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Seguin home to place where fun is created
Published October 1, 2006
As a designer in the office draws up plans for a playscape in Corpus Christi, artisans weld a pirate ship and paint a bright green, friendly-looking rattlesnake in the warehouse out back.
Passersby sometimes stop in the Kingsbury Street yard across from Texas Lutheran University to ask just what the larger-than-life lilly pads and smiling whales are for.
But chances are, if you’ve visited any popular theme park in the United States, you’ve likely experienced WaterParks Experts Inc. work for yourself.
“Our client base is anybody that’s involved in themed entertainment, from entertainment centers to malls to theme parks or water parks,” said Mike Jaroszewski, director of project development. “We’ve done projects for Six Flags, Sea World, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach and the Sandals Resort in Jamaica. Name any big theme park and we’ve probably built something for them.”
Business is booming for WaterPark Experts, which opened in the Seguin location under its new name around the first of the year. The company expects its million-dollar sales figures to quadruple compared to what they were a year ago.
The company owes its success to its one-stop-shop strategy, a company masthead with decades of experience and, well, timing.
“A lot of companies sell products to water parks, but they specialize in something — inner tubes, water cannons — but we specialize in everything,” Jaroszewski said.
A visit to the business office reveals concept drawings spread out over drafting tables and employees pouring over intricate hydraulic designs.
Folks in the front answer phones, jotting down inquiries and keeping files stacked neatly in place.
Outside in the manufacturing area, made up of yard, covered warehouses and paint rooms, sculptors carve floating crabs and logs out of foam. Another onsite worker weaves a net for a custom schooner with his own two hands.
Just outside of town, the company’s fiberglass slide factory creates left turns and dramatic dips and drops.
Fiberglass is a commodity only six companies in North America have attempted because of the expense of the molds, Jaroszewski said.
In the company’s team of 60, the majority of the employees are involved in fabrication and installation, and about 15 work on the design, engineering and administration end.
“We’re so full-service we do the design, layout, engineering, piping and plumbing, we install all the equipment and we’ll even operate it,” Jaroszewski said. “We’re a menu company. If somebody wants just one of those things, we’re happy to do it. If they want everything, we can offer that.”
Clients can pick piecemeal from WaterPark Experts’ brochure, which includes aqua toys, spray decks, slides and themed creations, or have the company design something from scratch.
Though its Seguin location is new, WaterParks Experts’ employees have been in the business for a long time. Owner/founder Jim Stephenson is no stranger to the city either, having graduated from Seguin High School.
Many in the company, including Jaroszewski and Stephenson, worked for NBGS International in New Braunfels. NBGS got its start providing rides and attractions for Schlitterbahn Waterpark, then expanded its offerings to the international waterpark market.
After more than 20 years as a senior design and product consultant for NBGS, Stephenson decided it was time to start his own company. That was four years ago.
During the summer of 2005, NBGS decided to stop manufacturing for the public and return to its Schlitterbahn-only provider roots, Jaroszewski said.
WaterPark Experts was able to pick up a lot of workers who would have been reassigned, and Stephenson worked out a license agreement for NBGS’ designs. Since the company is focusing only on its Schlitterbahn projects, it refers would-be clients to WaterPark Experts.
“If you call NGBS for a job, they send the call over here,” Jaroszewski said. “It worked out real good for everybody.”
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