,muine
king in
have
·e and
1dding
the
were
and I
them
1ema
9 the
as in
were
and
h to
nted
- it
the
and
ngo
id a
d a
sed
fog
six
the
~ht.
ing
all
1ar
rht
as
18
.r-
1e
st
:s
1.
e
n
t
there was no accommodation
available. But all this did not
deter me and we bought more
slides for Belle Vue, Man-
chester and Skegness.
"It was about this time
that I formed Eagle Enter-
tainments and imported
three Moon Walk 'bouncers'
from the USA. They were
installed at Belle Vue ,
Morecambe and Rhyl. Later
when Bennett's started to
make them I put in three
more at Blackpool, Prestatyn
and Skegness. The main
problem with these was the
size and maintenance. I
wound down the Moon Walk
side of it and concentrated on
the Astroglides. We extended
in Morecambe with a six-lane
Astroglide, Ghost Train and
Monte Carlo track ride. But I
was looking for something
else to expand the business.
Coin operated remote
controlled equipment was
becoming popular and I
decided to get involved.
"Dave Earnshaw had
joined Eagle in 1972 and
when we took delivery of our
first coin operated remote
controlled unit it was not a
Tornado model. We had
problems with it through lack
of service and poor quality
enqwries at the exhibition.
One of these was Bill Alter
who I telephoned and
because of a tight schedule I
flew out to see him by
Concord. I convinced him
that the equipment was as
good as we had stated and he
formed a company. Alter
Enterprises, which operates
only Tornado equipment. In
1979 he bought nine 12-boat
units and operated them in
various sites across the USA
to test their potential.
" The results were so good
that at the end of the season
we drew up a contract which
gave him exclusive rights for
our equipment in 1980 and he
shows and now there are
seven or- • eight companies
trying. But they will find it is
not as easy as they think and
the majority will be out of
their depths. It is a very
specialist product. It took us
several years to perfect our
units and the new companies
in the USA will now be
experiencing the problems
Tornado had in the early
days.
" Last year we started to
expand into other countries.
We go into most European
countries, Canada, South
Africa, Australia and South
America.
materials. Even so we could
see great potential for this
type of equipment. In 1975
Dave and I went to the A TE
and saw Tornado equipment
being displayed by another
firm. We liked what we saw
and enquiries revealed that
the equipment was reliable.
We bought three units and
installed
them
at
Morecambe, Belle Vue and
Skegness. They were so good
throughout the season that I
decided this was a company I ... . and outside his beautiful home in the Lancashire countryside.
wanted to get involved with. I guaranteed to take £250.000
"We had to move our
could see they had a world- of equipment which he now manufacturing premises in
wide potential.
extensively operates. His Birmingham to meet the
sites include amusement and demand for units. In January,
"In 1977 I signed a theme parks throughout the 1980 Tornado moved into a
contract with Tornado to United States. He is now new factory at Bordesley
become Director responsible operating 56 Tornado units. " Green and we trebled
for sales throughout the UK
Les Howarth's role with production. It means we can
and USA. Since 1977 we Tornado
extensive keep up the quality control
have sold Tornado units world-wide means
travel. During his and still have room for
direct and the sales office is first two years
the com- expansion.
at Preston with the factory in pany he spent a with
total
of eight
Birmingham. In 1978 I re- months in the USA, covering
" All this has only been
searched the American hundreds
possible because of the
of
thousand
of
market and we exhibited in
marvellous team effort on the
Atlanta. Although everyone miles.
part of everyone at Tornado.
operates
from
Bill
Alter
there was very interested no
And I must make special
where
there
is
a
ew
Jersey
one bought a unit - so we
mention of Dave Earnshaw
arranged to have one taken full Tornado after-sales who plays such an important
by road trailer to Lion County service and sales office.
and versatile role. The
Safari Park, West Palm
There are now several Directors at Birmingham give
Beach, Florida. Dave American companies aiming me a marvellous product I
Earnshaw supervised the for the same market. Les can sell.
overland trip. Once there we said: " In 1979 we were the
could prove the figures we only firm offering this
" We are researching new
had quoted were true. Armed . equipment in the States. Last ideas all the time and some of
wifu those figures I replied to- year there were four others these will be on show at the
all fue people who had made exhibiting at the American ATE.
Leisure Play - November
" We can say without fear
of contradiction that we are
world leaders in the coin
operated remote control
leisure equipment field. Our
equipment will turn over a lot
of money from the moment it
is installed and an important
thing to bear in mind is that it
appeals to all age groups.
Operators can look for up to
15 years, and maybe more,
out of fueir equipment with
minimal maintenance."
Les pointed with justi-
fiable pride to a letter which
arrived from Robert W.
Lundquist, Director of Games
for Pizza Time Theatres,
USA. It read: " Our company
is adding Tornado remote
controlled boats and cars at
a rapid pace. In my opinion
they will be as popular 20
years from now as they are
today." It is that sort of
tribute that makes Les
Howarth think all those
hours spent in aeroplanes
over the North Atlantic are
well worthwhile.
As well as being Sales
Director of Tornado Les
heads Howarth Enterprises
(Bingo) Ltd. with halls in
Preston , Horwich and
Oswaldtwistle and Eagle
Entertainments. Eagle now
concentrates on the sales and
visual side of the operation.
They have gone into
landscaping in a big way,
using a new American-
designed foam machine. This
produces a texture which
can be moulded to any shape.
It is ideal for backdrops to
the Tornado products but can
also be used in many other
ways.
One of the best examples
of this new technique could
be seen at the Golden Mile
Centre , Blackpool, this
summer. It was a 50 ft. x 24
ft . backdrop to Tornado
racing cars and included
water falls, cable car track,
mountains , roads and a
moving train. It was without
doubt the biggest single .
attraction in the Centre. "It
was the first time we had
done anything on that scale
and we were very pleased
with the end result," said
Les. The versatility of fue
equipment was demon-
strated at nearby Blackpool
Tower where there was a 30
ft. x 16 ft. unit with a circus
theme.
Les leads an extremely
busy business life and looks
forward to the rare spells
when he is able to relax at his
beautiful home in a quiet
village near Blackburn. Its
grounds border onto one of
the best golf courses in fue
orth of England.
Page Nine