Wakeparx 2022 – Tag along for the ride

Outdoor individual sports are still on the rise. The demand for our innovative and reliable cable park systems is correspondingly high. Last year alone, we successfully completed wake park projects in Germany, France and Lithuania. The last few months have been marked by success, but the war in Ukraine also hit our industry deeply – on a personal, but of course also on an economic level.

People have moved further apart in the past year – and not just for social distancing. Uncertainty characterizes everyday private and professional life. And with the conflict in Ukraine, this year began with a tragic turning point, but also with newfound solidarity and strength. Numerous current construction sites for new Wakeparx cable parks in Germany, France and Austria as well as the release of our new website and the brand new online store are positive developments that make us optimistic despite everything.

New store and revised website

At the European facilities, the current season is still in full swing. We are on the road a lot and carry out initial revisions on cable parks that were put into operation last year. To enable park operators to order required spare parts, greases, upgrades and extensions even faster and more easily, we have merged and revised our online stores for Wakeparx and Sesitec into one multilingual instance. The online store is still quite young and will be continuously developed by us. If you have any problems or suggestions regarding the new store, please contact us directly.

In the course of the store revision, we have also given our website a new look as well. You will find all important information about planning, implementation and operation of a cable system. We also provide detailed material and comparisons between our product systems Sesitec and Wakeparx.

Our new, multilingual online store offers filtering and dedicated support features specifically designed to meet the needs of our customers. More improvements are in the works!

 

Alen Hunjek

Director of Purchase, Aftersales Services & Shop

War in Ukraine and consequences for the industry and sports

A distant horror scenario in the back of our minds is suddenly a cruel and deadly reality. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has catapulted us from one moment to the next into crisis mode.

Not only to be able to help those affected from our network of business partners, colleagues and athletes, but also to be able to answer urgent questions from our customers. In particular, rising raw and building material costs, high energy prices, changes in global and local tourism and the impact on operations and new construction have been and continue to be a focus.

The supply chains for our construction sites are heavily dependent on the availability of steel. However, Russia and Ukraine in particular were until recently two of the world’s top five exporters of the sought-after material. Due to the war and the sanctions imposed, a significant share of global steel production has been lost in a very short time. Accordingly, it is important for us to remain able to supply our customers’ current and upcoming projects.

Sustainable energy production

In the last years our customers expressed the wish to get independent and sustainable energy for their cable parks or to generate it themselves. Now we decided to work on the topic of sustainable energy supply for our customers in more depth. In concrete terms, for example, we are not only looking for possible areas to take over in the surrounding area, but also for cooperation partners for the construction, operation and maintenance of regenerative energy sources.

In addition, we are currently working on detailed material and collecting data in order to be able to inform our network comprehensively in this blog and on our website.

Wakepark tourism in times of war and Covid-19

While rising commodity prices and shortages affect virtually all customers, changes in international tourism are also relevant to revenue. Air routes that previously traversed Russian airspace have changed completely and, in some cases, drastically. Wakeparks that have profited strongly from Russian foreign tourism or are located in countries bordering Ukraine or Russia will have to rely more on local tourism in the future.

However in Europe, despite the odds, international tourism increased by almost 200 percent compared to the heavily Corona-impacted start of 2021.

Interim status in 2022

The demand for our business remains high, so we recently expanded our installation team to ensure that we can continue to complete all construction projects. In addition, we continue to work on improving our recently re-launched online store as well as informative content around the construction, planning and operation of wakepark facilities.

Economically, the industry and the sport are doing well. Privately and professionally, we have experienced a wave of solidarity and helpfulness over the past weeks and months. The wakeboarding family is closely networked, people know each other, people help each other. To promote this cohesion and exchange, we are planning a networking event especially for our Wakeparx customers for the current year. More details will follow in the coming weeks.

We will regularly publish expert articles on the industry, technical innovations, sustainability and Wakeboard cable parks as a business model in this blog.

We are looking forward to planning and implementing more wakepark locations and welcoming new members to the Wakeparx Family. Stay tuned!

Moritz Grotepass
CEO Wakeparx Technologies AG

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