Reverchon Industries

Reverchon Industries was a developer, designer and manufacturer of amusement park attractions that were sold all over the world. The company went into liquidation in September 2008, filing for bankruptcy and closing down their manufacturing and operations plant.

Its production unit was set in the French village of Samois-sur-Seine, near Fontainebleau.

History

1929: Gaston Reverchon, a young coach builder, created his own workshop in the suburbs of Paris. The rides business began there when Gaston Reverchon thought to adapt the coachwork he used on real cars to bumper cars. At the time, bumper cars were nothing more than a steering wheel and a seat attached to a wooden board on wheels. The first Reverchon bumper-car with its metallic color and design inspired by the American cars of that period went on to the market and was an instant success.
1937: It occurred to Gaston Reverchon to not only make parts for bumper-car rides but the whole ride itself and that year, on the dawn of the second world war, Télécombat, a ride featuring small military airplanes, was born.
1956: After progress had been halted by the war, Reverchon began to provide attractions for distraction-thirsty Europeans. Joined by his sons Michel and Christian, working respectively as designer and technician ("Gaston Reverchon" became "Gaston Reverchon and Sons"), he began a second diversification, designing and producing a full range of complete rides. In 1956, they were the first to develop polyester as part of the bumper cars' coachwork.
1950–1971: These two decades marked a golden age for Reverchon, throughout which the company created new rides and improved old ones. The production unit was relocated to Samois-sur-Seine, where 2,000 cars and 50 rides were produced every year and a new model designed every 5 years. In 1971, 270 workers were working in the company.
1973: 1973 proved to be a big year for Reverchon Industries, when Christian Reverchon presented his two latest attractions in Chicago: Himalaya and Paratrooper. Here, the company understood its strength and weaknesses: the public found the rides very fun and the aesthetic pleasing but the rides took very long to set up (3 days for 3 people). It also revealed Reverchon Industries' desire to expand beyond Europe.
1976: In 1976, Reverchon made its first flume ride at Bagatelle Park, in Berck France.
1978: Having learned a lesson from 1973, Reverchon launched a bumper car system to be set up using hydraulics. Now, rather than requiring two days for six people, the owner could do the work all on his or her own.
1990: The first Reverchon roller coaster is installed at Le Pal in France.^[1]
1997: The first Crazy Mouse coaster opens at Dinosaur Beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, U.S.^[2]
2003: During the 2003 IAAPA Expo, Alberto Zamperla and Gilles Reverchon announced Zamperla would manufacture and sell Reverchon amusement rides worldwide under a license agreement.^[3] The first coaster built under this arrangement is installed in 2004 at Six Flags Great America.^[4]
2005: The Zamperla and Reverchon agreement is dissolved, however Zamperla retains the rights to build and market its own spinning mouse coaster calling it the Twister Coaster. It is virtually identical to the Reverchon model except for the use of individual restraints mounted to the floor of the vehicle – the Reverchon passenger restraints pull down from overhead.
2008: Reverchon announced that they have filed for bankruptcy and are closing down their manufacturing and operations.^[5] On September 26, 2008 the company ceased trading. Rival roller coaster company Zamperla continues marketing the Twister Coaster.

List of operating Reverchon roller coasters

Name	Model	Park	Country	Opened
Tigre de Sibérie	Custom Coaster	Le Pal	France	1990
Crazy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Hirakata Park	Japan	1998
Dizzy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Wurstelprater	Austria	1998
Spinning Coaster	Spinning Coaster	Yokohama Cosmoworld	Japan	1998
Wall's Twister Ride	Spinning Coaster	West Midland Safari Park	United Kingdom	1998
Spin Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Mitsui Greenland	Japan	1998
Crazy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Steel Pier	United States	1999
Ratón Loco	Spinning Coaster	La Feria Chapultepec Magico	Mexico	1999
Exterminator	Spinning Coaster	Kennywood	United States	1999
Fantasy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Fantasy Island	United Kingdom	2000
Crazy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Brighton Pier	United Kingdom	2000
Twister	Spinning Coaster	Lightwater Valley	United Kingdom	2001
Wild Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Magic World	Italy	2001
Flagermusen	Spinning Coaster	Fårup Sommerland	Denmark	2001
Crazy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Allou Fun Park	Greece	2002
Papillons d'Alice	Junior Spinning Coaster	Jardin d'Acclimatation	France	2002
Primeval Whirl	Spinning Coaster	Disney's Animal Kingdom	United States	2002
Wild Mouse	Spinning Coaster (Compact)	Abie Danter Jnr. - Danter Attractions	United Kingdom	2002
Magic Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Fantasia Luna Park	Greece	2003
Crazy Mouse	Spinning Coaster	Steve Vander Vorst Rides	United States	2003
Ragondingue	Spinning Coaster	Bagatelle	France	2006
Bukkerittet	Spinning Coaster	Kongeparken	Norway	2008