May - Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce

FlowRider® Surf Wave MachineSix Flags Lazy River, Gurnee, ILAnother system, the FlowRider®, generates50,000 gallons of water per minute,allowing guests to body board, or learn tosurf like the pros.AFW® Movable Pool Floors enablepools to adjust to various water depths foreverything from infant and toddler swimlessons and senior aqua-aerobics to adultlap swimming and competition swim meets.Whitten® is the company’s commercialpool products line, offering pressure andvacuum filtration systems, bulkheads,stainless steel gutters and pool accessories.ADG includes a specialty design/build group with architects, engineers andconstruction professionals who develop bothindoor and outdoor waterparks. “We’veparticipated in 100 projects over the past20 years for Six Flags, Dollywood, Disneyand Cedar Fair, to name a few,” Ellis said.“Being a true design builder, we can controlthe project schedule much better.”Strong currentsADG’s work ebbs and flows, but whenprojects are approved, the timeframe isshort and the turnaround is rapid.“One of the challenges of the outdoorwaterpark business is that everybody hasto be open by Memorial Day,” Ellis said.“A waterpark’s owner will often wait to seehow it fared during the most recent seasonbefore deciding whether to build or expanda facility. We don’t get the green light tomove ahead with a project until sometimein the fall, and then it needs to be readywithin five to seven months.”“You’re only as good as the folksyou have working with you. I amincredibly proud of the employeesof this company and what they haveaccomplished.”He estimates that 85 percent of ADG’sbusiness comes from North America,including some within Tech Valley and theNortheast.The company has designed and builtthe indoor waterpark at the Six FlagsGreat Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterparkin Queensbury and added water featuresto the Great Escape park itself. It has builta full water park facility for Six Flags NewEngland and Camelback Mountain Resortin Pennsylvania.In addition, ADG has providedproducts and services for swimming poolsat Shenendehowa High School, SkidmoreCollege, Rensselaer Polytechnic Instituteand the Capital District YMCA.“If there’s an aquatic-based project,no matter what it is, we probably have someproduct or service that we can providefor it. Business has been solid in recentyears, despite the economic downturn,”Elli said. “Clearly, we are affected by theeconomy, but our clients have done fairlywell. People have been staying closer tohome when they travel, whether it’s a‘daycation’ or ‘staycation.’ Presently, wetend to see more existing facilities addingfeatures on a smaller scale than new projectdevelopment.”Liquid assetsNot only does ADG make waves fortraditional waterparks, it also manufacturesequipment for zoos and aquariums,creating waves in exhibits to simulate thenatural habitats of animals and fish.ADG even has designed five wavesystems for movies, including “TheGuardian,” “Master and Commander”and a major motion picture currentlyin production. The movie is based on afantasy adventure that depicts a boy whosurvives a shipwreck.“We needed to generate waves thatare four, five or six feet high, to simulateMay 2011 | VISIONS | 17