Intamin Explained

Intamin
Foundation:1967[1]
Founder:
  • Robert Spieldiener
  • Reinhold Spieldiener
  • Alfons Saiko
Location City:Schaan
Location Country:Liechtenstein
Locations:8
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Patrick Spieldiener (CEO)
Industry:Manufacturing

Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.

Primarily, Intamin is known for their roller coaster portfolio. Through working closely with their clients, Intamin addresses each project's unique prerequisites; in addition to the basic type of attraction desired, the company assesses the client's property, the surrounding terrain and works within the confines of local regulations, such as building height restrictions, and more. Their roller coaster models range from children's "kiddie" coasters and family-style mine trains to some of the tallest and fastest steel roller coasters in the world. Intamin has also manufactured pre-fabricated wooden roller coaster models, a concept which facilitates ease of construction and provides a distinct ride experience. Prefabricated wooden coasters are computer-designed with pre-measured lumber; most traditional wooden coasters are built using hand-measured, manually-cut lumber.

Among the many unique ride concepts and patents to their name, Intamin designed and constructed the first-ever river rapids ride (known as Thunder River), and marketed the first freefall ride (developed by Giovanola) and drop tower.

Beyond roller coasters, Intamin is well-known for their design and construction of vertical rides and drop towers, water rides (including log flumes and river rapids), unique water coasters, immersive dark rides, large swing rides, and different observation tower attractions. With such an extensive portfolio, Intamin is known as one of the top most-innovative and sought-after amusement ride firms in operation today. The company has installed scores of roller coasters and other rides in many countries and territories, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, México, Japan, China, Vietnam, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Finland, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Guatemala and Poland, among others.

Products and technologies

Intamin's product range spans two broad categories: rides and transportation.

Amusement rides

Roller coasters

Intamin created the first hydraulic launch system (known as the Accelerator Coaster), which catapults roller coaster trains from standstill to speeds upwards of in a few seconds before climbing to immense heights. Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, for instance, is North America's tallest and fastest coaster, launching riders from 0–128mi/h in 3.5 seconds.[2]

Intamin is also known for its massive Mega and Giga Coasters, Intamin's terms for a hypercoaster. Intamin Giga Coasters (roller coasters between 300 and 399ft) and Mega Coasters (Intamin’s model name for any roller coaster between 100 and 299ft) currently occupy three of the top five Golden Ticket Awards with perennial favorites Millennium Force, Superman the Ride and Expedition GeForce.[3]

Intamin uses computerized and industrialized engineering and manufacturing methods for its wooden coasters, rather than traditional on-site fabrication.[4] Coasters such as Colossos at Heide Park, Balder at Liseberg and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure utilized this manufacturing technique. 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 superstructure is completed. This design enables the coaster to reach speeds and navigate course elements smoothly, like a steel roller coaster, while retaining the look and some of the traditional feel of common wooden coasters.[4]

Another development by Intamin is the ZacSpin, a type of 4th Dimension roller coaster first seen in 2007. Kirnu at Linnanmäki in Finland was the first ZacSpin in the world and opened on April 27, 2007.[5] It has individual cars, each with 8 seats, arranged in two pods coming off the sides of the car, each with 2 seats facing forward and two facing backward. This car is either lifted to the highest point by a conventional chain lift, or propelled around the course at a constant speed by a Linear Motor system.

The company is known for being the original home to 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 apparent, 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.

Ferris wheels

Intamin brokered a number of rides that were manufactured by Waagner-Biro. These included a series of rides for Marriott Corporation, each comprising a vertical column supporting multiple horizontal arms, with each arm supporting a Ferris wheel. The first was Giant Wheel which operated at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, from 1973 until 2004. Similar Intamin supplied Waagner-Biro wheels included Zodiac (Kings Island, Mason, Ohio) and Scorpion (Parque de la Ciudad, Buenos Aires, Argentina). All are now defunct.

Sky Whirl, the world's first triple Ferris wheel, which debuted at both Marriott's Great America parks (now Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois, and California's Great America, Santa Clara) in 1976, was also manufactured by Waagner-Biro and brokered by Intamin. Also known as a triple Ferris wheel,[6] Triple Giant Wheel,[7] or Triple Tree Wheel, it was 33m (108feet) in height.[8] The Santa Clara ride, renamed Triple Wheel in post-Marriott years, closed on 1 September 1997. The Gurnee ride closed in 2000.[9]

The Orlando Eye, which opened in April 2015, was designed and built by Intamin.[10]

Transportation

Outside the amusement realm, Intamin supplies monorail transportation systems which are used in both public transport networks and at tourist attractions across the world. Intamin was responsible for the design and building of the Moscow Monorail (Russian: Московская Монорельсовая Транспортная Система (ММТС)), which is long and is located in the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia, running from the Timiryazevskaya metro station to Sergeya Eisensteina street. Planning of the monorail started in 1998. It has six stations.

In 2016, two monorails using Intamin equipment were opened, the 5.2km (03.2miles) Ashgabat Monorail in Turkmenistan[11] and the 1.1km (00.7miles) Calabar Monorail in the Cross River State, Nigeria, which connects the Calabar International Convention Centre to the Tinapa Resort.[12]

In 2020, the Marconi Express Monorail opened as a shuttle between the Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport and the Bologna Centrale railway station.

Intamin has also constructed monorails at amusement parks Xi'an and Ningbo in China and the Asia Park Monorail in Da Nang in Vietnam.[13]

Notable Intamin rides

See also: List of Intamin rides.

Year Accomplishment Ride Location Notes
1981 First wooden coaster built by Intamin Six Flags Great America
  • When opened it featured the longest drop in the world and fastest speed on a wooden coaster.
1985 First (and only) Spacediver coaster Six Flags Great America, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Magic Mountain
  • Opened in '85 at Great America, was relocated to Over Georgia in '88, then to Magic Mountain and opened there as Flashback in '92; demolished and scrapped in mid-December 2007 after sitting idle since 2003
  • First coaster to feature four-abreast seating
1994 First and only stand up coaster to feature a Zero G Roll
  • The ride closed in November 2023 to be converted to a sit-down coaster
1997 First coaster to go above 300-1NaN-1
First coaster to go 100mi/h
  • Not a complete circuit; the train does not reach the top of the vertical spike
1997 First coaster with a structure to reach beyond 400-1NaN-1
  • Not a complete circuit; the train does not reach the top of the vertical spike; formerly Superman: the Escape
1998 First LIM-launched inverted coaster
First Impulse shuttle coaster
  • Closed in 2010 and subsequently removed
1998 First complete-circuit, LIM-launched inverted coaster
  • Fastest inverted coaster at 70-1NaN-1 when first opened
  • Closed in 2018
2000 First Giga Coaster (over 300 ft)
First coaster to drop 300-1NaN-1
  • First complete circuit coaster to stand over 300 ft (310 ft)
  • Drop is exactly 300-1NaN-1
2000 First LIM-launched Twisted Impulse coaster
  • Previously operated at Geauga Lake as Superman: Ultimate Escape and Steel Venom
2000First Stand Up Drop Tower
  • 5 Towers with 3 stand up towers & 2 sit down towers
  • Tower 5 was modified in 2002 to feature the World's First Stand Up Floorless drop tower
  • The ride was closed in 2022
2001 First coaster to utilize a LIM launch hill
  • Has a magnetic launch followed by a magnetic non-cable/chain lift hill (this, along with scream tunnels, was done to reduce noise)
  • Currently the longest coaster with inversions
2001 First wooden coaster with prefabricated track
2002 First coaster to do 10 inversions
  • Has 10 inversions - in order: 1 Loop, 1 Cobra Roll (counts as 2), 2 Corkscrews, and 5 heartline rolls
2002 First hydraulic catapult launch coaster Knott's Berry Farm
  • Accelerates from 0 to 82 miles per hour, covering 157 feet of launch track, in just 2.3 seconds.
2003 First Strata coaster (over 400 ft)
  • Tallest and fastest coaster in the world when opened at 4200NaN0 and 120-1NaN-1
2004 First accelerator coaster to feature inversions
  • Reaches a height of 150 ft and catapults riders from 0 to 72 mph in 2 seconds
  • Features a top hat and three inversions
2005 World's tallest coaster (2005–present); was world's fastest coaster (2005–2010)
  • 456 feet high; launch speed 1280NaN0
2007 First 4th Dimension design ZacSpin Coaster by Intamin
First Intamin coaster to include curved hydraulic chain lift hill
  • First compact 4-D coaster in the world
  • Features redesigned restraints (lap bar with safety belt shoulder harness system) and non-friction magnetic brakes
2007 Intamin's first Wing Rider[14] coaster
  • Accelerates from 0 to 135km/h in 3.5 seconds
  • Was fastest coaster in Europe until 2017.
2008 At 97 degrees, steepest drop of all Intamin coasters
  • Ascends chain lift hill at a 90-degree angle
  • Features a 121-foot Norwegian loop and six inversions
2008 Record holder at the time for the steepest wooden coaster in the world
Currently the highest, fastest, longest coaster in South Korea
  • Maximum 77 degrees
  • Height 183.75 ft (56.01m)
  • Top speed 64.6 mph (104 km/h)
  • Length 5383.10 ft (1641m)
  • 12 airtime hills
2010 World's first freefall drop coaster
  • Horizontal track falls vertically down in the crypt
  • Train is launched into a backward helix after drop.
2010 Current record holder for the world's fastest coaster
  • Top speed 1500NaN0
2011 First ZacSpin built in the U.S.
  • Closed in 2017, subsequently relocated to La Ronde, scheduled to open as Vipère for the 2020 season. The project was eventually scrapped in 2022.
2014 First Special Effects Coaster/Dark Ride Hybrid
2014 First Drop Tower to tilt riders 90 degrees toward the ground
  • Currently North America's tallest freestanding drop tower
  • Tilts rider face down and drops them at speeds of 60mph
2016 Fastest multi-launch coaster (forward only)
  • Multi-launch coaster
  • Held three world records at opening: Fastest multi-launch coaster, longest multi-launch coaster without inversions, greatest number of intersecting track points at 58 .[15]
2016 Fastest multi-launch coaster (bi-directional)Soaring with Dragon Hefei Wanda Theme Park
  • Fastest multi-launch coaster at 77.7 mph (train is launched three times — forward, backward and forward again).
2017 Fastest LSM-launch coaster
  • Currently fastest LSM-launched coaster in the world.
2019Most LSM-Launches on a rollercoasterHagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike AdventureHogsmeade at Universal's Islands of Adventure
  • When it opened, it was the worlds most expensive coaster at a whopping $300 Million
  • It features 7 launches on the ride with a max speed of 50 mph
2021 First single-rail roller coaster for Intamin. Big Dipper

Incidents

See also: Amusement park accidents. Intamin has been in the news for a number of safety-related incidents.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Our History | Intamin | Rollercoaster Supplier & Amusement Ride Manufacturer . 2017-06-12 . 2019-05-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190513190555/https://www.intaminworldwide.com/our-history/ . dead .
  2. Web site: World Records . 2024-05-24 . Intamin Amusement Rides . en-US.
  3. Cedar Point welcomes 2016 Golden Ticket Awards. September 2016. Amusement Today. September 11, 2016.
  4. Pan . Phil . 2003 . Colossos: Can a coaster be too good for itself . RollerCoaster! Magazine . 24. 3 . 24 . American Coaster Enthusiasts . Mission, Kansas . 0896-7261.
  5. Kirnu. Linnanmäki (Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland). 3613. December 26, 2018.
  6. http://www.freethemepark.com/great-america-tickets.php Need Six Flags Great America Tickets?
  7. Web site: Theme Park Timelines . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150118163229/http://timelines.home.insightbb.com/sfgam_years.htm . 2015-01-18 .
  8. http://www.gurnee.il.us/zoning_board/zba_minutes/10-25-00.html Zoning Board Minutes - 10-25-00
  9. Web site: SKY WHIRL at Marriott's GREAT AMERICA parks. 24 March 2018.
  10. http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/on-the-town/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/4/15/eye_rise_constructio.htmlI-Drive 360: Construction continues on the Orlando Eye
  11. Web site: - YouTube. YouTube.
  12. News: Buhari to inaugurate multi-billion Naira Calabar monorail . 2 July 2021 . Vanguard . 20 August 2016.
  13. Web site: First-ever elevated monorail launched in Da Nang . vietnam.net . 2 July 2021.
  14. Web site: Wing Rider Coaster. 2014-01-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20130920180628/http://www.intaminworldwide.com/amusement/RollerCoasters/Wing+Rider+Coaster/tabid/138/ProductNumber/Wing+Rider+Coaster/language/de-DE/Default.aspx. 2013-09-20. dead.
  15. Web site: Roller Coaster Search Results, Element=LSM launch, sorted by speed. rcdb.com. December 1, 2018.
  16. News: 'Big Dipper' to return as Sydney's Luna Park gets $30 million overhaul. 24 November 2020. Gorrey. Megan. The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co.. https://web.archive.org/web/20201124023751/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/big-dipper-to-return-as-sydney-s-luna-park-gets-30-million-overhaul-20201124-p56he1.html. 24 November 2020. live.
  17. Web site: Big Dipper – Luna Park. Marden. Duane. Roller Coaster DataBase. https://web.archive.org/web/20201124204855/https://rcdb.com/18808.htm. 24 November 2020. live. 25 November 2020.
  18. News: EVOLUTION OF CALIFORNIA'S AMUSEMENT RIDES SAFETY LAWS. California Research Bureau, California State Library. 1997-08-01. 2006-12-21.
  19. News: DESPITE RECENT DEATHS, PARKS SAY RIDES ARE SAFE . Deseret News . 1991-08-06 . June 3, 2011.
  20. Web site: Ride-Related Fatalities . Emerson Associates. 2006-10-03 . June 3, 2011.
  21. News: Theme-park patron ejected from roller coaster . 2004-03-12 . 2007-10-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928135146/http://www.verdictsearch.com/jv3_news/newsletter/nat/052604/3.jsp . 2007-09-28 .
  22. News: Courier-Journal. 23 June 2007. Thrill ride lawsuits. 4 November 2011.
  23. Web site: Drop Zone death: no charges, no explanation. 5 November 1999. RideAccidents.com. 4 December 2011.
  24. Web site: Ergonomics and a Deadly Ride on the "Perilous Plunge". https://web.archive.org/web/20020308054153/http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=431. dead. 2002-03-08. 2001-11-06. 2007-04-05.
  25. News: Girl dies in 100ft rollercoaster fall. BBC Wales News. 2004-04-16. 2007-08-29.
  26. News: Family unhappy after ride inquest. BBC Wales News. 2006-05-19. 2007-08-29.
  27. Web site: Coaster riders question safety steps.
  28. News: WTOL-TV. July 13, 2004. Riders Injured on Top Thrill Dragster. July 31, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20071225063550/http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2033374. December 25, 2007. dead.
  29. Web site: admin . 2008-04-14 . Deposition: Maintenance Guide Ignored on Ride that Injured Kentucky Teen . 2023-05-08 . Insurance Journal . en-US.
  30. Web site: Teen's feet severed while on thrill ride - US news - Life - NBC News. NBC News.
  31. Web site: Aftermath of a Horrific Amusement Park Accident. Gordon Gibb. 14 March 2011. lawyersandsettlements.com. 24 December 2012.
  32. News: Caught on Tape: Coaster Attacks Two at Knott's Berry Farm. NBC Los Angeles. Scott Weber. 2009-09-18. 2009-09-18.
  33. Web site: FULL STEAM OUT OF THE TRACK POPPED: AGONY IN THE ROLLER COASTER. Bild.de. 29 April 2010.
  34. Web site: Iraq War vet dies on Darien Lake Rollercoaster. https://archive.today/20120716123250/http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Iraq-War-vet-dies-on-Darien-Lake-Rollercoaster/jM-zd3jWt0yhuwkx4Y1i4A.cspx. dead. 2012-07-16. 9WSYR.com. 2011-07-08. 2011-07-09.
  35. Web site: Adolescente morre após acidente em parque de diversões no interior de SP. 24 February 2012. 2012-02-24.
  36. Web site: Rita Launch Cable Snaps -> COASTER-net.com: Amusement Park and Roller Coaster News, Information, Photographs, & more! . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120731062501/http://www.coaster-net.com/news/1831-rita-launch-cable-snaps/ . 2012-07-31 .
  37. Web site: Person Released From Hospital After Cedar Point Ride Malfunction. Kara Sutyak. fox8.com. Local TV, LLC. July 19, 2013. July 20, 2013.
  38. Web site: Teenager killed after being thrown from roller-coaster called Hell at Benidorm theme park. Gerard Couzens. 8 July 2014. mirror.
  39. News: Girl, 11, dies after Drayton Manor theme park fall . BBC.
  40. Web site: Parents speak out after 11-year-old son killed at amusement park: 'It is a nightmare'. 2021-07-07. www.msn.com.
  41. Web site: Thompson . Spencer . 2021-07-21 . Lack of Maintenance and Disregard for Industry-Recommended Safety Procedures May Have Contributed… . 2023-05-09 . Medium . en.
  42. Web site: Guest struck by metal piece that fell off roller coaster at Cedar Point . 2023-05-08 . Akron Beacon Journal . en-US.
  43. Web site: Cedar Point permanently closing Top Thrill Dragster, world's second-tallest roller coaster . 2023-05-08 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  44. Web site: Attraction Objectif Mars prend feu et blesse deux femmes . 2023-05-23 . twitter . fr-FR.