29 May We’re hiring! – Mechanical Design Engineer
We're looking for an experienced Mechanical Design Engineer to join our team with experience of using Solidworks and AutoCad....
Ilkeston Tag
29 Jan Joel Wright and the Electrical Test Centre
Joel Wright has joined the team as an Electrical Engineer. Joel, who is 24, lives in Long Eaton with his wife. With a father who is an electrician too, his training started very young, when he began helping out on sites, the day after he left...
11 Jan Electrical and pneumatic test and assembly area
Posted at 10:38h
in Design, News & Events, Parts & Quotes, Services, Standards, Theme Park Engineering
We've been busy over the Christmas break and are well on the way to completing the design and construction of a new electrical and pneumatic test, repair and assembly area. It's another sign of the growth of the business that we have run out of clean working...
20 Dec That was 2017 – A year in review at Garmendale
2016 was a very big year for Garmendale as the business grew and developed our range of rides for theme parks and attractions. Well, we're delighted to report in this 2017 review that this year has been even more successful and we have made further...
13 Dec The apprentice that engineers theme park rides
Last week (December 6th 2017) saw the launch of the 2018 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. It is a global £1 million prize that celebrates a ground-breaking innovation in engineering and aims to encourage younger people to enter the engineering industry.Much of the talk around...
15 Nov Welding to World Class Standards
Posted at 16:49h
in Design, News & Events, Parts & Quotes, Services, Standards, Theme Park Engineering
To most people, welding may be seen as just one of those processes that happens when mechanical things are made. Wikipedia describe it as follows ‘Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals, by causing fusion.’To some, welding may even be...
25 Oct Tapping holes to music
Tapping M10 holes in steel is something that every home engineering enthusiast has done. Most of us will have done it at school as part of our metalwork education. We may even own our very own and little-used tap and die sets. Mine sits at...
03 Oct This is not just a Technical Manual….
Posted at 09:27h
in Design, Dubai, Middle East, News & Events, Parts & Quotes, Services, Standards, Theme Park Engineering
...This is a Garmendale Technical Manual. And when we do a technical manual for a client, as we do with all things, we like to do things properly. This is just one example of the manual for a ride we have recently completed the manufacture and...
27 Sep With theme park engineering, It’s the little details that make rides safer
With our background in theme park engineering, we have talked a lot in the past about the lengths we go to in order to ensure a theme park ride is designed and built right. Because, as a business, we grew up maintaining rides first, we understand the...
02 Aug Shotgun Gates all packed and ready to go
The shotgun gates for Orlando are finished, packed and ready to go. Work started towards the end of May and has progressed smoothly and all of the final FAT testing (Factory Acceptance Testing) has been completed too. The testing itself has been interesting and has produced some...
26 Jul The new/old tractor ride for attractions
With all the changes in the theme park and attractions industry for more technology and faster, more scary rides, we have found at Garmendale, that one of our fastest growing areas for enquiries is for one of our very simplest rides, which is the Tractor...
07 Jun Find us on Blooloop – The worldwide resource for the attractions sector
As part of the planned growth of Garmendale, we have now joined the Blooloop Directory. Blooloop describes itself as 'The online resource for professionals working in the visitor attractions sector" Which to us, means that if you work in the theme park, museums or attractions...
24 May Shotgun Gates for Orlando Park
The Design and Engineering teams here have been hard at work with a brand new custom designed gating system for a Florida Park. We’re not allowed to unveil who it’s for yet, but rest assured, it’s one you will have heard of. The gating system is...
17 May Garmendale at the Sate Conference Beaulieu – May 2017
We have just come back from the Themed Entertainment Association SATE Conference that was held at Beaulieu - The home of the National Motor Museum.The annual SATE Conference was created back in 2007 by the TEA to foster professional dialog about the methodology of Experience...
30 Mar The Go Jetters Vroomster Ride is open
The brand new Go Jetters Vroomster ride at CBeebies Land is now officially open. It's also been featured in a great new TV advertisement which you can see here.The ride has been designed, manufactured and installed by our team here at Garmendale and been featured...
25 Mar It’s official The Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride – The QuadStar is for Alton Towers
Garmendale are very proud to announce that the very first QuadStar aerial roundabout ride that has been designed and manufactured in our UK factory is the Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride for Alton Towers. It is being installed as we speak and more pictures of...
22 Feb Building the Bessemer Converter
Posted at 13:03h
in Design, News & Events, Services, Steam engine refurbishment, Theme Park Engineering
Back in the 19th Century, bridges, buildings and any structural work could only be made with wrought or cast iron. Almost any machinery parts could only be made from cast iron too. The world was waiting for an alternative. Steel offered the solution, but the...
17 Jan The QuadStar Aerial Roundabout Ride – Part Six – The Ride Car in the raw
With the flexibility of the QuadStar and the QuadTrack systems, we are able to fit a ride car that can look completely different from one build to the next so that it works with whatever the IP is, even though almost everything underneath is exactly...
14 Dec The QuadStar Aerial Roundabout Ride – Part Five – The Ride Arms
With the Centre Column being joined to the Ride Stand, which is in turn rooted to the ground, the ride lifts the passengers into the air on its 4.2 metre arms. In a previous post about the QuadStar chassis, we said there was another point...
30 Nov Zoe Shelmerdine Joins the Board of The Themed Entertainment Association
The TEA Team in Lapland We are proud to announce that our Sales Director Zoe Shelmerdine has joined the Europe & Middle East Division Board of the Themed Entertainment Association.The Themed Entertainment Association was formed in 1991 to to promote and grow the visitor attractions industry. It is is the...
23 Nov The QuadStar Aerial Roundabout Ride – Part Three – The Chassis for the Ride Car
At the heart of the QuadStar Aerial ride is the chassis. It's the incredibly strong underpinning for the lightweight car to sit atop and contain the passengers. The chassis itself is flexible enough to carry almost any design of car, so if you're thinking you'd...
11 Nov Ilkeston RUFC Colts – Garmendale Sponsorship
We are proud to be involved with Ilkeston RUFC Colts as sponsors. We are shirt sponsors for the 2016/17 season and they have just kicked off the season with a good away win at Ashby.Colts rugby acts as a bridge between junior rugby and the very...
19 Oct The Ilkeston Firm that makes roller coasters – Nottingham Post
We have had some lovely coverage recently in the Nottingham Post. Dan Robinson, the Business Correspondent wrote a long article about the way the business has grown and the stories behind the story. One thing that he did pick up on was the attention to...
29 Jun The John Fowler BB1 (Tiger) Ploughing Engine at Speed
This video has proven so popular on our Facebook page here that we thought we would share it here. It's our very own John Fowler BB1 (Tiger) Ploughing Engine that has been fully restored. When loaded with coal and water, it weighs 21 tons, so it's no...