WhiteWater West Industries Ltd. is riding the wave of the cross-cultural appeal of waterparks.
The Richmond’s company announced last week that it would build a new waterpark at the Changzhou China Dinosaur Park in Jiangsu province as part of Richmond Day celebrations at the Canada Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.
CEO Geoff Chutter also confirmed to BIV that WhiteWater West had just closed another deal with an existing but significant park in Shenzhen.
The Chinese market is nothing new for WhiteWater West, which has been doing business in mainland China since 1990. The company has supplied rides to the recently opened waterpark at the Beijing Watercube, site of the 2008 Summer Olympics aquatic events.
It has also secured contracts for several multimillion-dollar projects around China, including:
- design services, rides and attractions for the Dreamworld development in Fushun, Liaoning province;
- a range of rides and attractions for two new outdoor waterparks in Beijing and Nanjing; and
- design services for several new waterparks in China.
In 2007, WhiteWater West provided design services and supplied the majority of rides and attractions to Chimelong Water Park in Guangzhou.
According to attendance figures provided by Themed Entertainment Association’s (TEA) 2009 Theme Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report, Chimelong is now the world’s third most popular water park with 1.8 million annual visitors, up 12.5% from 2008.
South Korea, Japan and the Middle East are also lucrative markets.
The company was awarded a $14.5 million contract for a new water park on Yas Island near Abu Dhabi.
Roughly 98% of the company’s business is overseas.
“Our focus has been very much international,” he said. “We tend to be stronger in the climates where Mother Nature co-operates, which makes us very bullish on global warming, as you can appreciate.”
While the U.S. market remains mired in recession, Chutter said Asian economies have ridden out the downturn extremely well. Increasing numbers of middle- and upper-class Chinese are pushing up attendance at amusement and waterparks. Higher levels of disposable income related to China’s one-child policy means families often have more money to spend on entertaining their child.
“That works well if you’re in the entertainment or amusement fields,” Chutter said.
While the last 18 months hurt WhiteWater West financially as people the world over cut spending and reduced or cancelled trips to waterparks, the improving economies of many countries outside the U.S. have helped improve business.
For the last four months, he said the company, which has between 380 and 400 employees, has been in a “pretty significant” hiring mode. That’s the reverse of the previous 18 months, he added.
Chutter said annual revenue has fluctuated between $80 million and $100 million over the past five years.
During the recession it was closer to $80 million, he said, but the company is working hard to bring it back in 2011.
With a 90,000-square-foot fiberglass plant in Kelowna and two, 30,000-square-foot manufacturing plants in Richmond, WhiteWater West has also diversified into architectural fascias, which are used by PetroCan gas stations across Canada.
According to Chutter, sustaining manufacturing operations in Canada is a challenge. WhiteWater West has, therefore, been doing “a bit” of its manufacturing overseas.
“The [Canadian] manufacturing sector has been, and in my view, will continue to be in steady decline and the only way to stay alive is recognize we are a global market and respect that and take serious action in terms of offshore manufacturing and we are certainly no exception to that.”