HYDRAULIC SOLUTIONS HELP SBI SWEDEN CREATE EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN WORLDWIDE

HYDRAULICS MAKE THE EXPERIENCE REALISTIC
What all the vehicles have in common is the ambition to create an activity where children are not simply passengers but can steer, drive and control what happens themselves. For the child sitting behind the controls, the experience should feel real. To achieve this, the vehicles can be developed in collaboration with the original manufacturers to create miniature versions that closely resemble the full-size models.

SBI Sweden's Mini Digger and Mini Grabber are examples of popular attractions. Here, children can operate the boom, arm and bucket or grab using real controls. The machines are hydraulically powered and designed to recreate the feeling of operating a real excavator, but in a size and with performance adapted for children and public environments.

For SBI Sweden, hydraulics are therefore not just something hidden inside the product. It is a central part of the experience itself. When a child moves a lever, the machine should respond immediately, feel natural and perform consistently, time after time. Since 2025, SBI Sweden has worked with HydraSpecma as its hydraulic partner.

  – We chose to work with HydraSpecma because hydraulics are essential to the experience. HydraSpecma provides high-quality components that are built to last. This gives both us and our customers the confidence we need, says Markus Jonsson, CEO at SBI Sweden.

BUILT TO BE USED AGAIN AND AGAIN
The conditions in which SBI Sweden's vehicles are used are quite unique. Each attraction must be simple and fun for children to operate, while also withstanding many hours of use in environments where safety and reliability are essential. At a theme park, the same attraction may be used over and over again, day after day and season after season. This places high demands on both the design and the components behind it.

That is why SBI Sweden's products are developed with a strong focus on durability, ease of use and long service life. These priorities are also an important part when developing the hydraulic machines. The design must deliver a realistic experience without making the equipment unnecessarily complicated to operate or maintain. For SBI Sweden, choosing the right components and hydraulic partner is therefore about more than functionality alone.

  – Our attractions need to be robust and built to last, while remaining exciting for children to use. With HydraSpecma as our partner, we have access to technical expertise and the support we need, both in our daily production and as we continue to deliver and develop our attractions, says Markus.

One example of just how intensively the products are used can be found at World of Volvo in Gothenburg. Here, SBI Sweden's Mini Digger have become a popular part of the visitor experience, recording more than 40,000 uses in less than a year.

For HydraSpecma, the partnership also demonstrates how hydraulics can create value far beyond traditional mobile and industrial applications. In this case, the technology gives children the opportunity to understand how a machine works by actually operating it.

  – In SBI Sweden's Mini Digger and Mini Grabber, hydraulics become something very tangible, a direct part of the child's experience. Our role is to provide a robust solution and hydraulic expertise that SBI can continue to build on, explains Per-Anders Källdén, Application Project Manager at HydraSpecma.

DEVELOPING NEW EXPERIENCES TOGETHER
SBI Sweden continues to develop its vehicles while also focusing on creating new activities and challenges within its attractions. By giving children specific tasks to complete, they can create new challenges. For example, the Mini Grabber can be used to build a tower from blocks or similar objects. There are many possibilities, but it remains essential to ensure that each task is repeatable, safe and realistic. HydraSpecma supports SBI Sweden in refining the hydraulic functions needed for these activities.

  – Creating game-like challenges is something that children enjoy and that our customers are asking for. We currently have many ideas that we are testing. Some of them require new hydraulic functions, which we are looking at developing together with HydraSpecma, says Joacim Samuelsson, Production Director at SBI Sweden.