The doors of Saudi Arabia are opening wide for a Quebec company that is one of the most influential in the world in the interactive digital attractions market.
Triotech has just signed a $20 million contract for the development of three rides with Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN), a subsidiary of the public investment fund intended for the development of the entertainment sector in the kingdom.
“We will transport people into the world of Transformers with a multi-sensory experience. There will be scenery, lighting, smoke, wind, movement effects in the seats. It’s one of the most ambitious attractions we’re going to build,” rejoices Ernest Yale, president of Triotech.
The company designs all of its games in Montreal and manufactures them at its Joliette plant. Ninety-eight percent of its business is done outside of Canada, in some 80 countries. The contract with Saudi Arabia is the largest in the history of Triotech, founded in 1999.
“In the Middle East, it works by relationships. We’ve been doing this for more than ten years. It first went through Dubai, where we started selling small machines, then $25,000 simulators and then $400,000 products, then it went to Saudi Arabia,” explains Ernest Yale. , who spends six months a year traveling to grow her business and visiting amusement parks in search of inspiration.
Joel Lemay / QMI Agency
Ernest Yale, founder of Triotech, brings video games to amusement parks around the world and exports 98% of its products.
Other opportunities
Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars to develop its tourism industry and now that Triotech has become an approved supplier, new opportunities are emerging. Another $10M deal is to be announced shortly and SEVEN has already shown interest in adding Triotech Dark Rides after the first three to Ryiad.
“Our impact is to have brought video games to amusement parks,” said Ernest Yale, a game enthusiast who started programming as a teenager.
The most spectacular ride designed so far by Triotech is Ninjago, present in a dozen Legoland parks around the world. Customers enter the game on a small train and fight with their hands against characters from this universe.
Triotech exported its products out of necessity, as the number of indoor amusement parks is limited in Canada. In Quebec, the Zoo de Granby and the Mega-Parc des Galeries de la Capitale offer company games to their customers. In addition to the Middle East, Southeast Asia is becoming an important market, along with Europe and the United States.
The contract with Saudi Arabia will make it possible to consolidate 200 jobs at Triotech, which also provides for future hiring after a particularly difficult pandemic. The attractions sector was completely closed for many months due to health restrictions. The company was able to survive because its shareholders injected personal money and also thanks to government aid. Now that the sector is taking off again, the challenges remain significant since contracts signed before the pandemic must be honored as they are, even if the costs of metal, computers and screens have exploded by 30 to 40%.