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Support When Your Rink Can’t Stop
Nobody buys an ice resurfacer thinking about the morning it will not start. But every rink operator has had that morning, or knows they will, and what happens next has a far bigger effect on the business than the failure itself.
Marshalls International has supported ice rinks since 1984, and as the winter season approaches this is worth saying plainly: the equipment matters, but the support behind it matters more.
Here is what good support actually looks like, and why it is worth asking about before you need it.
A rink doesn't get days off
Most businesses can absorb a bad day. An ice rink heading into December cannot. Sessions are booked, clubs have ice time, parties are paid for, and the schedule has no slack in it at all. A machine out of action on a Saturday morning is not an inconvenience — it is refunds, disappointed customers and a reputational hit that lingers.
That is why the question to ask a supplier is not simply what they sell, but what happens when something breaks. The answer separates a supplier from a source of equipment.
Parts on the shelf, not on order
The single biggest cause of extended downtime is waiting for a part. A machine that could be running in an hour sits idle for a fortnight because a component has to be ordered in from abroad.
We hold a comprehensive stock of genuine service and spare parts, with next-day UK delivery on most items. That is a deliberate investment: stock costs money to hold, and the reason we hold it is that a rink in trouble needs the part now, not next month. When you are choosing who to buy from, it is a fair question to ask how much they actually keep on the shelf.
Engineers who know the machines — all of them
Our factory-trained engineers service and repair all makes of ice resurfacer and edger, not only the Olympia machines we supply. Rinks rarely have a single-brand fleet, and it helps enormously to have one number to call regardless of what is in the garage.
Experience counts here in a way that is hard to quantify until you need it. An engineer who has seen the same fault on the same model a dozen times diagnoses it in minutes. Four decades in this industry means very few surprises.
Emergency call-out
For genuine emergencies, we offer 24/7 support with emergency call-out available for customers in the UK and France. Sometimes that means an engineer on site within hours; often it means a phone call that talks your team through a fix and gets the rink open on time.
Either way, the value is in knowing the number exists before you need it. Operators who have been through it once rarely take support arrangements lightly again.
Hire cover keeps the ice open
Occasionally a machine cannot be fixed quickly, or needs to come off site for major work. That is where our hire fleet earns its place — not just for seasonal rinks, but as cover for permanent facilities.
A replacement machine while yours is repaired means the sessions still run, the clubs still skate, and the income keeps coming in. For a facility with a packed winter schedule, that flexibility can be worth more than the repair itself.
Prevention is cheaper than rescue
All of this is the safety net. The better strategy is not needing it. Preventative maintenance contracts spread the cost across the year, keep servicing on schedule rather than on memory, and catch the small faults that turn into expensive failures.
The best time for that work is now, before the season peaks. A machine serviced in September is far less likely to let you down in December, and the engineer’s diary is far more accommodating than it will be once winter arrives.
- Book your pre-season service before the diary fills.
- Keep a small stock of the parts you know wear out.
- Make sure more than one person can operate and check the machine.
- Know your support number — and check it covers weekends.
- Ask about hire cover before you need it, not during a breakdown.
Training reduces breakdowns too
A surprising proportion of the problems we attend trace back to how a machine has been operated rather than to any fault in it. Blades set wrong, water handled poorly, damage from careless driving around the boards.
Driver training pays for itself here. Our training covers all makes of resurfacer with real on-ice practice, and it produces better ice as well as fewer callouts. For seasonal operations taking on temporary staff, it is one of the most sensible investments available.
What to ask a supplier before you commit
If you are choosing who to buy or hire from, a few direct questions reveal a great deal. What spare parts do you actually hold in stock, and what is your standard delivery time? Do your engineers cover my make of machine? Is there support at weekends and in the evenings, and how do I reach it? Could you provide a hire machine if mine were off the road for a fortnight?
Good suppliers answer those quickly and specifically. Vague answers tend to become vague support at precisely the moment you need something definite.
One supplier, one number
The practical advantage of working with Marshalls is that all of this sits in one place. The team who supplied your machine hold the parts, employ the engineers, run the hire fleet and answer the emergency line — and they already know your rink.
There is no passing you between a dealer, a parts supplier and a third-party service company while your ice sits idle. Since 1984 that is how we have chosen to operate, because it is what actually helps when something goes wrong.
Get sorted before the season
If you are heading into winter without a service booked, without spares on the shelf, or without knowing who you would call on a Saturday, now is the moment to fix that.
Get in touch and we will help you get ready — a pre-season service, the parts worth keeping to hand, training if your team needs it, and the reassurance of knowing there is someone at the end of the phone when it matters.
frequently asked questions
Do you offer emergency support for ice rinks?
Yes. Marshalls International offers 24/7 support with emergency call-out available for customers in the UK and France, backed by genuine spare parts held in stock for next-day UK delivery.
Do you service machines you didn't supply?
Yes. Our factory-trained engineers service and repair all makes of ice resurfacer and edger, not only the Olympia machines we supply.
How quickly can I get spare parts?
We hold a comprehensive stock of genuine service and spare parts, with next-day UK delivery on most items, so a repair does not have to mean weeks of downtime.
Can I hire a machine while mine is being repaired?
Yes. Our hire fleet provides cover for permanent facilities as well as seasonal rinks, so your sessions can continue while your own machine is off the ice.
What is a preventative maintenance contract?
It is a scheduled servicing arrangement that spreads cost across the year, keeps maintenance on schedule and catches small faults before they become expensive failures. We recommend booking pre-season servicing before the winter diary fills up.
