Why do the Chinese knock off manufacturers only copy Vekoma?

[cjbrandy]

Why do they almost exclusively copy Vekoma and their old track style? How come they haven't tried making a B&M or Intamin knock off? Looking at it from these company's point of view I'd think it would be a good idea to try knocking off B&M because even if its not as good as a real B&M, it'd surely be a bit smoother and nicer than a Vekoma knock off? And a good knock off design would mean more potential customers wanting to buy.

 

[MagnesiumPC]

Because, Vekoma doesn't have chinese patents on their track design. B&M and Intamin do.

Oh, yeah, and The double+center tube design is easier to fabricate

 

[Dar]

I think it's more due to the fact that Vekoma have a factory in China, so they have access to all the technical specs and manufacturing knowledge. Whereas B&M and Intamin manufacture abroad and ship the completed track to China

 

[GuyWithAStick]

Well considering Golden Horse has a S:UF clone available, I doubt they ONLY copy Vekoma.

 

[lachlan]

Well considering Golden Horse has a S:UF clone available, I doubt they ONLY copy Vekoma.

It's a shame they haven't built any of those yet, I'd love to see how it turned out

 

[Gavin]

Yeah, it's not just Vekoma. It's probably that their bigger installations are the SLCs, and the Mine Trains go into major parks, so those will be more talked about.

Golden Horse spinners - one of the most prolific coaster types - are knockoffs of Maurer's, they've done loads of MotoCoasters, which copy Zamperla's exactly. Beijing Jiuhua do a knockoff of the Reverchon spinners, and a few manufacturers have knocked off the Zamperla Dragon type; there are hundreds of those.

As was noted above, Golden Horse actually do offer B&M knockoffs, but nobody has bitten yet.

They really don't need to offer "better", more expensive knockoffs to appeal to more parks. The fact is that they're now up there with the most prolific manufacturers. They're raking it in.