Dynamic Structures

Dynamic Structures of the World is a Canadian company with a history of steel fabrication dating back to 1927. They create amusement rides, theme park rides, observatory telescopes and other complex steel structures.

History

Dynamic Structures' history dates back to 1926, when Vancouver Art Metal was founded. The firm was renamed Coast Steel Fabricators Limited in 1952. In 1976, the firm was purchased by AGRA Inc., before being renamed AGRA Coast Limited in 1994. AGRA Inc. and its subsidiaries were acquired by British firm AMEC in 2001, with the company changing its name to AMEC Dynamic Structures. In 2007, AMEC sold the company to Empire Industries, who operate it as Dynamic Structures. In 2011, Dynamic Structures' amusement ride manufacturing was spun off into a sister company named Dynamic Attractions.

Astronomy projects

Dynamic Structures has been involved in the design and construction of most of the world's largest observatories. These include:

• Canada France Hawaii Telescope - Enclosure, Hawaii
• Isaac Newton Telescope - Enclosure, La Palma (Canary Islands)
• William Herschel Telescope - Enclosure, La Palma
• W.M. Keck Observatory, Phase 1 - Enclosure, Hawaii
• Owens Valley Radio Observatory - 3 Radio Telescope Support Structures, California
• Starfire Optical Range - Enclosure, New Mexico
• W.M. Keck Observatory, Phase 2 - Enclosure, Hawaii
• W.M. Keck Observatory, Phase 2 - Telescope Structure, Hawaii
• Subaru Telescope - Enclosure, Hawaii
• Gemini North and Gemini South - 2 Enclosures, Hawaii & Chile
• Atacama Cosmology Telescope

Currently the company is busy with the design of what will be the largest telescope in the world, called the Thirty Meter Telescope

Steel structures

Other structures that Dynamic Structures have constructed include:

• Helix Pedestrian Bridge, Seattle, WA
• Vancouver Olympic Ski Jumps, Whistler, BC
• Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond, BC
• Lougheed Skytrain Station, Burnaby, BC,

Dynamic Attractions

Dynamic Attractions was a sister company to Dynamic Structures that was created in 2011 to serve the primary function of soliciting sales for theme park ride systems that would be manufactured by Dynamic Structures.

The firm entered the theme park ride system industry after one of the engineers on the Keck Observatory project asked the firm for assistance with steel fatigue on a roller coaster. Following the observatory project, this engineer secured a job at Walt Disney World in Florida. Due to the success of the project, Dynamic Structures gained additional contracts with Walt Disney Imagineering to manufacture the ride systems for Soarin' Over California and Test Track. This expanded the firm's presence in the theme park industry.

In 2012, Dynamic Attractions began development on the SFX Coaster, which sought to combine a high-thrill roller coaster experience with show and multimedia sequences. Employees invested a total of 500 person years into the model's creation, with each of the attraction's elements being commissioned at their factory. The concept was officially unveiled in 2014, subsequently being purchased by Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, 20th Century Fox World Malaysia, and the Evergrande Group.

In 2015, the company expanded their capabilities to include complete design and installation services for all elements of the attraction. Using the marketing of "Ride – Show – Integration," this focus led to the opening of a research and development facility called the "Attraction Development Center" in Orlando, FL. Through this facility, the company can do large-scale mock-ups and is staffed for design and development of ideas as well as ride systems.

In July 2017, the Dynamic Attractions company combined with all the "ride system" elements of the Dynamic Structures company. The new Dynamic Attractions organization includes the Ride Development Center (Formerly Dynamic Structures offices and facility) in Port Coquitlam, Canada, as well as the Attraction Development Center in Orlando, Florida.

Dynamic Attractions entered CCAA protection in March 2019 after accumulating debt due to overspending and development on the SFX Coaster projects. The COVID-19 pandemic also lead to quarantine restrictions hampering their project personnel as well as increased costs for raw materials, shipping, labour, and subcontractors. The company was sold in May 2023 to Hong Kong-based financial services firm Promising Expert Limited (PEL) for USD$2,000,000.

Projects

List of roller coasters

Gallery

• Astronomy Projects
• William Herschel Telescope
• Isaac Newton Telescope
• Keck Telescopes
• JNLT Telescope
• Atacama Cosmology Telescope
• Thirty Meter Telescope

• Amusement Park Rides
• Soarin' Over California
• Test Track
• Mark VII Monorail

• Steel Structures
• Richmond Olympic Oval
• Lougheed Skytrain Station
• Vancouver Olympic Ski Jumps