This working week started with a short flight to Amsterdam, The Netherlands on Tuesday as some of our staff went to an industry exhibition to research new ideas and new products. It was a productive trip with lots of new ideas gained and a number of new products ordered which we'll go into more depth about in the next few paragraphs.
It was a short flight from Liverpool, leaving at 6:05am and arriving in Amsterdam just before 9am (Amsterdam is GMT+1). We had a quick train journey for two stops to arrive at RAI Amsterdam just in time to get our visitor badges and queue ready for opening of EAS. EAS is the European IAAPA show. The most popular is the IAAPA show in Orlando which takes place each November but unfortunately due to work commitments we'll be unable to make that show this year so we thought we'd head over to the European show which was great.
This show has a variety of products on display not just inflatables. You'll see employees at this exhibition from Disney World, Disney Land, Alton Towers, Coca-Cola, Pepsi as they look at lots of different products and ideas from inflatables to roller coasters, arcade machines to simulator rides, vending machines to amusement rides and much more. There's soooo much to see.
Our staff had a good look around not just at the inflatables, here at SJ's Leisure, we offer much more than bouncy castle hire so we took a look at the amusement and electronic games, the simulator rides, photobooths and also looked at other products which although we wouldn't offer as part of our services, we may adapt them to suit our company such adopting amusement arcade games into an inflatable or even just a smaller more portable version of the game.
We also visited suppliers of ours from the UK and Europe and it was great to catch up with them and order new products, discuss new ideas and modifying inflatables and other products to suit both our and our customer's needs. We have a lot of new, exciting products set to hit the range in the coming months, especially as part of our Interactive Play System (IPS) range of products.
The Interactive Play System (IPS) is a product which was released initially probably two - three years ago and we swiftly added a number of new inflatables and products to our range which featured this incredible concept. It's very similar to 'chase the light / batak' style games were users have to tap out as many lights as they can in an allocated time limit. This concept has been extremely popular for us since it's introduction to our range shortly after it's release. We added the system into table top games, bungee runs, inflatable slides, inflatable structures amongst other items. It's very versatile and can add such a fun twist to games and inflatables.
This year, the manufacturer who released the product has took the system even further and made it even better! The system is now hit and touch reactive meaning that not only can it be played by touching the spots, it can now be played by hitting the spots. This means that we can now adapt the system even further and use it with other items such as footballs, basketballs, Nerf guns, American footballs, tennis balls amongst other items. We'll have lots of new ideas for this system over the next year or so. It's basically a much more touch sensitive version of the system and we think its great and we are sure that our customers will feel the same once they get to experience it!
Below is a short YouTube video of Ian testing out the Nerf Sports Shootout Combo at EAS in Amsterdam.
Not bad for a first attempt, would have been better with a bit more experience of using a Nerf gun and knowing how to reload it correctly ha!
These Interactive Play System (IPS) products are set to arrive at HQ in only the next few weeks so we'll be one of the first companies in the UK to offer these products to our amazing customers across the North-West. These products are sure to be the red hot hire products for Winter 2018 and also the 2019 calendar year. Being so versatile, we can adapt this system to many themes and ideas and we are open to suggestions from customers who may have an idea how this system can work for them. If you are looking to hire this product but want it branded or customised, get in touch with our friendly office team who will be more than happy to discuss this with you and help in any way they can.
Another product which we ordered at the show which is again another new inflatable concept, this one only set to arrive in 2019 is the fantastic 'inflatable base jump and RUSH slide'. This inflatable combines both a base jump and the very popular RUSH slide which we added to our range in 2017.
Users can access the inflatable and climb the soft, padded steps to the top, they can then either turn to their right and enter the 10ft platform RUSH slide. This slide is very different to most as it's almost vertical, the most vertical that inflatable manufacturers can currently make inflatable slides. This gives an exhilarating feeling and a RUSH. If users want to be a bit more adventurous, once reaching the top of the padded steps, they can turn to their left and access the base jump. The base jump is a platform which has a soft, padded mattress at the bottom. So users can jump and land on the mattress below. It's a great idea for team building days, community fun days, school fun days and much more. If the user is a bit more hardcore, they could do the RUSH slide straight after the base jump if they want the ultimate adrenaline RUSH!
As with all of our hire products and services, these new services will primarily be available to customers in the North-West region such as towns and cities like St Helens, Warrington, Wigan, Leigh, Ormskirk, Liverpool, Chorley, Astley, Tyldesley, Runcorn, Southport and many of the nearby surrounding places. We also take enquiries from further afield should customers be looking for larger events or fundays so please contact our friendly office team by email or telephone for quotations and enquiries.
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