S&S – Sansei Technologies

Establishment

Stan Checketts with his wife Sandy (Stan & Sandy) founded S&S Sports Power, Inc in 1994 in Logan, Utah. This was a side project from their main business, Sports Tower, Inc., which had been founded in the late 1980s. Sports Tower had manufactured bungee jumping and trampoline equipment. S&S Sports Power was founded to manufacture air-powered drop towers, which became the main stay of the company.^[1] S&S Sports was sold in 1996.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, S&S began looking for opportunities to expand their business, citing acquisitions as the best method to do so.^[2] Following the bankruptcy filing of wooden roller coaster manufacturer Custom Coasters International (CCI), S&S hired founder Denise Dinn-Larrick and several other former CCI employees to start a new wooden coaster division for the company.^[2] The division was shut down two years later after manufacturing only four wooden coasters.^[3]

In October 2002, S&S founded S&S Arrow, a limited liability company which purchased the assets of the bankrupt Arrow Dynamics.^[4]

In 2006, S&S Power opened Celebration Centre, a Family Entertainment Center featuring a number of S&S rides and prototypes. The facility was later sold and is currently no longer operating.^[5]

Company Ownership

On August 25, 2006, S&S Power, Inc. announced that Stan Checketts and Gene Mulvihill, both original founding partners of S&S, had formed a group to purchase a controlling interest of S&S. The negotiations took several months. CEO Checketts was to direct the company based on the same principles upon which it was founded; "...to provide the amusement industry with thrilling, high-quality rides the entire family can enjoy." Checketts also announced that the business operations of S&S would remain under the direction of Rich Allen, who would continue in his role as Chief Operating Officer.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2009, Larsen MacColl Partners acquired a significant equity interest in S&S, including all shares previously owned by Checketts. The Koffman family and affiliated shareholders were to maintain their ownership interest. Checketts ended his consulting relationship with the company in order to pursue business interests with Soaring Eagle Zipline Inc., of Logan Utah.^[6] More than a decade later, Stan Checketts, aged 80, died on January 2, 2022, at his home in Providence, Utah.^[7]

In November 2012, S&S Worldwide Inc., entered into a binding agreement with Sansei Technologies Co., Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, whereby Sansei acquired 77.3% interest in S&S.^[8][9] Signage at the 2012 and 2013 IAAPA Attractions Expos promoted the new company as S&S – Sansei Technologies, with Sansei becoming its sole owner by late 2014.^[10] On March 30, 2018, it was announced that Sansei Technologies had also acquired amusement ride manufacturer Vekoma.^[11]

Portfolio

Pneumatically powered attractions quickly became the company's trademark offering. The Space Shot was introduced in 1995, using compressed air cylinders to accelerate riders up the tower at high speed. Two prototypes were quickly sold to Reino Aventura and D&D Amusements before the model was refined and sold in mass supply.^[12] Subsequent ride models — the Turbo Drop tower and Screamin' Swing – were respectively introduced in 1996 and 2004 and enjoyed massive success.^[13] The company moved to utilize their pneumatic technology on roller coaster launches with the Thrust Air 2000, which used refrigerated, compressed air to achieve a high-acceleration launch. A pair opened in 2001 in the form of Hypersonic XLC at Kings Dominion and Do-Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland, the latter of which achieved a world-best coaster acceleration of 172 km/h (107 mph) at the time. The generally unreliable Hypersonic XLC would be retired and put up for sale in 2007, while Do-Dodonpa was partially rebuilt in 2017 only to close down in 2021 after a string of ride injuries.^[14] A more refined pneumatic launch coaster was rolled out at the end of the decade and would continue to be installed mostly in China.^[15] The effort was spearheaded by Ring Racer at the Nürburgring race track, whose 2009 opening and intended 217 km/h (135 mph) top speed was scuttled by four years due to defects with the ride system. The coaster operated for four days in 2013 before being declared economically unviable.^[16]

Outside of their pneumatic products, S&S continued to innovate with new designs. In 2008 the company introduced El Loco, a coaster design capable of packing an extreme layout into a compact footprint. Beginning with Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach, a new El Loco was built almost annually until 2014, with each ride seemingly modified to include a steeper drop than the one before it.^[17] At that time, S&S introduced the 4-D Free Spin, a smaller and vertically stacked version of previous 4th Dimension coasters.^[18] The first installation — Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas — made its debut in 2015 and generated high demand for the model, with production capabilities fully booked several years in advance.^[13][19]

Some roller coasters produced by S&S have faced issues leading to delays or later modifications. Merlin's Mayhem, a family suspended coaster, was built in 2017 at Dutch Wonderland but ultimately wasn't ready until 2018 due to construction delays.^[20] GaleForce, a compact launched coaster at Playland's Castaway Cove, was unable to open in 2016 as intended due to misaligned track pieces not allowing the car to line up with the launch stators.^[21] Although GaleForce opened in 2017 following adjustments, all of the track was replaced the following winter at the expense of S&S.^[22] In 2019, S&S built Steel Curtain at Kennywood, a 220-foot (67 m) tall looping coaster. Throughout its lifetime the coaster has operated sporadically due to structural problems. Steel Curtain was eventually closed for the 2023 season as the park sought to address these issues.^[23] In addition to this, China's 2019 tariffs on ride parts and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a slowdown of sales for S&S.^[24]

S&S introduced the Axis Coaster concept in 2019, where riders are seated on an elevated swivel that can swing riders above or below the track, regardless of its banking.^[25] This hence allows for layouts and track elements not feasible on more conventional attractions. A prototype was set up at S&S' testing facility in Utah and three were eventually purchased by Saudi Entertainment Ventures, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Opening in 2025/26, each will have a separate design and be located at Transformers entertainment centers in Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah.^[26]

Roller coasters

Towers

• Space Shot^[34]
• Turbo Drop^[34]
• Double Shot^[35]
• Combo Tower Ride^[34]
• Multi-Tower (Two to four Turbo Drop, Space Shot, and/or Combo Tower rides in a single complex)
• Rotating Tower^[34]
• Spin Shot^[34]
• Sky Sling^[36] (No longer available)
• Choose Your Thrill Tower (One tower is small, another is medium-sized, and last tower is the tallest)
• Sonic Boom (Prototype)

Flat rides

• Sky Swatter^[37] (No longer available)
• Screamin' Swing^[38]
• Frog Hopper^[39]
• Jungle Swing^[40]
• Monkey Madness^[41]