Farewell to a great man
10 November 2020/ Mourning in the leisure industry: Alfeo Moser, the founder and soul of Moser’s Rides, passed away on 11 August /
Everyone who knew Alfeo Moser, who died suddenly on 11 August in Trento, while spending a few days’ holiday in his hometown, Barco di Levico Terme, will miss him so much.
His always smiling face and cordiality, which immediately endeared him to those he dealt with, made it a pleasure to stop and talk with him at exhibitions, in his office or in some airport terminal while waiting for a flight. They were enlightening chats too: there was always something to learn from this master, even if he never pontificated. Far from it.
“We are small artisans,” he loved to repeat when he talked about his company, Moser’s Rides, based in Ostiglia (Mantova), which he had founded in 1997 with 3 of his 4 beloved children. In the 1960s, he left the Navy as a radar operator to help his father-in-law Arrigo Soriani in his metalworking business as a supplier to large companies in the rides industry. An expert in electronics, fluent in 3 languages, and with his quality as a great communicator, he led Soriani in the construction and sale of its own catalogue of rides to European parks; the company then became Soriani & Moser, combining the experience of a great businessman (Soriani) and the entrepreneurial spirit of the young Moser.

Alfeo was modest, yet a quick look at his rides, deliveries and customers in every corner of the world, as well as his new projects, is enough to understand that he, together with his children and staff, really achieved something special.
His free fall towers are famous: the first trailer-mounted 50m high version, sold to the largest Canadian funfair operator (Conklin Show), made a sensational debut at the Yonker State Fair in New York in the summer of 1999.
That success brought many others, with Drop Towers built for Tivoliland in Denmark, the South China Mall, Tivoli World in Spain, Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia and Power Park in Finland, to name just a few. Alfeo and its rides have also found a home at parks such as SeaWorld in Tampa (Florida) and Mall of America in Minnesota.
His La Perla, the largest Ferris wheel in Latin America, opened in 2016 in Guayaquil, Ecuador: 55m high with 36 enclosed cabins and a capacity of 216 passengers per ride. Alfeo also built another prestigious Ferris wheel installed in the Ankara municipal park, commissioned by the mayor Melih Gökçek, a guest several times at the company’s offices in Ostiglia. And as recently as August, when Alfeo passed away, his technicians were installing a new Ferris wheel in Dubai, at the Bollywood Park in the Dubai Parks & Resorts complex.
Innovative ability and creativity, resourcefulness and stubbornness, a dreamer’s spirit, enthusiasm and feet firmly planted on the ground: all this was Alfeo, with boundless passion for his work and the world of rides he initially set foot in at the age of 24, out of love for his adored Isa.
With his skills he brought his family business to the top, carving out a significant position among the most-appreciated ride manufacturers and winning the esteem and respect of competitors and customers. Even the Chinese: he had recently received a large order for a park in China, in the island province of Hainan – 7 rides, including two 75m viewing towers for 96 passengers each.
Farewell Alfeo, you have left on the longest of your journeys. We will remember your passion and your positivity, hoping that we can always follow your example.
Taken from Games&Parks Industry September 2020, page 26