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INTAMIN 40 YEARS : 1967 - 2007
~ Great Past ~
In June 1967, Reinhold and Robert Spieldiener and their friend Ali Saiko decided to set up their own
company for production and creation of amusement and theme park attractions. With their ambitions and
aspirations in mind, they established the company name “Intamin,” which is a combination of letters from
the phrase INTernational AMusement INstallations.
Already with experience in designing and supplying
high tension overhead cables and ski lifts, as well as
Observation Gyro Towers, the founders quickly got their
first contract to build a 100 meter high Oil Derrick for Six
Flags Over Texas. Shortly after, they also built an Eiffel
Tower for Kings Island. As business transactions in those
days were less formal, the first contracts consisted solely
of a sketch, a price, two signatures, and a handshake.
More Funicular Railways and Gondola Cableways followed before the first “amusement ride,” as such, was
built. This attraction, a Drunken Barrels ride, was commissioned by Six Flags. Proving very popular, a further
handful was then supplied to the same company.
As one may notice, the early history of Intamin is closely linked to that of Six Flags, since it was often with
Six Flags that Intamin’s ideas were brought to fruition. Over the forty years more than 50 attractions have
been supplied to this famous group.
Many of the rides supplied were moved between parks and most of the rides are still operating
somewhere in the world.
In 1974, Intamin started representing Anton Schwarzkopf
outside Germany. This relationship depended on Intamin
generating ideas, then working with Schwarzkopf and
Stengel to turn them into reality. Intamin rapidly became
renowned for its ‘can do’ attitude and one prototype
after another ensued. One result was the first steel
looping coaster which resides in Magic Mountain USA.
This coaster is conceivably the most seen and recognized
coaster in the world, due to its starring role in the film
‘Roller Coaster’.
This relationship lasted until Schwarzkopf finally
succumbed to events that overtook them and forced
them into bankruptcy. To ensure that the existing
customers were still able to get spare parts for their rides, Intamin bought the drawings, rights, and patents
from Schwarzkopf.
Among the unique rides being produced at the time were favourites such
as: The Flying Dutchman, Looping Starships, Tow Boats, Double and Triple
Wheels, and Bounties of all sizes, including a gigantic 320 seat version for
Japan.
Subsequently, the legendary Rapids Ride was designed and constructed for Astroworld. This ride, perhaps
more than any other, commenced a new phase for Intamin since such rides embodied a huge technical
risk at the outset. Despite 40 years of supplying rapids in every possible configuration without repeating a
design, Intamin continues to develop innovative features to plausibly, the most popular ride in any park
today.
Water rides are always well-received by the public and the company has achieved a reputation for quality
and originality in this specific area. With Flumes, Spill Waters, Splashes of all sizes, and Reversing Boat Rides
all contributing to a complete palette of products.
Since Intamin was
already very busy
with several rides,
Robert Spieldiener
decided to create
a new company
‘Ride Trade’, based
in his home town in
Liechtenstein, and
focus on different
types of attractions. Teaming up with a Californian large format film projection system supplier, Ride Trade
was at the forefront of the emerging simulator market and quickly became the market leader with over 50
motion cinemas to their name, including the exotic Back to the Future for Universal, Multi Motion Dark Rides
for Leo Foo and Lotte World, and other specialized simulators.
At the same time, Intamin was also a main
player in developing such unique rides as
Stand-Up Coasters, Swiss Bobs, and the
Space Diver.
The two companies attained an identity for adventurous thinking and also for providing superior rides to
the industry. In turn, this enabled them to establish larger projects where they supplied virtually all of the
rides for a new park. This trend continues and many new parks will still buy considerable packages of rides
from Intamin and Ride Trade. The record is a contract for 55 rides for one customer to be supplied within
12 months!
By the mid 1980s, Intamin and Ride Trade could provide a package of rides ranging from water rides, to
towers, wheels and roller coasters, as well as a number of rotating rides. Not to mention various Monorails.
Moreover, the first Free Fall
was supplied to Magic
Mountain for the 1982
season and it was still
operating in 2006! A total
of 15 such rides were
delivered to the USA,
Canada, and Japan.
This was a major high
profile ride which pushed
the envelope as far as technical
achievement in the amusement
industry, however due to its
popularity
and
long
lasting
commercial life, it was imperative to
increase the capacity and decrease
the maintenance costs. It was a full
12 years of hard work from Robert
with a handful of tireless partners
before Ride Trade was able to
enhance the technology, adapt it,
and patent it, in order to improve
on the traditional free fall design.
Finally, in 1995, birth was given to the tremendously successful, and often copied, Giant Drop. This new
technology employed rare earth magnets, utilizing the phenomena by passing an inert blade between two
rare earth magnets creating an eddy current consequently increasing the resistance and thus a braking of
the movement, which results in a failsafe system without any friction or wear and tear.
So successful was this development, that Intamin shortly thereafter was also allowed to use the technology
in Roller Coasters, dramatically increasing safety while concurrently lowering maintenance costs in
operation.
In the mid 1990s a trend towards Roller Coasters started to appear. At the
same time, a number of new markets were emerging, such as Egypt, Brazil,
and Malaysia. Intamin and Ride Trade were able not only to provide
custom designed rides for each of the new parks, but also to cultivate an
extensive range of Roller Coasters.
Between 1994 and 2004 the company designed and built:
The world’s first and largest travelling Inverted Coaster, the Eurostar. It is
transportable using over 90 trucks and still making appearances all over
Europe! As well as an Inverted Coaster, an Indoor Spiral Coaster, a Spinning Coaster, a Runaway Mine Train,
the first Roller Coaster over 100mph which subsequently was also the first Linear Motor powered coaster
and not to forget, the World’s record 10 Inversion Coaster.
When a client in Japan requested a specific Roller Coaster with a track of 750
meters, suspended, and fitting within a 100 meter by 10 meter plot, the
Impulse Coaster was born. Oh, and naturally it was placed on the rooftop of
a building in Tokyo!
INTAMIN & RIDE TRADE SET A NEW BENCH MARK IN THE HISTORY OF
AMUSEMENT RIDE MANUFACTURING AND ROSE THE BAR FOR ALL OTHERS IN
THE INDUSTRY!
INTAMIN 40 YEARS : 1967 - 2007
~ Strong Present ~
With Ali Saiko retiring and handing over his part of the operation to Patrick Spieldiener, both Intamin and
Ride Trade now have their development offices in Schaan, Liechtenstein, home to both Reinhold and
Patrick Spieldiener, with also a factory in Germany, an electronics company in Switzerland (Inautec) who
provide the ‘brains’ of the rides, as well as an engineering company in the Netherlands. Additionally, to
better support the growing number of customers, Intamin and Ride Trade are working with exclusive
partner companies in the USA, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, just to name a few. This firm is possibly the most
‘global’ of all the companies in the amusement industry.
In an extremely high demanding and competitive market specialization is the key to success, this is why
Intamin concentrates on Coasters and Water Rides, while Ride Trade focuses on Towers, Wheels, Simulators
and Round Rides. To maximize efficiency and reduce costs, the two companies have joined into a single
marketing structure, with Ride Trade acting as the exclusive agent for Intamin.
Today, Intamin and Ride Trade provide the widest variety of successful amusement rides, for both families
with children and ultimate thrill seeker. From any type and size of steel Coasters to Wooden Coasters; from
water rides like River Rapids, Flume, Shoot-the-Chute, to Gyro and Free-Fall Towers; from any size Wheel to
the most sophisticated Simulators; from ‘flat’ to ‘white knuckle’ rides, the company remains a leader in the
industry.
As can be seen just in the progression of the complexity of the Roller Coaster, it is an exciting time for the
engineers at Intamin.
More specifically, Intamin is
the first company to provide
a completely new way of
building Wooden Coasters,
which uses state of the art
technology to provide an
accurate pre-fabricated track
rail allowing higher speeds,
smoother rides, and lower
maintenance than of the
traditional ‘Woodie’.
As technology becomes more accessible, the company attempts wherever possible to employ it in our
industry and conceptions. When the diminishing supply of power became a concern, especially in the
United States, a new system of launching was investigated and developed. The resulting hydraulic
powered winches allow for coasters of even higher speeds and accelerations. Combining this new
innovative system with Intamin’s ingenuity produced not only launch coasters containing inversions, but
also the highest coaster in the world at over 140 meters tall. But truly it is the acceleration that literally takes
one’s breath away, going from a standing start to over 210 km/h in under 4 seconds!
Applying the same technology, over a dozen diverse coasters have been supplied to around half a dozen
countries. Each one different from the other, some with inversions, some just ‘scream machines’ and some
even for the ‘family ride’ market.
Big and fast cedes to tall and quiet when it comes to some Ride Trade projects.
Back in 2000, a Giant Ferris Wheel was built in Fukuoka, Japan. Standing at 120 meters, it was the tallest at
that time. Design has also been completed for even taller wheels.
As well as the common wheel, Ride Trade also provides the very unusual wheel, such as the wheel on a
building in Roppongi, Japan. This wheel circles around the outside of the building and has consequently
initiated a new chapter in the Big Wheel business with an array of diverse shapes being possible.
Like Giant Wheels, Observation Towers are also very popular,
especially in conjunction with the increase in the use of such rides
as ‘city centre attractions.’ Ergo, Ride Trade is at the forefront of
providing a number of such towers around the world. The tallest
tower, at 182 meters (600 ft), is in Argentina, but many others
have been supplied between 50 to 110 meters as well.
INTAMIN 40 YEARS : 1967 - 2007
~ Exciting
Exciting Future ~
Patrick Spieldiener, a son of one of the founders, and already a twenty year veteran in the industry, is clear
about what he wants Intamin to do, and where the future lies; “More of the same,” he said when asked.
“We must be doing something right, and I know we have to look at the way we do things all the time to
ensure that technically we are offering our clients the best product, hopefully at the best price. We try not
to lose sight of the things which are already good, but build on those elements as well. It is sometimes
difficult for us to come across the right way to all customers, just as it is difficult sometimes to build the
rides we do worldwide in the time we are given, often under difficult conditions, varying criteria, and with
clients of different cultures. Though we try our best at all times, and generally, I think we succeed, as
demonstrated by the number of repeat clients. Indeed some clients have been with us throughout the
forty years, and we hope they will want to stay another forty!”
“Our current outlook is very good, with a number of new and exciting products going through the various
stages of design and production, while at the same time we are managing to keep a good basic workload
of the traditional rides which we grew up on, such as Rapids, Flumes, and family rides. Of course, we are
keeping a weather eye on the markets around the world and are continually receiving feedback from our
clients to develop the kinds of attractions that they are looking for which meet the ever changing tastes of
the public.”
A peak into the new generation of coasters includes the Wing Rider, where riders hang off the side of the
tracks, the Motor Bike coaster which replicates a true motorcycle driving experience, and the ZacSpin, a
coaster built for small spaces that combines drops, spins, and direction changes.
The trend now is to increase the scope and
aptitude of a single structure. As always, Ride
Trade is leading the way with recent contracts
prepared to provide a number of Vertical
Theme Parks. This new generation of attraction
allows for a small surface area that is capable
of entertaining up to a million people a year
for a fraction of the cost of a traditional theme
park, while preserving all the adventure,
exhilaration, and excitement from before.
The main emphasis must be to listen, learn,
and apply to develop products that respond
to what customers are telling us. This may be
bigger, faster, and bolder or it may be smaller,
lower and family orientated. Our aim is to
come up with options for every type of
patron.
INTAMIN 40 YEARS : 1967 - 2007
~ Monorails ~
Intamin Transportation, as one of the leading suppliers of Monorails, has gained a world-wide reputation for
providing high quality products and services on time, and for a fair price. Since many years, the company
has been involved in the planning, design and engineering and supply of transport systems to parks,
exhibitions, sports- and leisure centres as well as shopping malls and more recently semi-urban
applications, with in-house resources capable of providing not only the engineering, consulting,
manufacturing and installation but also the maintenance and operation including ticketing.
The Intamin Transportation Monorail systems represent one of
the most environmentally friendly transportation systems that
run on clean electrical energy with the possibility of
regenerating the dynamic braking power making it very energy
efficient. It is proud of its very light weight track system that
can be easily incorporated in existing infrastructures.
Three types
of trains, the
P6, the P8,
and the P30
system platforms, have been conceived and consequently
refined in terms of durability, maintainability, and
operational convenience. They are developed as modular
units with which short or long trains can be configured,
capable of handling inclinations up to 15 to 20%,
compound curves, and 1,000 to 5,000 persons per hour
and direction. They can be operated in closed loops with
on-line or off-line stations or in a shuttle service, with the possibility of extending the layout at any time.
The trains are comprised of passenger’s compartments that provide optimal comfort, combined with
functional, modern design. Each compartment can be equipped with automatic sliding/plug doors, HVACunits, PA- and 2-way communication units, as well as CCTV systems or passenger information displays, as
per the customers requirement. The trains can be operated manually with a driver on board or with the
Intamin Transportation Automatic Train Guiding System which allows fully automatic operation without a
driver on board. This control and automatic train guiding system is characterised by its simplicity and
reliable functioning.
INTAMIN 40 YEARS : 1967 - 2007
~ Services ~
Complementary to the comprehensive product range of attractions, Intamin/Ride Trade also covers various
fields of services. The company accompanies the client during the entire project realisation process, from
the early stage of feasibility study and project development until operation, maintenance, and after sales.
As a partner in the project development process, the company offers
a thorough expertise in consulting services, such as feasibility studies,
consulting for development of system configuration, cost-analyses,
evaluation of alternatives, etc.
It is the aim of the company to
develop attractions which are
tailored to the specific needs of
the client. Therefore our skilled
engineers work in close proximity with the client and cover a wide
range of engineering disciplines, like system integration, safety
analyses, reliability analyses, manuals, etc.
Based
on
the
experience
and
expertise of our own operation and maintenance team, the
company can offer operation and maintenance of the
attractions, consulting for O&M organisation, manuals for
O&M, advisory services for system O&M, spare parts
supply, etc. Additionally, the O&M staff of the client will be
carefully trained by our experts, who can accompany the
team during the first phase of System Operation.
Our customer-oriented after sales organisation will ensure
the availability of spare parts in due time over the lifetime of
the attraction, organising overhaul tasks and giving consulting
services, where required by the client or the operator.
This publication is dedicated in the commemoration of Reinhold Spieldiener, who regrettably and
unexpectedly passed away the fourth of September, 2007. It was Reinhold’s hard work, commitment, and
perseverance that helped make all of this possible.
Patrick Spieldiener expresses his sincerest appreciation and gratitude to all of the companies’ worldwide
customers for the continual trust and repeat business. Additionally, many heartfelt thanks are extended to
its loyal engineering and manufacturing partners, and most importantly, to the devoted, assiduous staff and
management.
As Reinhold continually affirmed, “It is the precious union of these 3 independently essential groups,
customers, partners, and employees, that brought the Intamin and Ride Trade brand to where it stands
today and will continue to maintain its position of leadership in the industry.”
The companies aim to do this remarkable man justice and aspire to another 40 years of more great
successes, imaginative innovations, and prosperous relationships with its development partners and
worldwide patrons.
Ride Trade Int. Corp. Est.
Intamin Transportation Ltd.
Intamin AG
Landstrasse 126
FL – 9494 Schaan
Liechtenstein
Phone: 00423 237 03 43
E-Mail: info@ridetrade.com
Landstrasse 126
FL – 9494 Schaan
Liechtenstein
Phone: 00423 237 03 63
E-Mail: info@intamintransportation.com
IntaRide L.L.C.
Intamin GmbH
Dierdorfer Strasse 18
D - 56584 Rüscheid
Germany
Phone: 0049 263 993 10 0
E-Mail: info@intamin.de
Represented by
D-Technic International Co. Ltd.
5F-7, No. 6, Lane 609, Chung-Hsin Road
Sec. 5, San-Chung, Taipei, Taiwan
Phone: 0088 622 999 72 31
Intamin Japan Co. Ltd.
Ltd.
Intamin China
Intamin Korea
520 Mc. Cormick Drive, Suite J
Glen Burnie, MD 21061
USA
Phone: 001 410 768 40 00
E-Mail: IntaRide@aol.com
Dai Valore Bldg. 5 F
1-15-2 Kichijoji-Honcho
180-004 Musashino City
Tokyo, Japan
Phone: 0081 422 20 43 45
E-Mail: info@intamin-japan.co.jp
Represented by
D-Technic (Fuzhou) Co. Ltd
Room 103 Guanhua Lou, Guanhua 2 Non
Xihuan Bei Lu, Fuzhou, China Postal
Code 350000
Phone: 0086 591 83 71 88 78
*All companies are op
operated
and ow
owned in
indep
depe
ende
ndenntly*
Web:
Web
www.ridetrade.com
www.intamintransportation.com
Verenastrasse 37
CH - 8832 Wollerau
Switzerland
Phone: 0041 44 786 91 11
E-Mail: info@intaminworldwide.com
Intamin Taiwan
Represented by
Bara Int. Ltd.
Unit No. 614 Myungmoonga
Daewoo-i-ville
135280 Seoul, Korea
Phone: 0082 220 03 10 68
E-Mail: baraint@unitel.co.kr