Intamin AG

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Expedition GeForce

Intamin AG is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company, Intaride LLC, is headed up by Sandor Kernacs.

Intamin is a major player in the amusement park attractions industry, supplying some 22 different styles of rides to a variety of parks. Their first roller coaster installation was the Jr. Gemini, a kids ride at Cedar Point in 1979. Since then they have installed a total of 70 coasters in several countries around the globe. They also designed and built the first "river rapids ride" known as "Thunder River" based off the idea supplied by Bill Crandall, a past General Manager at the now defunct Six Flags AstroWorld. Intamin also invented the first Freefall experience and the first Drop Tower.

[edit] Products and technologies

Intamin is well known for being innovative and creative with their rides. They were some of the first to create a magnetic propulsion system (Linear induction motors/Linear Synchronous Motors) and remain one of only a handful of manufacturers continuing to use such technology on roller coasters. Intamin also created the first hydraulic launch system (also known as the "Accelerator" or "Rocket Coaster"), which is now being used to catapult roller coaster trains from 0 to speeds upwards of 120 mph (193 km/h) in a few seconds before climbing up immense heights. Kingda Ka was their latest achievement and is the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster as of the 2005 season, boasting a 128 mph (206 km/h) top speed and 456-foot (139 m) height.

Intamin is also known for their massive "Mega" (Intamin's term for a hypercoaster; often considered over 200 ft/61 m) and "Giga" (over 300 ft/91 m)coasters. They have also created the "Strata Coaster" (Any coaster over 400 ft / 122 m tall). There are currently only two Strata Coasters in existence (Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point and Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure), both manufactured by Intamin. These rides are often acclaimed by roller coaster enthusiasts for their amounts of airtime and Top Thrill Dragster uses lapbars as the choice of restraint, allowing the rider more comfort and freedom of the upper body throughout the ride. Mega/Giga Coasters currently occupy the top 3 spots of the Golden Ticket Awards with Millennium Force (Giga), Superman: Ride of Steel (Mega) and Expedition GeForce (Mega). Also drawing much praise is the company's recent foray into the wooden roller coaster business with their "Plug and Play" models, such as Balder at Liseberg, Colossos at Heide Park, and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure which opened spring 2006. Unlike other traditional wood coasters, these rides use prefabricated track sections made of a high strength wooden laminate that can be secured on site when the super structure is completed. This design enables the coaster to reach speeds and navigate course elements smoothly not unlike a steel roller coaster while retaining the look and some of the traditional feel of common wooden coasters.

Another recent roller coaster development by Intamin is the Ball Coaster, a type of Spinning roller coaster. It has individual cars, each with 8 seats, arranged in two pods coming of the sides of the car, each with 2 seats facing forwards and two facing backwards. This car is either lifted to the highest point by a conventional chain lift, or propelled around the course at a constant speed by Linear Motor system.

Intamin is also responsible for a large number of other thrill rides. They have designed some of the largest Ferris wheels in the world as well as some of the tallest drop rides in the market, along with various types of observation towers. They also supply motion simulator technology which can be seen in many installations around the world. Intamin is also credited with the invention of the river rapids ride, though the idea was given to Intamin by Bill Crandall, a past General Manager of AstroWorld.

Outside the amusement realm, Intamin supplies monorail transportation systems which are used in both public transport networks and at tourist attractions across the world.

[edit] Coasters

See Category:Intamin AG roller coasters

[edit] Connections with Bolliger & Mabillard

The company is also known for being the original home to the famous (within the coaster world) Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). The two engineers worked for Giovanola who in turn were frequently contracted by Intamin for their early stand-up roller coasters (Giovanola eventually started producing roller coasters independently). B&M broke away from Giovanola to form their own company which now supplies roller coasters as well. Similarities between the two companies are often obvious, such as the style of track used by B&M, which was used in a number of early Giovanola installations which were contracted by Intamin.

[edit] Safety incidents

Intamin has been in the news for a number of safety-related accidents or incidents in the past few years.

In May 1999, a passenger riding the newly opened Superman Ride of Steel roller coaster at Six Flags Darien Lake fell out of the train, falling 15-feet. The victim suffered only minor injuries. The attraction was immediately closed following the accident so an investigation into what caused the accident could begin. Park officials said that the new coaster would remain closed until the investigation was complete. According to park officials, the lap bar, which is designed to keep passengers in the train, appeared to be working and they have no idea of how the accident happened. Officials did state that the rider's weight, estimated at about 300 pounds, might have been a factor. Since then, seat-belt restraints, as well as bars that restrict movement of the legs, have been installed.

In 2004 two incidents involving the Intamin lapbar system occurred within months of each other. The first on Hydro, an Intamin vertical river plunge at Oakwood Leisure Park (Narberth S.Wales) in which 16-year-old Hayley Williams fell approximately 100 ft to her death. The peculiar incident is very similar to an earlier accident with another vertical plunge ride, Perilous Plunge at Knotts Berry Farm in California in 2003. During that accident, a woman fell from the peak of the ride again to her death, however the ruling on the safety of the ride claimed that the woman was overweight and should not have been permitted to ride, hence the lapbar failure. Hydro remained closed for the rest of the park's 2004 season before reopening 2005 with modifications that have seen the lapbar restraints replaced with "Over-the-Shoulder" restraints.

The second incident of 2004 was on one of Intamin's mega coasters, Superman: Ride of Steel at the Six Flags New England park in Massachusetts. The ride, again with lapbar restraints, was dispatched with a sufferer of cerebral palsy in the front seat. According to an investigation[1], the ride operators were primarily to blame for not ensuring the man was properly secured. Intamin was also partially blamed for the ride's safety system allowing the train to be dispatched without all the restraints properly secured as well as the victim himself for not notifying the operators of his condition.

Intamin is now supplying rides with the more restricting "Over-the-Shoulder" restraints as well as the traditional lapbars for added safety and to restrict the passenger's movements.

[edit] Public Impressions

This article or section may need a complete rewrite. Please discuss this issue on the talk page.

Whatever can be said about their safety record Intamin AG is an unbalancing force in the roller coaster industry. As of the 2006 amusement park season they are the considered the "top dog" of their industry, landing the largest contracts and the clients with the highest profiles. Due to their prolific status they enjoy both an abundance of fanfare and resent. Amongst those knowledgeable about roller coaster manufacturers there are those who swear by Intamin coasters, conversely you have those who speak of a need to return to roots and their desire for the more traditional amusement park roller coasters and flat rides.

[edit] Intamin AG Roller Coasters

[edit] World records

[edit] Existing Intamin Roller Coasters

An incomplete table of currently-standing Intamin coasters:

[edit] External links

• Intamin (official site)
• Intamin Bahntechnik (official site of Intamin's factory in Germany)
• Intamin brochure outlining various products
• Accidents involving amusement roller coasters manufactured by Intamin