Member Article

Theme park installer from Barnsley expands to keep up with demand

Barnsley firm Themesparx, which makes installations for most of the UK’s theme parks has moved into new, bigger premises to keep up with demand.

Themesparx moved into Fall Bank Industrial Estate at Dodworth in August 2013 just months after setting up, but has now relocated to a new building more than three times the size on the same estate.

The company supplies sets, sculptures, moving characters and special effects for theme parks including Alton Towers, Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Matthew Kitchen-Dunn, who owns the business with his wife Jane, said: “We realised almost as soon as we moved into the first unit that we would soon outgrow it with the amount of work we were getting in, but luckily we found somewhere almost next door that was big enough at 12,000 square feet.”

Jane and Matthew Kitchen-Dunn or Themesparx

Themesparx designs and makes the products from concept through to installation, and has received business support from Barnsley Council’s Enterprising Barnsley programme.

Matthew has years of experience in the field, having worked for 28 years in the family business in Huddersfield, which started by supplying Christmas decorations and Santa’s grottos to shopping malls, then moved into theme park rides.

He broke away to set up Themesparx in May 2013. When the company moved to Fall Bank in August 2013 it employed six. There are now nine staff, with plans to increase that to 15. Turnover is in the region of £1 million, with a projected increase of 30% in the next year.

The company has just supplied a theme park in Norway and is looking to export to other countries, including Russia and China.

Enterprising Barnsley has given the company business support including help with a new website, marketing and HR matters.

Matthew said: “They have been absolutely great. We wouldn’t be where we are now if it wasn’t for Enterprising Barnsley. If we have any problems they will sort it for us.”

“They are a great company to work with, with fun products. But on a more serious note our role is just to make it as easy as possible for business to thrive in Barnsley.

“Often people have great ideas and experience, but they need help with all those little things that make running a business a bit easier.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .