Fabbri

Description

Founded in 1950 in the small town of Bergantino in the Veneto region of northern Italy, Fabbri Group has grown from a modest mechanical workshop into one of the world's leading manufacturers of amusement rides and observation wheels. The company's origins trace back to Remo Fabbri, son of a blacksmith, who began servicing and redesigning rides for travelling showmen in the local area. A defining early decision was replacing hydraulic and mechanical drive systems with compressed air, a technical shift that set the tone for decades of engineering-led development. The workshop, initially called Officina Fabbri, produced its first Aviogiostra at the end of the 1950s, a plane ride that marked the formal beginning of industrial ride manufacturing under the Fabbri name. By the 1970s, production had reached industrial scale. From the Avio platform evolved the Telecombat, one of the company's most commercially durable products, followed by a successive generation of staple fairground attractions including the Tagada, Pirate Ship, Flying Carpet, Ranger, Crazy Dance, and Kamikaze. These models established Fabbri first on the Italian domestic market, then across Europe and the Middle East throughout the 1980s. A key characteristic of this era was pragmatic redesign: existing ride categories were rebuilt with simplified production, assembly, and transport logistics, producing competitively priced equipment that proved highly practical for travelling operators. In 1990, the group restructured and established FC Fabbri Park as its primary manufacturing unit, adding dedicated departments for new ride design, themed versions, and safety engineering. A decade later, in 2000, the consortium expanded further with the addition of GAS, Global Amusement Services, to handle after-sales support and spare parts supply, with both companies operating together from the production site in Calto under the unified Fabbri Group name. The new millennium introduced several product lines that have since become central to the brand's identity. The Booster, launched in 2001, is a pendulum-type thrill ride of which 82 units had been sold worldwide by 2022, making it the group's single most recognisable model. In 1997, Fabbri introduced the Scary Drop, a drop tower available in configurations from 20 to 75 metres, using permanent magnetic brakes as the core braking technology. A 34-metre version was installed in 2021 on the rooftop of the Sky Hotel in Cape Town, positioned approximately 100 metres above ground level. In 2016, Fabbri developed the 3D Tower in collaboration with Brogent, a 20-metre tower combining motion-synchronised seating with large-format 3D projection, with the first unit installed at the Shang Shung World park in Taiwan. A separate division dedicated to large Ferris and observation wheels was established in 2002. The first model, a 40-metre portable wheel transported on three semi-trailers, was released in 2003. Subsequent installations have reached significantly larger scales, including an 80-metre wheel installed in 2010 on the roof of the E-Da Mall in Taiwan. The company's current portfolio extends to observation wheels of up to 100 metres, and Fabbri holds the record for the tallest indoor Ferris wheel in the world, installed in Turkmenistan. Fabbri also entered the roller coaster segment, with 26 coasters built as of 2024 across markets spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Models in this category include the Wacky Worm and the Spinning Mouse, known internally as the Power Mouse. The Mistral, the group's first large roller coaster, entered production in the early 2000s and is currently offered in 11 configurations. All rides are manufactured entirely in Italy. The Calto facility sits within what is internationally recognised as the Italian Rides District, a cluster of ride manufacturers and component suppliers centred on Bergantino and neighbouring towns in the Rovigo province. Fabbri Group holds ISO 9001, EN 1090-1:2009+A1:2011-EXC3, and ISO 3834-2:2006 certifications, and its products are certified to international standards including EN, ASTM, GB, and GOST, with independent verification carried out by bodies such as TÜV, Vinçotte, and ECO.