, a phenomenal work ethic and business friendly environment. We’ve found great weather, a small town USA atmosphere and it’s still convenient to the Port of Houston from where we can ship all over the U.S.”
Wilson says “at the end of the day we can alter lives. We’ve hired interns who have gone on to earn degrees in Engineering and watched a young man move from wearing a law enforcement ankle bracelet to becoming an upstanding citizen, husband, employee and father. Just as in the development of our products, we don’t accept mediocrity—we encourage our employees to keep improving the quality of their lives. We say ‘fun is our business’ and that keeps us all moving in a positive direction.”
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With 20 years in experience and more than 5,000 customers worldwide, Extreme Engineering has provided extreme thrills to customers such as Disney, Six Flags, NASA, The US Military, Westgate, Marriott and many more. As the original creators of the mobile climbing walls and Augo-belayTM systems, Extreme Engineering has been globally recognized as the primary supplier in zip lines, mobile and stationary climbing walls and extreme, interactive fun. Extreme Engineering is the first company in amusement history to achieve the honor of “Best New Product” five years in a row and eight consecutive industry awards. For more information, please visit wwww.extrememengeering.com or email [email protected]. The production plan is located at 1391 Flat Creek Road, Athens, TX 75751.