b'BY BEN QUIGGLEPark owners looking to attract young families are looking forways to add recreational amenities like Ga Ga Ball, which isa hit with kids. Photo credit: Coach Cliffs Ga Ga BallRecreational Equipment Providers Sales Riseas Park Owners Look to Invest in AmenitiesI t really is no secret that the outdoor hospital- Trailmate, a provider of trikes, was having a bannerity industry is poised to see a tremendous year. amount of traffic in 2021. Everyone in the RV Ourshelvesweretotallybare,notedWendypark and campground arena that Woodalls Shim, president of the company. We sold stuff thatCampground Management (WCM) has spo- we forgot we had. People were begging for product.ken with agrees, and in turn the sector is see- We are fortunate that we still manufacture mostly alling a tremendous amount of activity as park owners our products in the U.S., so we were able to sourceexpand, developers look to build new parks and new steel and make a lot of our products here and con-investors look to enter the market.tinue producing when everybody else was runningThat is beginning to put pressure on suppliers of out.park and recreation products as well, as more park Still, while some park owners are playing it conser-owners look to add amenities that will keep campers vative right now and most are anticipating a steadycoming back.stream of orders as more owners continue to see While the company had acquired quite a bit ofRight now we are working on an growth. Many suppliers are hoping that in-person business from cruise ship companies, that went awayunprecedentednumberoforders conferences come back in 2021.in 2020 due to the fact that many cruise ships neverfrom 2020 that are due to be shipped We are really missing new clients, said Randy made it to sea. Instead, Lundmark said that they arein 2021, noted Ron Romens, founder Jenkins, a sales representative for Smyrna, Tenn.- focused on picking up more projects in the camp-and president of Verona, Wis.-based based The Jump Pad. The word of mouth about our ground sector. CommercialRecreationSpecialists product is spreading really well, but its impossible to Thecompanyprovidesportableandmodular(CRS), a company that offers a wide really reach out to new clients without having them mini-golf courses as well as full concrete setups. Itvariety of recreation products from be able to actually put their hands on our product.also provides other game systems, including boccemini-golf courses to water-based in- WCM talkedwithawidevarietyofrecreation ball, shuffleboard, soft play areas for children, giantRon Romens flatables, playgrounds and more. equipment suppliers to see what they had to offer chessboards, paddleball courts and more. Park owners are taking their success in 2020 and and the trends they are noticing in the growing RV We have made a concerted effort to develop prod-they are committed to providing a better experience park and campground arena. ucts that are more affordable and budget-oriented,and they are calling to make sure they get their orders explained Lundmark. A few years ago, we launchedplaced, Romens added.AGS Adventure Golf & Sports a feature that allows campground owners who areRyan Houchens, vice president of Scott Lundmark, president of Tra- handy to design a lower cost concrete course thatsales for Turners Falls, Mass.-based verse City, Mich.-based AGS Adventure they can build themselves. We have also launched ourCold River Mining, a manufacturer of Golf & Sports (AGS), told WCMthat the Modular Advantage courses that are a more budget-gemstone mining sluices, echoed that company stayed busy, and that it was oriented alternative to a traditional concrete course.sentiment, noting that campground writing or closing a ton of deals or The company even offers SplashGolf, which offersowners were having record years sell- completing installations.the chance to play mini golf on an interactive splashing gemstone mining products.We were negatively impacted by pad. We installed just as many sluices at the pandemic, but it wasnt too bad (888) 725-4386www.agsgolfandsports.comtheendoftheyearaswedidlast since we had a lot of committed back-Ryan Houchens spring because people were having Scott Lundmark logbusinesstocomplete,heex- Coach Cliffs GaGa Ball Pitsrecord years and they wanted to take advantage of plained. Going into 2021, though, it is going to be With the majority of its business coming fromtax incentives, he explained.more challenging because all of that backlog work is schools, Cliff Silverman, owner of Waukegan, Ill.-With bicycles flying off the shelves at stores around going away, and we are digging deep trying to write based Coach Cliffs GaGa Ball Pits, said that businessthe country, it was no surprise that Florida-based new business. Recreational Equipmentcontinued on page 2016 -March 2021 Woodalls Campground Management'